iflytoohigh Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 so..i've decided that I'm not going to have fish any more. just corals. i have the absolute worst luck with fish. on top of not being able to properly care for the fish, they just disappear. my parameters check out ok. my corals are doing just fine, but when ever i put a fish in my tank, it either dies, or disappears. the dead fish i can deal with, but the ones that disappear have me very puzzled. i have a hang on the back refugium. nope, not in there. not in the sump. if it did die, where is the corpse? if it did die, why is there no ammonia spike a few days later? if i move the live rock around, no fishy bodies. i have a cover on the tank, so if they jumped out, they would land in the refugium or possibly get behind the tank. no fish behind the tank. no decomposing fish smell ever either. maybe my dog found them on the floor and ate them? possible, as he will eat anything. is there something in my tank eating my fish?! that is what scares me the most. what if there really is a monster in my tank eating my fish? could a monster infestation of bristle worms kill a fish and eat it all before an ammonia spike? i did have a problem with bristle worms before i got an arrow crab. now the worms are too scared to come out. i dont think there is a mantis in my tank as i've never ever ever heard any smashing sounds or seen anything that might look like a mantis and i spend a lot of time looking at the tank. at any rate, i'm tired of my fish disappearing. anyone have any ideas of what might be happening? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 I have had that happen to me a few times too. I have just figured that I have an effective clean up crew and the hermits and snails will devour them. Wish I could say more but I have no other ideas either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismunn Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 i had a 1.5" purple psuedochromis that i watched get eaten by 2 hermit crabs (from my CUC) in easily under 2 hours! the fish had gotten stuck in a hole in a rock while i was cleaning. i looked everywhere for the fish and couldnt find it. then i saw 2 hermits rummaging around on a rock, and then realized that they were eating my fish, starting with the head that was sticking out of the rock... what sucks is that i know that fish was alive when they started eating it, because it all happend very quikly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 You might also have a hitchhiker predator. Mantis maybe? Anyway there is nothing wrong with going fishless. Once you remove the poopers life actually gets easier. Plus you can get all kinds of neat critters that are just as interesting as fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenM Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Ever thought about getting a big lionfish? I saw one recently (RCA maybe?) and it was so beautiful. I think it would be a perfect addition to your tank if you're not going to have smaller fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iflytoohigh Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 i thought about the mantis thing, but i've never heard any popping noises and if it was a spearer, i probably would have seen him as i look at my tank a lot. i used to keep dwarf lionfish in my tank. i absolutely love them, but i was scared to stick my hand in the tank to move or feed the corals. so no more venomous fish with pokey spines for me. never got stuck, but i never want to either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Have you ever had inverts that might of died and release toxins. For example: sea cucumber, sea apple, medusa worm.......The toxins released by these inverts will not harm other inverts and corals but will kill fish. Just a thought. -Cindy- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iflytoohigh Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 nope. no extreme cases of released toxins that i know of. i dont even keep zoos. well, just a small patch. i'm starting to think that i have a cursed tank with an awesome clean up crew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrollgirl Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 My male clown fish disappeared and the only other thing in my tank at the time was a female clown and a few pieces of liverock... This has had me baffled for months now. Still can't figure out what the heck happened to him!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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