Two losses while cooking LR

[pwest]

I've had my LR cooking for 2 months now. Last week, I found my 1yr 8month old cleaner shrimp dead and stuck to the input on my Seio. This morning, I woke up to find my copper banded butterfly dead, with no obvious indications. He's been in my tank since I started it 3 years ago, and he'd been in another reef before that. One thought, especially concerning the CBB is that I'm underfeeding and that he used to get extra food off of my rocks which are no longer there for him. I feed 1 block of frozen food/day for a 6" PBT, the CBB, two small clowns, a royal gramma and a spotted mandarin. Usually I alternate between Mysis Shrimp, Bloodworms, and Brine shrimp, but for the last two weeks, its been brine shrimp only. Is this enough food for these guys?

Of course, I checked the water quality and all was fine. No detectable amonia, nitrate, nitrite or phosphate. PH is 8.00, and the salinity is a little low at 1.023.

[Weatherman]

Brine shrimp is, usually, considered to be the marine animal equivalent of candy; it looks good, it smells good and it tastes good, but it’s not very nutritious.

Transitioning a tank to bare-bottom is not easy, and some animals may not survive the stress. Fish like mandarins and CBBs, which eat mostly little animals scurrying around on the rocks, may take the transition particularly poorly.

I’d say at least go back to feeding your animals a more balanced diet. (I happen to like Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 and Prime Reef.) And keep a close eye on the mandarin to make sure it’s getting enough to eat.

[pwest]

Shall I stick with 1 cube per day, or up it? (keeping in mind that there's now one less mouth to feed...)

-Phil

[Weatherman]

That should work. Maybe with a second cube a day, a couple times a week. Also, until you can get rock back in the tank, you might want to provide the PBT with a little nori to nibble on, if it's interested.

In my 180, I have a 5” PBT, a pair of Tomato Clowns (which have been spawning every couple of weeks since January 1st), a spotted mandarin and a Clown Goby.

I feed one cube a day, alternating between Formula 2 and Prime Reef. They get to eat a little more twice a week when I feed the anemones. The PBT nibbles on the rocks all day.

[Loverotties]

I feed every 3 days!

[Boat Racer]

Copper banded butterflys are rare to live as long as you have had him anyway.I also use the Brine shrimp Plus.It has more goodys in it for the fish to eat other than just brine.Also you shrimp may have just gotten stuck.It can happen.At any rate I am sorry to hear about your loss.