Urgent help needed Peppermint shrimp

[hotdog83]

This hobby is very unforgiving, I've lost a lot more fish/corals/shrimp than I've been able to keep alive the last 10 years. For me the only way this is ok is to learn from mistakes and not make the same ones twice. I keep a massive spreadsheet with all my stock of the last 3 years and reason if they died. Unfortunately livestock still dies despite our best efforts. Lost my moorish idol over the weekend that I had for over 2 years, sometimes it happens for no apparent reason.

Most pet shops employ temp guys over weekends to help, and they aren't always 100% clued up, so best is to research everything properly before buying anything and take some advice from the lfs with a pinch of salt.

I speak from experience, a I worked part time at VIP Pets in Cresta for 10 years from the age of 16 (1999-2008) and it is impossible to know everything, especially when I just started as a high school student. Nowadays I am on my phone constantly on Google when I'm in an lfs if I don't know the specific species or its requirements.

 

[RiaanP]

I lost more fish in quarantine than in my system. The number of fish that actually last long enough through the quarantine is dismal. But I rather have them dead in the holding tank that infecting all my other fish. Some just never really start to eat. Some do break out in some sickness. Others just die, for no apparent reason (suspect cyanide poisoning). Some jump, smallish clowns go through eggcrate. Don't use eggcrate as a cover. Some just do not want to be alone and need to see other fish, they do not like to be QT alone. Must do a couple together, but then if something major goes wrong, your losses are more. Minimum 2 maximum 4 QT together (maybe 5 depending on sizes and species).

Nowadays I do have a far better success rate.

 

[hotdog83]

I agree, unfortunately losing some livestock is a reality and unavoidable, also have lost a lot more in QT than display, shudder to think what the losses would be like if I didn't quarantine.

 

[Joshua1]

Just a note and we all learn the hard way but luckily for most of the new guys who is just starting up, there are so much info on this site and on the internet for that matter. There is nothing in this hobby that you can get away with without doing your homework first. As can be seen from other threads, even building your dream tank has its risks and a lot could have been avoided if your homework was done properly. There are threads on acclimatization of fish and inverts, the suitability and compatibility of fish and just general info on every fish and coral available and nearly every other day you see on the forum that someone got a sand sifting goby to help with diatom and cyano or someone buying a sun coral and has no idea that it needs feeding or buying a sailfin tang for his 20gal tank or losing fish due to power outages or your prized fish jumping out of the tank. The LFS don't know that you don't know how to acclimatize your livestock unless you ask. No matter what they say, the responsibility lies with you to do your homework .. read, read and ask. They cannot treat everybody that comes in there as a newbie. It is you as the hobbyist responsibility to do your homework thoroughly before you just go out and buy fish and corals. Make sure you know how to introduce it to your tank after QT, what its need are and how to take care of it and how to run a proper system to support every life you put in there.
In my opinion there is no excuse for "I didn't know", info is available on every subject in this hobby.

 

[TheNewReefer82]

Just a note and we all learn the hard way but luckily for most of the new guys who is just starting up, there are so much info on this site and on the internet for that matter. There is nothing in this hobby that you can get away with without doing your homework first. As can be seen from other threads, even building your dream tank has its risks and a lot could have been avoided if your homework was done properly. There are threads on acclimatization of fish and inverts, the suitability and compatibility of fish and just general info on every fish and coral available and nearly every other day you see on the forum that someone got a sand sifting goby to help with diatom and cyano or someone buying a sun coral and has no idea that it needs feeding or buying a sailfin tang for his 20gal tank or losing fish due to power outages or your prized fish jumping out of the tank. The LFS don't know that you don't know how to acclimatize your livestock unless you ask. No matter what they say, the responsibility lies with you to do your homework .. read, read and ask. They cannot treat everybody that comes in there as a newbie. It is you as the hobbyist responsibility to do your homework thoroughly before you just go out and buy fish and corals. Make sure you know how to introduce it to your tank after QT, what its need are and how to take care of it and how to run a proper system to support every life you put in there.
In my opinion there is no excuse for "I didn't know", info is available on every subject in this hobby.

Couldn't have said it any better.
What annoys me is how employees at the fish stop I've been buying from have no regard for what they've been selling it to me. It might just be here but I just feel this hobby has changed over the years. 5 years ago when I had my Red Sea max 250 running I enjoyed the hobby a whole lot more. Nowadays all these stores don't care anymore what you buy from them or the welfare of the livestock, only about money coming into the business.

I remember when I had my big tank I bought a baby regal tang for 500 in my first year of Reefing. A week or two after I got the tang I could see it wasn't doing too well and started acting very unusual. I phoned the store I bought it from the same employee who sold it to me personally came to my house to see what the problem was a took care of the tang for me. The tang ended up living for 2.5 years until the collapse of my tank.

All I'm just trying to say is the people that should be sharing the most knowledge are actually destroying the hobby in my opinion. (My personal experience)
Not everyone knows about the forum and can't rely on others for help. I went into buying a pico blind and relied on the place I bought it from to help me with it but in actual fact it's much harder and more time (and money) consuming.

No disrespect to any of you and I really do appreciate all the help from everyone and sharing their knowledge and experience!

 

[NJH]

I have seen shops selling fish with obvious signs of white spot and I have seen shops refusing to sell regal tangs to people with small tanks. Some are better than others. Some care and some do not. It is so with everything else in this world. You have the good with the bad.

However in this day and age with internet and google there is no reason not to do your research and it is up to every individual to do his or her research especially when dealing with livestock.

 

[viper357]

This is my third loss of livestock From the SAME store in a month!

Perhaps the fault lies with your acclimatising methods? You need to research each individual life-form you are adding to your tank, shrimps for example, can suffer from ph shock so it is very important that the drip method is used in order to get the acclimation water at the same temp, salinity and ph as your tank water, this will help greatly in ensuring the survival of the shrimp being added to your system. You also need to realise that shops run their holding tanks at very different parameters to hobby tanks for various reasons.

No matter what they say, the responsibility lies with you to do your homework

Spot on. It is your responsibility to look after the life you have just purchased, don't listen to one person, listen to many, read from many, question them all, then make an educated decision.

What annoys me is how employees at the fish stop I've been buying from have no regard for what they've been selling it to me. It might just be here but I just feel this hobby has changed over the years. 5 years ago when I had my Red Sea max 250 running I enjoyed the hobby a whole lot more. Nowadays all these stores don't care anymore what you buy from them or the welfare of the livestock, only about money coming into the business.

This is a comment we come across all the time, for many years. Moral of the story is, as harsh as it may sound, YOU are the person responsible for looking after your new pets and giving them the best care you can, educate yourself, listen to everybody, read from different sources and you will soon become an educated reefer capable of deciding what information is right and what is wrong. You have unlimited wealth of information here on the forum, everybody is more than willing to help you practically 24/7.

 

[viper357]

When all is said and done, you may still be buying livestock that has been caught with cyanide, so no matter what you do you still can't win, lol.