something killing fish

walleye

Member
i have a 220 gallon tank. here is what in it. i have a brown banded catshark sailfin tang manderinegoby snowfake eel ghost eel squirrle fish and a fox face.a horseshoe crab. something has killed 2 damels and a coralbeauty angle.does anyone have any ideas. thanks
 

walleye

Member
killed and parts are gone. the big damels was fine when i went to bed. when turn the light on this morning it was on the bottom head is gone and the insides are gone.
 

crashbandicoot

Active Member
how much live rock do you have and how new is it to your system ? Have you added anything to the tank that might have contained a hitchhiker , Even one piece of rock ? What kind of a clean up crew do you have ? How big was the dead fish ?
Sorry for all the questions .
 

walleye

Member
the tank has been up for 5 years. there is 40lbs of live rock. the damels was 3inches long. the coral beauty was 4inches. nothing new. the horse crab is my cleaning crew he eats alot.
 

crashbandicoot

Active Member
Hmmmmmm. I was thinking maybe a nasty hitch hiker but thats all out of the question I guess and then I was thinking that maybe your clean up crew might just be eating on the fish after they had been killed . SFE arent really fish eaters . Not too sure about ghost eels though never had one . Sorry I have pretty much worn out my knowlage .
 

walleye

Member
i think its my horseshoe crab. its big one. its 5 inches wide and 11inchs long. what do you people think.
 

crashbandicoot

Active Member
how is your water testing out ? Is everything in peramiters ? he might just be chowing on dead fish if something else is out of whack .
 

walleye

Member
they have been together for along time. i dont think its mouth is big enough to do that. it has ahard time eating big silverside. still think its the horseshoe crab.
 

95harley

Active Member
Maybe his mouth is just big enough to grab hold of them and hurt them real good and then the crab does his job of cleaning house and picks at them and finishes them off overnight.
A cat shark gets 3'...to think it would live long term with Damsels is not realistic. He will eat them or try to sooner or later. Sharks hunt at night, so this is my theory.
It could always be the snowflake grabbing a hold of them in the rocks as I have heard of this but I have not personally experienced an aggressive SFE.
But either way I can't picture a Damsel swimming under a Horseshoe crab nor can I picture a HS crab catching a Damsel. Since most of us can't catch them with a net.
 

walleye

Member
i think when they sleep he is getting them. my goby is only a little over 1 inch and he is find because he is on the rocks. he goes down by the sfe and he doent even look at him. its not a big deal that the damels are gone. they killed my batfish picking at him so i will get another one soon.
 

alex4286

Member
he prob either wasnt fed enough & was hungry or just bored. im sure its in his nature to want to eat the lil guy
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by 95Harley
Maybe his mouth is just big enough to grab hold of them and hurt them real good and then the crab does his job of cleaning house and picks at them and finishes them off overnight.
A cat shark gets 3'...to think it would live long term with Damsels is not realistic. He will eat them or try to sooner or later. Sharks hunt at night, so this is my theory.
It could always be the snowflake grabbing a hold of them in the rocks as I have heard of this but I have not personally experienced an aggressive SFE.
But either way I can't picture a Damsel swimming under a Horseshoe crab nor can I picture a HS crab catching a Damsel. Since most of us can't catch them with a net.
I completely agree here
I doubt it was the crab. You have two predatory fish in there that may not be large enough to eat them but can certainly cause damage.
 

walleye

Member
well it doesnt really matter. i was going to get rid of them any way. does anyone know where i can get odd ball fish on line. because i have to get fish on line because i live on a island. if so email me at walleye19542002@yahoo.com
 

ophiura

Active Member
Invariably we are convinced that our fish are fine and must have been killed...when in reality most die and are eaten by scavengers.
A catshark, IMO, is unlikely to catch and eat a damsel. They are crustacean eaters for the most part. Why would it kill and only eat half a fish...the head and gut?
Anyway, IMO just don't overlook the possibility that they died for another reason.
 

walleye

Member
yes my shark loves the live white shrimp. it chases them all over. so do all the other fish. i put 500 in at a time i get them real cheap. some times i get a big surprise with pipefish and other fish in the bag.
 
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