'normal' losses for a new tank?

[lynxie]

i know that some livestock loss is normal and expected with a brand new tank, but how much is "normal" vs being caused by an underlying tank prob?

i have a 1 mth old 90gal w/ 30ish sump... i don't have any probs (i don't think - water params all test in normal ranges), but i have a turbo (i think it's a turban?) who's not looking too hot - often on its back, doesn't move much, and there's a green blotch on the visible soft tissue when he's "closed up" and on his back (haven't seen him open, but he has moved a bit - from his back to his side (now hanging onto some l-r less than 1" from where he was all day yesterday). got him sunday along with 2 other turban (?) turbos, 3 mexican turbos, and a dozen tiny (1/4" shell) blue-leg dwarf hermit crabs. floated about 1 1/2h and mixed waters gradually before putting them in tank. put snails on one side and hermits on the other (and when i try to do a "shell count", most hermits are still chomping down on the ugly brown algae right were i dropped them so i don't think they're bothering the turbo at all - both due to size and location in tank). hermits, other 5 snails from sunday, and the 2 sand-sifting snails i put in the week before all seem to be doing great, as does my mushroom cluster, and my 2 zoa frags... so i'm assuming i just got a sickly snail, not that it's anything to do with my tank... so i started to wonder: what is considered 'normal' loss when starting out? what percentage (or quantity) of livestock should i expect to lose (from it being a new tank, or from my inexperience, or from finicky individuals who just don't adjust to a move from lfs to my tank etc)?

[ChrisPrusha]

I don't think there is any hard and fast rule about 'normal' losses. I think many (if not all) beginners have had their fair share of losses. One thing we can all agree upon is that any loss is too much.

That sickly snail could very well have been sickly before you got it. Sometimes things are just out of your control.

[wharyat]

If anything would be a 'normal' (as in it happens to most everyone) loss I would say it will be members of your cleanup crew.

As the tank matures, the proportions of algae, detritus, etc. will change. Some snails and hermits will run out of food and die off.

To prevent this you can always make sure to watch everything and trade or sell back some hermits and snails as nutrient levels normalize.

All in all, with proper planning, losses are actually not very normal at all; no matter what the age of the tank.

[lynxie]

is there any way to tell a healthy snail (or dwarf hermit, or other critters who are usually hiding in thier shells) from a sickly one at a store/suppliers, other than seeing them moving? i picked out crabs/snails that were moving and appeared to be feeding, and still ended up with one who's not doing so hot, so is there more i should look for/at next time i go to purchase shell-dwellers?

[schmnr]

Slow drip acclimation for any inverts will help (2 hours)

[bb0029]

I know in a situation I had when I first got my tank up and running was that inverts and the cleanup crew are pretty sensitive to water conditions. They are , in my opinion, a good indication that something needs to be looked at.

Like other folks have said you could get some sick ones while others may get injured or whatnot from time to time.

This is just a couple of things I have learned over time. Everybody may not have the same results. I know in my case the water conditions in my tank is what caused the deaths.