Fish disappearing?

[Sillyfishies]

I've had a total of 4 fish just disappear.
1x lawnmower blenny
1x bangaii cardinal
1x blue-green chromis
1x bicolor dotty back

All the fish were fat and happy prior to disappearing. All my SPS and anemones are happy and have good polyp extension. No jumpers and none of them made it to the sump/overflow. I honestly don't know. This all is happening recently. I had a giant sally lightfoot crab I haven't seen in a while. Could he be the culprit?

 

[Oscarr19]

As with all crabs, they are opportunistic feeders, so it is possible. How long have they been missing for? How long were they in the tank? Any pets that could've snacked on the fish if they jumped?

 

[Sillyfishies]

As with all crabs, they are opportunistic feeders, so it is possible. How long have they been missing for? How long were they in the tank? Any pets that could've snacked on the fish if they jumped?

My tank is covered with glass tops and has a canopy. And the only holes are in the back and the wall is right against the wall.

The fish have all been gone for 1-3 days. The blenny a little longer. I've had them for 2 months and the previous owner of the tank had them for an unknown amount of time (he had the tank for 1 year)

 

[Oscarr19]

I wouldn't be surprised if the blenny is still in there somewhere. My old lawnmower would go missing for a few days and then I'd see him poking out from a rock.

Other than that, I'm not sure. Have you tested your water recently?

Maybe someone's else has some other theories.

 

[treemanone2003]

What size is/was the crab the last time you saw it ? As Oscarr said, they are opportunistic and the larger they get, the more aggressive they become and more of a chance it could be the culprit.


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[Sillyfishies]

It was about 3 inches across. Maybe a bit more.

 

[Sillyfishies]

This weekend I'm planning on breaking down the tank this weekend to get the crab out. Do you think this will have adverse effects on my anemones or SPS?

 

[kyliewiley]

Just wondering what other inverts you have? I experienced a few "mysterious" disappearances a few years ago, turned out to be my rather large brittle star. I actually witnessed it grab a perfectly healthy green chromi

 

[Sillyfishies]

I dont really have anything else.

Another fish down today. Most of my stock is gone. Does anybody else have ideas? I'm tearing the tank down today and trying to find the sally crab.

After that I'm left with just tearing down the tank and starting with new rock and try to find someone to babysit my fish or coral until my tank cycles

 

[Sillyfishies]

After tearing down the tank, all I found was my sally crab, dead. So this doesn't seem to make much sense. Not sure if I should just restart the whole tank.


On the brightside, I found my bicolor dottyback in my overflow.

 

[Oscarr19]

That's weird. I don't think it could have been anything else, especially if you're parameters were good and the inhabitants were healthy.

 

[Sillyfishies]

That's weird. I don't think it could have been anything else, especially if you're parameters were good and the inhabitants were healthy.

My nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia are all still 0. Not sure what to do. I'm sure if my water was off, my birdnest/monti/anemones would be mad at me. And I wanted to add there is no signs of disease before hand. They all look happy and then *poof*.

 

[54seaweed]

what kind of nems if not kept well fed some will eat fish
ive also found fish i lost 2/3 months in my sump happy and alive
my sump is dark and enclosed unless i tear it down to clean it i dont see nothing

 

[Sillyfishies]

what kind of nems if not kept well fed some will eat fish
ive also found fish i lost 2/3 months in my sump happy and alive
my sump is dark and enclosed unless i tear it down to clean it i dont see nothing

They're 2 smallish bubble tip. No fish eaters here.

Also my sump is pretty lit up. my refugium is just a wall of rock then cheato on top. I already went through the whole sump and didn't find any fish.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Edit: oops i missed reading the 2nd page before posting my comment. Could be something you feed them is contaminated or expired.

 

[Ingy]

Are you sure you found the dead crab and not just a molt? They look very much like a crab except they're empty.


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[Sillyfishies]

Are you sure you found the dead crab and not just a molt? They look very much like a crab except they're empty.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

When I looked through the side of the head, you could see the "bones?" going through. So it was mostly hollow except for lines of bone connecting the top and bottom. Do you still think it could have been the molt?

 

[kyliewiley]

I'd say you've definitely found the remains of your crab there and not the moult! I really feel for you, can't imagine anything worse than losing everything in such a short space of time!

 

[jeffaquarius]

Another possibility is that it could be a combination of several things. Since your crab vanished first long before the fish as indicated by the skeleton, it must have affected your water in some way due to its size. If you don't have a sump, your oxygen level at night could have been depleted since your tank is fully covered.

 

[Sillyfishies]

Another possibility is that it could be a combination of several things. Since your crab vanished first long before the fish as indicated by the skeleton, it must have affected your water in some way due to its size. If you don't have a sump, your oxygen level at night could have been depleted since your tank is fully covered.

I do have a sump and my canopy does not have a top. Also, my total water volume is 110 gallonish so I dont think 1 crab would make a difference.