costanoan
New Member
Hey there. I'm a newbie, so be gentle. I have a 36-gal. FO tank, a little over five months in operation, with a happy trio of Ocellaris clown, Falco hawkfish and Royal Gramma. Just recently, I was looking to add a fourth fish, and decided on a 6-line wrasse. I noticed he was smaller than the other three, but took a chance that he could hold his own.
Immediately on entering, he was chased into hiding by the hawkfish. I didn't see the little guy the next day--thought he was just hiding--, started to get concerned on day three. On day seven, I got hands on and moved the hiding places around. No wrasse, no sign at all.
So, my question is, to satisfy my curiosity, what physical or chemical process is it that destroys every minute bit of fish in a week, leaving no trace? The tank is small enough and clean enough that I can be sure there was no fish residue anywhere. As I see from the book that my wrasse might be one that buries itself in sand, is it possible that he did so and then died under the sand? My last two nitrite checks on the water showed no spikes, which they would show, wouldn't they, if he had decomposed in the tank, even buried in it? Or would there be enough bacterial action in the live sand to do the clean-up more-or-less neatly?
What happened here?
Immediately on entering, he was chased into hiding by the hawkfish. I didn't see the little guy the next day--thought he was just hiding--, started to get concerned on day three. On day seven, I got hands on and moved the hiding places around. No wrasse, no sign at all.
So, my question is, to satisfy my curiosity, what physical or chemical process is it that destroys every minute bit of fish in a week, leaving no trace? The tank is small enough and clean enough that I can be sure there was no fish residue anywhere. As I see from the book that my wrasse might be one that buries itself in sand, is it possible that he did so and then died under the sand? My last two nitrite checks on the water showed no spikes, which they would show, wouldn't they, if he had decomposed in the tank, even buried in it? Or would there be enough bacterial action in the live sand to do the clean-up more-or-less neatly?
What happened here?
