Help Please!!!!

[sdascher]

HELP!!!!! I'll try to make this short - 125g community (the beginnings of a reef tank) - one year old - (I have another 125g 2+ years old with no problems) This tank is healthy - water has always been good - reg. maintenance - I have from time to time lost a couple of fish - never knew why. I also have gotten out some huge 5 to 9" bristle worms and little guys as they do grow big, and what I call killer crabs over the past year. Problem is that my fish now all seem really stressed out. I have a killer in there some place as this morning I found my peppermint shrimp without a head!!! In the past I have carefully removed all the rock - placed them in reg. water for 10 to 15 minutes to see what all comes out!! I am thinking that this doesn't work too well as I still have something nasty in there, maybe I should leave the rock in the water longer?? I want to be careful as I have polyps & mushrooms and this is great Tonga rock, I'd hate to kill any good things. Any idea's???
125g long, 135 lbs Tonga & Marshall Is. Live Rock,
4 percula clowns,
3 chromis,
1 Domino,
1 fairy wrasse,
2 small bubble tipped anenome's,
mushroom rock,
2 polyp rocks,
10 hermit crabs,
20 trochus banded snails,
10 margarita snails,
1 scooter blenny,
1 large serpent starfish,
2 large brittle starfish,
Tons of feather dusters all over!!

 

[flamingkingofhe]

buy one of those traps and try to catch it (not to sure on this)

 

[banshee]

I noticed that you have 2 large brittles...my green brittle star would take out small fish and shrimps in my tank....
or
....could be a mantis shrimp. Have you heard any loud clicking in your tank when the lights are off?
or
....you could have another "killer crab" that you just havn't seen, yet.
It could be a number of things. I have pulled out my share of predators and troublemakers from my tank, so I feel your pain. Good luck!

 

[sdascher]

I have the traps, they don't work too well. I have caught shrimp and hemits in them, but nothing else. I am not sure about the mantis shrimp.... that's possible, I don't hear any clicking, but I do know that the one crab that I retreved from this tank and put into a 5g. tank is a killer!! My son wanted me to "save" the crabs so I placed him and another crab into this 5g. tank with rocks etc. He ripped the other crab in half after a few days!! I am thinking that I may have more of those in there....... I really don't know any other ways of removing these pest other than removing rock and just hope that you get them all..........

 

[sdascher]

Whoops!! I forgot to mention a very important guy!! New to this tank - one Coral Banded Shrimp........ I added him approx. one month ago........... could he be my problem?????

 

[goldrush]

Could be. Never had a problem with mine but I've heard there are some nasty ones. If your problem started when you introduced him,I guess he's a suspect. Does he have an alibi? Do you keep him well fed?

 

[sdascher]

Yes, my fish & inverts are well fed. I am on the border line of over feeding, I have to be careful.
I think that the end result is that I will be looking this evening for a pest............. ( ........... I have noticed both the fairy wrasse & my domino is pale looking and panting........ the same way that my tang was before she died................. maybe all stressed out???

 

[leigh]

yah, watch tonight with a red flashlight and see if you can see what's going on. you may want to check your water params too just to make sure it's not water quality (never know, something weird could've happened, someone could forget to change an RO filter or any number of odd probs) killing things and the others just scavenging what's already dead. (oh, and another silly question--I'm assuming you're positive your headless pepermint shrimp you found this am isn't just a molt?)

 

[sdascher]

Peppermint shrimp was not a molt.... I was hoping that it would be when I removed him, but it was a headless shrimp. I also have used a red light after the tank lights was off for a few hours and I have never been able to find these critters. I also have been checking the water like every few days... everything is perfect!! If I find this "killer" tonight, I will post a pic tomorrow entitled "Murder Suspect Found!! This has been driving not only myself, but a few other friends of mine, that also have tanks, nuts for a few weeks!! I have got to find the murderer - I'm on a mission!
Thanks for all of the help out there, I do have a few things to consider..... I will report back with any findings....