Missing Fish

[dfreeman64]

Left town for a couple days over the holiday. Had a neighbor take care of tank and he is capable. My lunar lights died on the first day gone and he did not want to mess with my light fixture of which I understood and had no problem with. Day 3 he stopped seeing my long nose hawk and when I got in yesterday, no more fire fish. Amonia test are zero with salifert (did it twice) other parameters are well within ranges. I have covers over my overflows and have check them anyway and looked all thru my sump.
Tank Inhabitants
3 yellow tangs green and purple mushrooms
1 copper banded butterfly exenia
2 perc clowns torch coral
scooter blenny fox coral
flame hawk green star polyp
bi-color blenny several zoo clonies
large arrow crab-came as a hitchhiker and wife like him-
typical assortment of snails and about 5 small hermits
What is taking out my fish? I suspect the crab and the others are helping with body disposal. With no night light is the crab able to catch otherwise healthy fish. Mt is 130gal 55 gal sump and separat 55 gal fuge. Taking down canopy and lights for a total rock re-arrange today and to check all the spots for hiding a body-lol ANY OPINIONS APPRECIATED.
Dewayne

 

[dfreeman64]

No one has any ideas?

 

[wangotango]

well firefish are good jumpers, especially when something is stressing them out. did you check on the floor all around your tank, or around the top frame? the tank itself isnt covered right, just the overflows? since you dont have any ammonia or a body, whatever happend the crabs cleaned up the bodies. i really dont know what to tell you, and its rare for a crab to just chow down on a fish without the fish getting away first. how big is this crab?
-Justin

 

[clintjj]

I would check for carpet surfers. The fish you are missing are known to be jumpers. So id start looking for crustys

 

[thegrog]

Check the carpet. Check the little ledges at the back of the tank.
If ammonia, nitrites and nitrates have not spiked, don't bother for a body search as the cleanup crew has most likely done it's job. I have had a few fish mysteriously dissappear (one of them a firefish) over the years with no corpse, no spike in parameters, nothing.
I would also be suspicous of a growing mantis as they are more than capable of taking out one of those fish. Long shot, but a possibility.

 

[ninjamini]

Did the rocks move? There might have been a cave in. Or they might just be hiding. Last week I went in to retrieve a frag that fell and I ended up moving all the rocks around. Stressing the fish I'm sure. I did not see my midas blenny for 2 days and my fire fish for 3. Hopefully he will kust show up.
Its funny, I got a SW tank because my wife did not want the expense of another dog and she wanted the flexibility to be able to go away. LOL! If only she knew.
Best of luck.

 

[dfreeman64]

Thanks guys, I did look around the floor and tank with no luck. I guess my cat might have acted as the clean up crew if that were the case. Guess I'm going to put egg-crate over the tank after all. The darn crab is the size of a quarter at the body and with legs out, as big as my open hand like a spider. 6 inch diam prob.
Dewayne

 

[fishyapol]

well to add to this.. i just got a flame angel on monday... and now i just got home and he is no where to me found... before i left for work he was swimming around picking on the lf... and now he is gone????