Cleaner Shrimp queston
 

OKay my dad got a couple cleaner shrimp today from a local fish store here in Edmonton, we dripped them into the tank over a while then intoduced them

here is what is happening, 1 of them looks like it has died, its on it back not moving right in the middle of the beach front (the LFS told him that if he see's this dont panic its just molting? now i relize that shrimp molt but right out in the open?)

the 2nd one is still upright but only moved to a different position right in the front of the tank and hasnt moved from there

does this sound normal?

Doesnt sound good to me, they do molt but i have never seen one do it just the skeleton after wards and the chances of it molting as soon as it is put in the tank is very slim. Have you ever used copper in your tank?

Uhm... if he's on his back he's likely dead or about to be...

I HAVE seen mine molt right in front of my eyes... if they molt during daylight, it is usually under actinic lighting, and they back out of their skeleton into a spot in the rocks apparently using the discarded skeleton as a decoy for prey while they get to a secure spot while their new shell hardens. Give them a day or two and they should be fine... when they're healthy they respond immediately to food, and when I have my hands in my tank for any period of time they inevitably climb right on me and start picking at dead skin... Good luck!

I would say the first one is dead. Cleaner shrimp are very difficult to introduce into a tank. You have to be sure the salinity is exactly the same before you let them out.
I tried to introduce one some time ago, and had forgotten I was running lower salinity in the tank. When I let the shrimp out of the bag he was dead before he hit the bottom. :sad:

Nowadays I am extremely careful when acclimatising Cleaners. :mrgreen:

Yeah, cleaner shrimp are extremely sensative to salinity changes. Your best bet is a drip acclimation of , one drip per second until the salinity is matched. This can take anywhere from an hour to two hours.