Vanishing fish?

[reefs]

Ok things are starting to get weird...

I have had this tank setup for about a year with just seahorses. A few weeks ago I transfered the seahorses to a larger tank and decided to get some fish for it.

I added a Bangaii Cardinal about 3 weeks ago and then 3 Firefish about a week ago. Yesterday morning I woke up and my Bangaii was gone

I have checked everywhere - tank, skimmer, floor! And there is nothing?!?!

Then this morning I find that one of the Firefish is missing!!!

What the heck is going on here? 3 weeks of living happily only to vanish?!?

8O

 

[K9coral]

I had something similar happen with my 10gal. I had 2 chromis and a mandarin goby vanish overnight. I literally mean overnight. I fed them, went to sleep and in the morning they were gone w/o a trace!
I did some investigating and figured that it was probably a brittle star that got them. I still have my doubts, but at least I can sleep at night.

 

[Anonymous]

three letters U.F.O.'s....Alien abductions....anal probing your fish! we have to put a stop to this...wheres the MIB?

 

[Ralphyhp]

Maybe a Mantis shrimp. I have loose a lot of small fishes because i have 2 monster mantis (2") at my tank. I saw one of them enter on a little hold and i close the hold with expoxy. Yesterday i saw the other one at the sand bed crossing the tank side by side. I loose 2 Firefish, 1 Yellow Watchman goby, 1 Tiger Goby, 1 Neon Goby and a Yellowhead Jawfish.

 

[reefs]

I don't see how it could be a mantis...

I mean I have kept seahorses in the tank for a year without incident!

 

[Ralphyhp]

Maybe a new piece of live Rock a new coral, the Mantis are hitchhickers. IMO they dont going to hurt a Seahorse they like more little victims that like to enter into their caves like the Gobies does. Do you have Live Rock and corals on your tank? or have you ever heard the snap of a Mantis. Another thing is, the Gobies like to commit suicide. They jump out of the tank and like to swim into the prefilters boxes. But is funny to have a masive suicide movement. Hope you to fine why you are loosing your fishes.

 

[reefs]

I haven't added a piece of live rock for a year.

I have checked the floor, overflowbox, skimmer, everywhere... no bodies!

Oh, and no 'snaps' either

 

[cdeakle]

Maybe there still there. I have had a blenny awol for a week once and a shrimp awol for 3 weeks, had a hermit I thought was dead along time ago (2+ years) only to reappear recently.

Either that or they could be dead and under a piece of rockwork where it would be impossible to find them. Keep an eye on the ammonia levels and that could prob let you know either way....