Hidden predetors

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surjer

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Aug 29, 2006
Messages
161
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
How would one seek out any hidden predetors that might be in his tank? I recently started a 20g and have lost 2 fish. The 1st disapeared all together and the 2nd just showed up dead with a chunk missing out of the back of his head. I 1st thought it might be my emerald crab so I took him out. Rocka mentioned it probably wasnt the crab because of its small size and it had plenty to eat so it shouldnt have picked on the healthy fish. Something killed them and I would like to find out what before I try any more fish...

Thanks in advance,

Jerry
 
You might have to take out your rock one piece at a time and do a dip in a higher salinity bucket of SW. Generally this will get the nasty critter out. I've never had to do this, so you may want to wait for some suggestions from folks that have tried this or other ways....
 
I have also heard of a quick FW dip, you might loose a few sponges or somthing but it will get the critters out.
 
Nice article! One word of advice, watch the bristleworms as they will sting you. Personally, I would put them back in my tank, as I consider them a great part of my clean up crew.
 
madhatter208 - I followed those steps exactly when I bought my live rock. That artical came with the live rock and I folled it step for step. There was NOTHING that came out of my live rock tho...
 
There is a possibility he was small enough at the time to be deeper in the rock and able to survive the dip.
Another way of thinking, the fish may have already been sick when you bought them. Does that store have a lot of floaters? Is there another store you can buy from?
 
Ahh, That store does seam to have a few "Floaters". I have also since made the decision not to buy from them again due to their "Painted Glass Tetras". I dont like the idea of the fish being tatoo'd for more vibrant colouring. The workers there dont like to sell them and said they have tried to get the owner to not sell them but lots of people want to buy them. It was comforting at 1st as my wife said ohh look at these. Then the working said, Well, I wouldnt recomend purchasing that fish. They are actually tatoo'd and I dont like to sell those. The worker is really knowledgable on SW tanks tho and had alot of the same suggestions you guys have. Drip Acclimation / fishless cycling etc.. (Maybe he is just stuck working in a crappy store?). Anyways - I will try and get another fish from a different store and see how it works out..
 
If you believe you have an unwanted crab or other misc. "pest" you can try baiting it and/or check the tank either in the middle of the night or early...early! morning hours with a flashlight to see if you can spot the culprit.
 
surjer said:
Do most of those guys glow in a blacklight?
Not sure what that means. On the flashlight, I like to use one that has a red lense so as not to startle the "nighties".
 
A blacklight might be more confusing in trying to spot an unwanted critter.
 
You can also try the tilted glass trick at night. Just put a glass in your aquarium next to your LR and tilt it with some food in the bottom and the crab will walk down it but cant walk back up. If you have a crab this will catch him.
 
If you have moon lights of any sort, placing a piece of food near the LR inside something similar too a a testtube to keep fish from eating it may draw the thing out so you can at least see it.

If the fish did simply die of stress, anything in your tank may have decided it was a good snack which could be where the chunk out of its head came from.
 
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