Hello all that can help me

heres the facts, i bought a 12 gallon nano tank, bought live sea water and sand from the store, i bought 4 lbs of live rock, there are 2 other rocks one of which was in a freshwater tank but was scrubbed, there were 4 plastic plants that were added as well from a fresh water tank but were cleaned before transferring over to salt water tank.

the nitrates are now good 0, the ammonia is also good 0, the PH is about 8.2-8.4 after using buffer for 2 weeks, the tank is 2 days under a month old. the salt is a bout 25, the nitrates at first were very high but had poured a bacteria solution into the tank then replaced 1/4 of the salt water with fresh saltwater. the temp is between 77-80

i have a clown fish, pj cardinal, and a bangaii cardinal fish, i have 2 small hermit crabs. these all are living, 2 hermits have died int he tank, but 2 more remain now.

it seems like everytime i put a small creature on the floor of the tank, cleaner shrimp crab or a corel reef lobster, they all dye, i have had 5 cleaner shrimp dye within 2 hours every time, the lobster lasted 24 hours. crab died within in an hour. i am at my wits end on this it breaks my heart to see them all die can i have some help, as a side note, i am put them into the tank, place the fish into a bowl, and a drop method through a tube of the tanks salt water and i wait for about an hour then i just add the fish in the tank with my hand and placing it on a rock of sand floor, or once i placed the bad int he water for a bout 1/2 hour then placed a dixie cup of tank salt water into the the bag 2-3 times after 15 minutes each or longer. then again taking it out of the bag alone without any bag water and placing the fish on the rock or sandy floor. each time a ceaner shrimp died, they were not placed in there all at the same time.

food being given is brine flzen shrimp and frozen marine variety mix (gumdrop)
please someone know what to do i hate to hurt any more fish
the fish store does not know what to do anymore.

steven62

Hmmm..
Its been a while since I have kept a salt water aquarium, but it seems like 12 gallons with that number of fish might be pushing the limits. I kept a 20 gallon tank, back in 1992 which was considered to small at the time with current technology, but I am thinking its an oxygen issue possibly?
If you can get a horseshoe crab, they are tough as nails and do a good job of cleaning the bottom of the tank.

spiderman2008

thank u for your help but theres only 3 fish and 2 hermit crabs why is that to much in the tank???

AKaeTrue

The average and natural salinity levels are 34,35,and 36.

It appears to be common practice to keep smaller marine aquariums at a somewhat lower salinity level for the purpose of increasing oxygen levels;
however, a salinity level of 25 sounds extremely low to me.

My guess would be that, even though your acclimation process by using the drip is ideal,
the salinity of the water might be way to low and possibly making the environment lethal for invertebrates and possibly your fish over time.

I'm unfamiliar with keeping low salinity levels, I know it's practiced but I'm unsure
of how low it can go in a marine environment and still be considered safe.

If you're keeping the salinity this low because you know it to be safe
and it is your preference, then perhaps the acclimation time for the invertebrates should be doubled or tripled so they can safely adjust.

If it's not your intentions to have a low salinity level, check with the marine shop on how to safely raise it and where the levels
should be kept at in a 12 gal set up to ensure all its occupants have plenty of oxygen.

Good luck to ya. Please update. I'm always up for learning new info.

spiderman2008

Hi I Want To Clarify A Couple Of Things The Fish That Are Living In The Tank Are About 1-2 Inches. And The Salinity In The Water Is 1.025, In The Other Side Of The Reading Of This # It Says 31. So When I Said The Salt Was 25. Thats What I Meant, Sorry For The Confusion.

AKaeTrue

I actually wondered if you were referring to specific gravity .

Your water is good, the SG is right where it should be and using the drip is ideal.

I'm still leaning toward the acclimation process as being the issue
because dying that quickly after being put in a new tank is a sign of not being
adjusted to the new water chemistry.

Did you happen to find out the fish shops water levels?
If theirs differs from yours in the slightest, acclimation might need to be done even slower
with the drip and over a longer period of time and in a larger container like a bucket
since shrimp and lobsters are extremely sensitive to the slightest change in water chemistry.

spiderman2008

thank u again for all your help. there salt level is .22.

they also had be acclimate another way i placed the bag into the tank and after 20 minutes, i added a small cup of tank water, then another 20 minutes went by and then added another small cup of tank water. then after a bout 45 or so i took the shrimp out of the bag with my hand and placed him on the sand, he died 45 -1 hour later. no one at the store knows what to do about this no one understands why they keep dieing.

froggy7

I have to ask this, just because it's so obvious to you that it may not occur to you to pass the information along. Is it possible that one of the fish is attacking the shrimp? When they die, are there any physical changes (missing pieces, soft shells, changes in color)? Does the shrimp act in any particular manner while it's in the tank before it dies? At this point, the more information the better.

spiderman2008

Yes I Totally Understand Its Something I Took Into Consideration As Well. I Stayed And Watched The Whole Time The Last One Was In The Tank, The Cleaner Shrimp That Is. There Were No Attacks, No Bites, No Damage, No Color Change. It Lasted 45 Min To An Hour. At One Point The Last Cleaner Shrimp Swam Tot He Top Of The Tank It Did It Twice During Its Life Span In The Tanks Which I Thought Was Odd. It Was Alone For The Most Part. It Stayed To Itsself, It Climbed On The Live Rock Once While It Was On The Tank. Other Then That It Stayed On The Sand.
Thank You For Your Insight On Your Answer It Was Very Much Appreciated

froggy7

I am about to show my complete ignorance of saltwater tanks, but is there some other chemicals that might be too high or too low?

And then the other thing that occurred to me: Have you tried shrimp from a different store? Maybe the problem is with the shrimp, not your tank.