I am puzzled. Lost a fish!

[masai_chadi]

I had two cat fishes (otocinclus) before I went on a 3 day vacation. I come back and there is only 1 cat fish. I checked the tank, under the gravel, under the ornaments, inside the filter! There is no sign of the lost cat fish. Where that hell could this thing have gone? 8O

(my son says that it may have gone for a walk!)

 

[QTOFFER]

It's common for small suckermouth fish to go missing and then mysteriously turn up. Yours may be hiding behind the heater or filter intake.

Do you have a good lid and did you check the floor around the tank? Otos are not particularly good jumpers, but you never know...

I hope this isn't the case, but it's also possible that the fish died and the tankmates ate the remains. I've had that happen to several corys over the years.

 

[mom2reds]

What other fish do you have in the tank? If there are other fish in the tank they may have been eaten. Or they could just be hiding really really good they are good at that. I lost mine for about two weeks thought the other fish eat him but then he just showed up on day. Keep looking

 

[Alshain]

Otos excel at the game of hide and go freak. Probably the best fish there is in fact. Their small size and hatred of anything involving illumination makes them perfect for it. It is unlikely they jumped, though not impossible.

How big is the tank?
How many plants/ornaments in the tank?
How many fish and what types are in the tank?
Does the tank have a lid?
If no, how high do you keep the water level?

Tip: Turn off all your lights and tank lights. Wait an hour. Turn on your lights and look quick.

 

[masai_chadi]

Didn't realise these creatures were good at hide and seek game. I will have to search in all the nooks and crannies.

My tank does have a good lid, and I doubt it would have jumped out the tank.

 

[masai_chadi]

I am gob-smacked. I cleaned my tank and removed all ornaments and shuffled gravels. No sign of the missing cat fish. I dont believe it is eaten by other fishes - otherwise I would have seen some skeletons!

 

[bra_van_drakh]

what other fish do you have ??? 4 of my 20 cardinals also disappeared without any trace, no skeleton at all, i thought it was finished by my mystery shrimps earlier[had them moved to bichir's tank - butchered^^]. ..r u keeping some shrimps or snails ??? they're fast in cleaning corpses, the bones might be hidden within ur substrate.. .

 

[tropicfishman]

I've had clown loach's disapear for days in my planted 29 gallon tank, so I go and buy another one only to have the missing one return lol I hope your oto turns up though

 

[masai_chadi]

I have 10g tank with:

3 neons
3 black skirts
1 cichlid
1 cat fish (1 missing).

 

[tropicfishman]

hmmm not much room to hide in a 10 gallon lol did you check under whatever the tank is setting on and in about a 15 foot radius all around it? any cats that could have found him if he did happen to come outta the tank?

 

[bra_van_drakh]

owhh. . .i'm having a little suspicion on ur cichlid there LOL^^.. .i found them very nasty to their neighbours. . .

 

[masai_chadi]

Interesting. My son keeps saying that he is seeing greyish black catfish-like figure in the cichlid's tummy!

This matter is somewhat funny but am seriously wondering how 1 cat fish could go missing.

 

[bra_van_drakh]

your son might be right somehow. ..cichlids are nasty most of the time. ..

 

[black hills tj]

What kind of cichlid is in the tank? 10g is too small for most cichlids unless you look at the dwarves from SA.

 

[JustOneMore20]

What kind of cichlid do you have? 10g is quite small for most cichlids....

In 3 days the fish could have died and the others eaten the leftovers. With small fish, you may not even find the skeleton.

 

[black hills tj]

What kind of cichlid do you have? 10g is quite small for most cichlids....

In 3 days the fish could have died and the others eaten the leftovers. With small fish, you may not even find the skeleton.

Haha...1 minute apart. Great minds think alike

 

[masai_chadi]

My cichlid is Golden Ram

 

[black hills tj]

Oh if that's the case I don't think the cichlid would be the problem.

 

[masai_chadi]

Oh Lord! I have lost one of my neons. YEsterday, there were 3 happilly swimming around. This morning 1 disappeared. I changed some water today (my usual Saturday chore) and moved some ornaments around that it did not come out.

Is one or more is eating each other? Could it be that the bigger fishes (cichlids or black skirts) are eating other fishes?

 

[black hills tj]

For a while my black skirt tetra was being a little aggressive, it has calmed down as it aged though. I don't think the Cichlid would be a problem unless it is much bigger than everything else in the tank.