disappearing fish

mbutler

mbutler

New Member
I don't know if this is strange but my Blue Hippo tang is missing. He was there last night when the lights went off and this morning he is nowhere to be found. I searched all through the tank, he is small so he can hide in the rocks. I moved every single rock in the tank to try and find him. Is it possible that he jumped out of the tank? I have heard of clownfish jumping out, is it normal for tangs? I have two dogs, so I wouldn't know if the tang did jump out because the dogs would have probably gotten to him. Anyone have this happen?
 
scubadoo

scubadoo

Active Member
What else do you have in your tank? LR? Lobsters? Crabs? I ask regarding the LR because mantis shrimp will eat fish...they often hitch hike on the LR right into your tank. Lobsters and some crabs depending on the size and type can also trap your fish at night and eat them. I assume you do not have any lion fish, eels, etc that could also eat the little tang. Look at what else is in the tank..to eliminate the possibilities. If the fish is small enough...the power head is also a possibility as suggested. Jumping out of the tank could also be a possibility but I am not certain if small blue tangs are jumpers.
 
mbutler

mbutler

New Member
I have 50+ lbs of lr and a pretty big hermit crab. I guess it is possible that the crab ate the tang. How do I know if there is a mantis shrimp in the lr? The rock is about 1 1/2 months old. Thanks for the input.
 
azonic

azonic

Active Member
Most likely the fish died and the crab ate the remains before you noticed the dead fish. Crabs are scavengers, and it wouldnt take long for a big hermit to gobble up a small tang that could fit in the holes in the rocks....must have been pretty small. Just my guess..I had a clown tang die and my purple reef lobster scavenged it and took it into his "burrow" with him and i never did remove it. I wouldnt think the crab killed him...
 
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