My wrasse is missing

[dracena]

I think my cleaner wrasse died. He could just be hiding. I haven't seen him at all today. I had him for about 2 weeks now for the parasites on my tangs. He was eating flake food on top of the parasites which my tangs still have. He cleaned a good lot of them off but, he definitely did not starve to death. Everyone in the tank and the anemone look healthy. I know I just bought him but, he was a fully grown adult. Maybe it was old age. Maybe it's ok and I'm paranoid. I'm just concerned.
I have nassarius snails and they usually alert me to a death but, I don't see them.

 

[subee950]

They can burry themselves in the sand so it’s possible that he is just hiding.

 

[dracena]

This is day 2 and i still don't see him. My four main swimmers and my coral all look fine. My anemone doesn't look too hot but I think it's splitting ATM.
I'm going to get my water tested.
My mandarin I got a week ago isn't looking too hot. I don't understand why. I bought him and a supply of 1500 copepods for a 54 gallon tank. He was eating nonstop for the first few days. As of today, he is skinny, breathing hard and hasn't moved from the same rock all day. I still see copepods on my tank running around.
God I am paranoid but, things keep disappearing or dying so, something must be wrong. A few weeks ago I had a perfectly healthy angelfish that just died out of nowhere after a few weeks. It seems to be new fish I ad to the tank that die but, the sailfin goby I got the same week as the wrasse is fine and my clown and two tangs are fine too. I have a hawkfish I put in quarantine for cauliflower virus who is doing quite well. I had him in the main tank with the clown and tangs for 2 months before he started to show it. None of the others are visibly infected. I also doubt it could kill a fish in a week as it's not a fatal virus.

 

[litoallie]

Wow! I thought only my tank was the bermuda triangle... My sixline wrasse has been missing ever since... maybe day 2?? He's been on "vacation" for about....3 months.. maybe more?? lol I've not seen him/her and I know it is not dead some where kuz I have no amonia spike.. NOR have I found it's carcuss somewhere on the ground.. SO! Good luck finding him.. I just pretend that it is not there anymore.

 

[9supratt4]

What are your water parameters?? And what is your stock list??

 

[dracena]

I'm not the official tank owner but I seem the most concerned about the tank. I don't know the names of a lot of things in it but:
54 gallon corner
10 gallon sump
5 layer canister filter w/ UV
2 65 watt blue flourescent
1 metal halide
(not sure the specs of lighting)
10 white dwarf hermits
10 blue leg hermits
5 nerites
5 turbo snails
10 nasarrius
5 glass snails
1 or 2 stomatella
1 neptune shaving brush
2 mangrove shoots
Tree leather
Flat leather
star polyps
blue polyps
5 mushrooms
hammer coral
flower pot coral
candy coral
long tentacle anemone
lettuce nudebranch
cleaner shrimp
peppermint shrimp
sally lightfoot crab
purple lobster
flame scallop
yellow tang
blue tang
black Sail fin blenny
maroon clown
mandarin goby (think its dieing atm)
hawaiian cleaner wrasse (may be dead already)
Sand sifting starfish
I probably forgot some stuff but thats off the top of my head.
I also got a bunch of tiny snails with an order of algae and plants to feed my tangs. There is one red plant left they haven't eaten yet. I think some of the snails I got are the parasitic ones. I noticed 2 tiny white snails under the legs of the starfish when it was attempting to climb glass.
I got my water tested and only the nitrites are high.
I can't account for the ammonia because I added Prime just assuming the wrasse is dead. I see the Prime detoxifies nitrites too but they still showed up in the water test.
It's not the Bermuda Triangle for me. The angel fish that died was behind all the rock work I had to undo to fish out his body. I'm afraid I'll have to do it again to find the wrasse.
WHEN CAN I LEAVE MY TANK ALONE!?
It's upsetting. Coral frags keep getting knocked over by fish and so do mushrooms stuck to those stupid pebbles that don't hold them down keep getting blown away by the water flow. My blue polyps specifically keep getting moved by hermit crabs. It's like they are re- decorating, they pick it up and drag it somewhere else.

 

[florida joe]

Depending on your clean up crew and the efficiency of your bio filter you may not see an ammonia spike if you have a fish

 

[ianizaguirre]

i have a yellow wrasse and whne i put him in the first time into my 40 gallon i diddent see him for 3 weeks !!! only to find out that he was nervoues just laying under the whole sand bed until one day he had to come out to eat and he has been out ever since like every other fish . so maybe its hideing

 

[9supratt4]

It seems to me that your tank is overstocked.....2 tangs in a 54 Gallon??

 

[dracena]

I really don't get why people keep freaking out on me for my tangs. It looks like they have plenty of room to me.

My anemone is splitting atm so it looks funny. I lost the mandarin from nitrite poisoning. I know I have to change the filter padding once or twice a week now the way things have been, that's been the culprit of my ammonia and nitrites. The wrasse is still a mystery. He could have died of the nitrites as well or be hiding. Either way, he is hiding or the nasarrius and the other inverts have taken care of the mess by now.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by Dracena
http:///forum/post/2714235
I really don't get why people keep freaking out on me for my tangs. It looks like they have plenty of room to me.

My anemone is splitting atm so it looks funny. I lost the mandarin from nitrite poisoning. I know I have to change the filter padding once or twice a week now the way things have been, that's been the culprit of my ammonia and nitrites. The wrasse is still a mystery. He could have died of the nitrites as well or be hiding. Either way, he is hiding or the nasarrius and the other inverts have taken care of the mess by now.
Why do you think the filter pad is the cause of your ammonia and nitrite problem

 

[robdog696]

The cleaner wrasse probably starved. He was probably half starved to death when you got him. Cleaner wrasse are one fish that is better left in the ocean. I did a ton of research on them, and found a lot of info on them to not be completely accurate. However, given the ease with which neon gobies are bred in captivity and kept in the home aquarium they make a much better alternative to the cleaner wrasse. I just purchased a neon goby a couple weeks ago, and he's even eating flakes. He's a joy to watch, and every time I watch him eat I think about how glad I am that I took the advice of the members of this forum. Your dead cleaner wrasse is probably what is causing your ammonia spikes. And your anemone is probably splitting in an attempt to better guarantee its survival. If I were in your shoes I'd be doing some searching for the wrasse corpse and some water changes. You're going to lose your entire tank if you don't find a way to lower your nitrites. Also, your tangs are babies. They will outgrow your tank in a year easily. You will either have to sell them or upgrade tanks if you wish to keep them. Sorry to be such a bummer. Your tank looks good, though.

 

[dracena]

I thought the filter pad was the cause of the problem because 2 times it has been changed and problem been remedied immediately after.
I got the rest of my live rock in the other day and rearranged the tank to fit it. Some of my corals were dieing. I lost some freak hard coral that some how had survived the dry shipment on a liverock and had lived through until this. I also lost a leather coral. Everything else is doing fine. I couldn't find the cleaner wrasse nor any remains but, was able to capture my freak destructive sailfin goby and get him back to store.
The wrasse was possible starving in the store, I know he was by himself in a tank. He was eating flake food, people keep missing that little factoid. He also had plenty of parasites which he cleaned off my tangs starting day 1.
I picked up one of those little blue gobies. It is strange. It hung out in the sand at the front of the tank for the first day, then it disappeared. It appears out of nowhere when I feed the tank and disappears just as quickly. I did catch it cleaning my blue tang once but, I really rarely see that fish at all. When I do, I see him in the same place on the sand every time. Do they live under sand by chance?
My water levels have been stable and it's been a lot easier to keep things in order since I got my own testing kit. I go to 2 different fish stores and the one, Barrier Reef in Boca, has always disappointed me in their lack of knowledge and service. They tell me my water is fine and then everything goes to hell the next day.
I buy my fish at Exotic Aquatic in Oakland Park now. It's farther away but, the never fail to help and inform me. Actually, they were confused as to how I even got a cleaner wrasse and wondered why the hell the other place sells them at all.

 

[subielover]

You should probably stop buying fish for awhile, also isn't a purple lobster very very territorial? I thought they were know fish killers?

 

[knockout]

Originally Posted by Robdog696
http:///forum/post/2715609
The cleaner wrasse probably starved. He was probably half starved to death when you got him. Cleaner wrasse are one fish that is better left in the ocean. I did a ton of research on them, and found a lot of info on them to not be completely accurate. However, given the ease with which neon gobies are bred in captivity and kept in the home aquarium they make a much better alternative to the cleaner wrasse. I just purchased a neon goby a couple weeks ago, and he's even eating flakes. He's a joy to watch, and every time I watch him eat I think about how glad I am that I took the advice of the members of this forum. Your dead cleaner wrasse is probably what is causing your ammonia spikes. And your anemone is probably splitting in an attempt to better guarantee its survival. If I were in your shoes I'd be doing some searching for the wrasse corpse and some water changes. You're going to lose your entire tank if you don't find a way to lower your nitrites. Also, your tangs are babies. They will outgrow your tank in a year easily. You will either have to sell them or upgrade tanks if you wish to keep them. Sorry to be such a bummer. Your tank looks good, though.

I encourage everyone NOT to buy this fish, this fish will only last a few weeks at best in captivity, and yes some lucky ones do live longer we know... DO NOT BUY THIS FISH

 

[dracena]

The purple lobster hasn't bothered anyone. He hides in a hole and comes out for feeding time. The place I got it from said it was safe.
I'm not buying anymore fish for awhile. I'm going to wait another 6 months before I even bother with another living creature... Anemone comes first for my clown.
I had a black sailfin goby who was supposedly reef safe and safe with other fish but, it killed a few pieces of coral and attacked other fish. Supposedly he was the anomaly to his species.
Glad I got rid of it but, it was a beautiful fish.

 

[subielover]

I knew I wasn't losing it, you may have luck with it for awhile but in the long run he will eat your fish and most likely some coral too

https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/279449/purple-ref-lobster

 

[dracena]

come to think of it, that would explain a VERY healthy wrasse kicking it over night.
He was healthy as a horse for 2 weeks and cleaning all my fish AND eating flake food. I really doubt it starved. I kept reading they are difficult unless you can get them to eat flake, which he did.