My crab is rejecting food

[sunnymittu]

My tank is 72 liters cube
and i got a big crab in there
when i put him in first he was happy and eating dried shrimps and tube worms
now he is rejecting everything
i dont give him raw food
my water parameter is
amonia-0.2mg
nitrite-0.2mg
nitrate-50mg
temprature steady at 29 degrees
should i lower the temp at 26
or should i change the water
as i used some invertabrate safe ich medicine in my cube few weeks back and it is still there but very few as i already done 60% water change but not changed the carbon since i started my tank on 22 november 2008

he is becoming less active as becouse less space or he need raw food
or he is sick
what do guys think

 

[santiago_crabberman]

can you please describe the crab?
if you more less know the specie, I can help you sure, i am carcinologist...

 

[santiago_crabberman]

is it like a blue swimming crab, or is it same as a dungeness crab?
Iron Maiden live tomorrow in Colombia
voy a ir, que viva Colombia!!

 

[quaddity]

Your tank is not cycled. You have ammonia and nitrite present and high nitrates. That will kill the crab most likely. You need to take all the advice you have been given here and properly set up a tank and let it cycle to completion. You won't have success unless you do that first.

 

[Lorna]

Your ammonia should be zero as should be your nitrites.....if they are reading then you have not cycled your tank.....ammonia is probably the cause of the problem. How much live rock do you have now? you need to have about 2lbs per gallon and it should be cured live rock.....let this tank cycle without anything in it until all the parameters come to zero.......continually adding livestock and watching them die will do nothing to help the situation and I think we have told you this before.

 

[quaddity]

not changed the carbon since i started my tank on 22 november 2008

! get that out of the tank too

 

[sunnymittu]

one more thing guys i dropped a screw in my tank were it cannot be reached anyways
what should i do
that place is very small
it seemed like i droped those copper srews
will that kill my invertebrates
or fishes
i cant get i out will that couse an side effect or something
becouse that screw will rot very fast in saltwater
please tell me how to get it out
ASAP

 

[Lotus]

Yes, copper will kill the invertebrates. Find the screw and get it out. Even if you have to remove all the rocks and sift through the sand with a net, you need to remove it.

 

[Lorna]

Lotus is right....get the screw out of the tank regardless or what it takes to get it out. It will leach copper into the tank over time and will kill any inverts that you add.....

 

[sunnymittu]

maybe this is right ^
i was never suppose to have a reef
but i could not
so something happend that made a gate to fish only and reef
actully my setup left side is very small to reach even by stick
and i somehow made a request to myself to add one more light in my top side
and i made through pulling out a light from my moms bathroom and it was broken (means not working)
so i checked light with my system and it worked
so i was nearly finished and i dropped this long and thick personility screw(maybe copper)
i dont know we had copper screws in my place
but it dropped from my hand or from obove(lol)
but **** the only choice i have is to make reopen and APART
just make a chance of getting that
long and thick screw
THE REOPENING OF TANK WILL COUSE DAMAGE TO SETTLEMENT OF LIVE ACTIVITY IN THE TANK
WILL IT?

 

[Lorna]

Not as much damage as that screw will do long term

 

[sunnymittu]

got that SCREW out (phew)
now my crab is not eating
i tryed to put it in his mouth but he throws it away with his hands
tried raw food to
did a 20% water change
what to do he is climing all over the place
he was eating prety well now he is not
is he scared or he just not hungry

 

[quaddity]

The crab is probably being poisoned by the ammonia in the tank.

 

[sunnymittu]

checked amonia its says 0.5 or in other words very less
i added more rocks weeks ago
still amonia is there
where is my bacteria
maybe my crab is not liking the water conditions
what to do
should i do 50% water change
still have 11 pieces of dead live rock in a 16 gallon space(20 pounds plus)
started the tank on 22 november
its been 75 days plus still no settlement of bacteria
algae is way high but no bacteria
high nitrates
why doesnt bacteria eats nitrate and transform it to gas (which is not traceable)
it is getting collected in form of liquid
any way i can reduce the nitrate without changing water
TELL ME ABOUT HOW MUCH FOOD DOES
2.5 INCH PUFFER
3 INCH CLEANER WRASSE
1.5 INCH BLUE DAMSHEL
1 INCH 3 SPOT

 

[sunnymittu]

back in shape

crab is back in shape
and eating food
feeling good!