Sos- Fish Lost!

cufishfan

cufishfan

Member
I bought a banggai cardinal on Saturday. I watched him eat at the LFS (he had a great appetite) and brought him home. Acclimated for 2 + hours and added him in. Fed the other fish (1 osc. clown, 1 yellowtail damsel- kept in check by clown, 3 green chromis) and watched the new guy. Everyone swam up to him, but no aggression.
Sunday morning, Banggai was still alone on 'his' side of the tank, but when I fed everyone, there were no issues and everyone ate well (mysis and brine shrimp). Went to bed with a happy tank.
Woke up this morning a dropped some floating pellets in the tank... saw the clown, all 3 chromis and damsel... but no cardinal! Looked until I knew I would be late for work. No luck.
Came home, and he's nowhere to be found! I've checked EVERYWHERE... he didn't go carpet diving (I have glass tops), isn't in the overflow (I have a sponge around the intake, plus, I looked everywhere) not in the wet/dry, not under/in/around any of the rocks (i picked them up, did the 360 turn and looked through them all). There are no pieces of him in the powerheads... I'm really at a loss- I have no idea what could have happened!

Could my CUC have eaten him overnight?? We're talking between 11:30 and 8 am. I have no other ideas what could have happened.
Water params were checked Sat and again today:
pH 8.2, temp 79-80, S.G. 1.025, Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate 0ppm
 
tank a holic

tank a holic

Active Member
how big is your tank, do you have a gap between the glass tops and edge of the tank he might have gotten through if he jumped?
my guess is he's on the floor or hiding really well, I doubt he was eaten
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
my pj cardinals occasionally go from a trio to a duo. it is possible that he's hiding. how much LR do you have? it's also possible the fish died and your CUC took care of him, depending on what you have.
 
firestorm

firestorm

Member
Originally Posted by Eric B 125
http:///forum/post/2982074
my pj cardinals occasionally go from a trio to a duo. it is possible that he's hiding. how much LR do you have? it's also possible the fish died and your CUC took care of him, depending on what you have.
Also have you checked all your filter media, and sump/refugium if you run one?
 
cufishfan

cufishfan

Member
Originally Posted by Firestorm
http:///forum/post/2982136
Also have you checked all your filter media, and sump/refugium if you run one?
I have an in-tank overflow, so I checked to see if he got stuck against the teeth at the top- nope. He's not in the overflow. I have a sponge that fits around my intake tube, so there's no way he could have gotten into the pipe. But I checked it anyways, and he would have gotten stuck on the drip plate in my wet/dry, and he's not there.
Originally Posted by Eric B 125
http:///forum/post/2982074
how much LR do you have? it's also possible the fish died and your CUC took care of him, depending on what you have.
I have about 50-60 lbs, but they're mostly big pieces and not really stacked. I picked up all the big pieces and checked the little caves and tunnels.. he wasn't lying under them out of view, or in any of the caves. The only piece I didn't take out has so many holes I'm positive he's not there. My CUC is 2 turbo snails, 2 peppermint shrimp (one's hiding because he just molted) an emerald crab and 5 or 6 Nassarius snails.
Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/2982053
how big is your tank, do you have a gap between the glass tops and edge of the tank he might have gotten through if he jumped?
My tank is 75g. and I have glass tops (4 individual pieces, and then rubber strips to cover up the small gap where wires lead out of the tank. But I searched the floor all around the tank.

I feel awful, but I have no idea what could have happened... he was fine when I went to bed and now he's vanished! I'm confused and kinda worried for my other fish, though this is the first fish I've added in about a month and a half.
 
firestorm

firestorm

Member
ok...stupid question since you can't find him on the floor......but do you have an 'outside the tank' CUC.....aka...a cat?
 
naclh2o nut

naclh2o nut

Member
Keep an eye out. I thought I lost several fish after adding. They can hide!!
LFS has a 8" lunar wrasse that was in tank for what they are guessing about three weeks before someone noticed it. It must have came as a hitch hiker on LR yhat they had bought and shipped in. It will still now been over a month some how hide for days. They have one piece of LR in tank, the one he must have came in. It is a large piece, but still amazing that that fish can disappear in it.
 
cufishfan

cufishfan

Member
Originally Posted by Firestorm
http:///forum/post/2982291
ok...stupid question since you can't find him on the floor......but do you have an 'outside the tank' CUC.....aka...a cat?
Haha, the thought did cross my mind... but no cat. I have a dog, but she couldn't get into the room until I did, and I looked all around the floor before I left.
NaCL, I'm hoping you're right! Still no sign of him this morning, but I guess I'll give it a few more days before I call off the search. I'm really hoping he's an excellent hider and is just taking his time getting used to the tank (and me tearing it apart yesterday probably didn't help). On the morbid side of things, I plan to keep checking for an ammonia spike... just in case
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Eric B 125
http:///forum/post/2982074
my pj cardinals occasionally go from a trio to a duo. it is possible that he's hiding. how much LR do you have? it's also possible the fish died and your CUC took care of him, depending on what you have.
I have three cardinals and I seldom see them. I thought they were all gone, for a week I hadn't seen them. Then one day last week and I saw one just under a ledge, and then yesterday I saw all three very briefly. So I wouldn't worry.
 
cufishfan

cufishfan

Member
Things aren't going so well.
Banggai disappeared on Sunday night/Monday morning. No trace of him since.
I come home from a long day of work and one of my 3 green chromis has gone missing. I'm pretty sure my yellowtail damsel is to blame for both disappearances because he was the only one I saw picking on anyone (I saw him lunge at the banggai once or twice, but never saw him nip or attack).
So I decide it's time for Damzel Washington to go. Call up the LFS and they say they'll take him. I end up tearing apart my tank (confirming that both the chromis and cardinal are definitely missing), get him in a bag, drive to the store and they've closed.
So now my damsel is sitting in a colander inside the tank (so I don't have to catch him again) because I'm already using my backup heater and have no way to keep another tank at a temperature that will allow him to live.
I'm so frustrated. I had 6 fish on Saturday and now I have 3! (Damzel doesn't count anymore). I really thought everyone would be fine and I haven't seen any outright attacks, but out of the other 2 chromis (barely 1in each) and my clown (who leaves everyone but the damsel alone), it's got to be him.
I'm in such a bad mood now. I had been hoping to add some coral and a royal gramma this week, but now i'm not so sure. I've stirred up all kinds of things, my remaining fish are terrified because I had 2 nets in the tank at the same time, and I moved every piece of LR in the tank.
 
firestorm

firestorm

Member
Relax...take a deep breath, and open your favourite bottle of adult beverage...it'll be a lot better once that fish is gone

And remember, you'll probably be cursing that fish for years, but now you have an experience to relate to all us newbies here in the future
 
cufishfan

cufishfan

Member
Originally Posted by Firestorm
http:///forum/post/2984472
Relax...take a deep breath, and open your favourite bottle of adult beverage...
Very good advice. I came to that same conclusion on my own.

I'm feeling kind of guilty though- what if I got it wrong? What if I'm blaming Damzel Washington and he had nothing to do with the two fish disappearing (and I still can't understand what happened... I know fish die, and fish get picked on... but shouldn't there be... pieces??
)
But from what I've heard, and some of what I've seen... he's probably done something. And it's better to have him go to the LFS and to a home where he can bully other damsels. (Yes, I'm trying to justify giving a fish back, and I am feeling guilty for sending him back)
Here are a few pictures of my makeshift, and temporary, solitary confinement:

 
cufishfan

cufishfan

Member
Ok, parts of this mystery are being solved.
I returned Damzel (the yellowtail damsel) to my LFS. The next day, I notice both of my chromis are coming out in the open more and spending more time just swimming around. So the damsel was clearly being a terror.
Saturday, I go to a new LFS and pick up a tiny oscellaris clown (to join the one already in my tank) and a royal gramma.
I acclimate both fish for about 2 1/2 hrs and then start observing. Right away, my existing clown starts picking on the gramma. As in pursuing the gramma and making him swim away. So the gramma finds a safe spot and doesn't come out. The big clown only snaps at the small clown when the small one gets too close, but the little clown doesn't seem bothered.
Everyone eats well, except for the gramma who doesn't come out, and seems to be breathing hard (from the very little I can see of him). I figure he's stressed and will come out in a day or so.
Lights come on today (Sunday) and the little clown is doing great. Mostly staying away from the big clown, but even when they're close to each other, no real problem. Gramma is still hiding, so I look in his hiding spot and see my peppermint shrimp eating my clearly dead gramma.
What is the likelihood that the shrimp killed it? My first instinct is that the gramma was stressed (by the move and being picked on for a little bit) and died on his own, and the shrimp started on him after he died. But clearly something is going wrong if I've lost 3 fish in about a week, and the water params have stayed constant throughout.
Please help, I'm starting to worry that I'm not cut out for this
 
t316

t316

Active Member
I don't think the shrimp killed any of them, he was just enjoying a meal of opportunity. I think the Damsel probably played a big part in harassing the first two, and the last one could have just been stress from the move and acclimation. Even if there is something else going on here, you are better off without the Damsel in your tank if you plan on keeping a variety of fish. Just my .02
 
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