MIA...now what?

[shawmutt]

Ok, one of my zebras died, which wasn't a big shocker, he was looking pretty bad since I bought him. But after looking for an hour I can't find him, and have no bottom feeders to eat him. He was very weak, and although it's a possibility, I highly doubt that he jumped out of the tank. What do I do? Do I just monitor the water for an ammonia spike? If I never find him, how long should I wait until adding a new one?

 

[William]

look on your filter intake?


undernereath decorations?

 

[LondonGman]

Someone else posted a similar problem with missing fishes last week. There were many responses that may apply. Have a read

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=9934

 

[Scottw68TN]

Shawmutt has a ton of rocks stacked in his tank I don't think hes moving anything.

 

[shawmutt]

Someone else posted a similar problem with missing fishes last week. There were many responses that may apply. Have a read

I'm not too worried about where he is, he may be buried under the sand for all I know, there are tons of nooks and crannies...sometimes I can't find the live fish. I just want to know what leaving a dead fish in the tank will do to the water with nothing in there (e.g. catfish) to eat him.

 

[ferret]

Most likely he'll decompose, which could cause an ammonia problem but if you stay on top of it, you should come out ok.

 

[LondonGman]

I just want to know what leaving a dead fish in the tank will do to the water with nothing in there (e.g. catfish) to eat him.

and in addition to ferret's post, if the fish died due to illness or disease it is possible that if the fishes dead body is left in the tank it could transit the disease to your surviving fishes. especially if the other fishes eat the body.

 

[shawmutt]

I don't think it was disease (god I hope, I don't want to lose another batch because I didn't QT), he was looking sickly from the start, but had no obvious lesions, sores, or anything indicating disease. He just had the look that fishes get sometimes when they aren't adjusting well...I don't know, I just know by their behavior when they're going to die. I know, it's weird, but I just do. The next time one of my fish get like that I really need to move him or her to a hospital tank so when they do die I won't have this problem. I did look around the tank for a good bit, I had to break out the maglight and move some rocks around, but I didn't find him.