Missing fish?

[Aqua315]

Hi everyone! I have a 28g tank with neons and barbs. I USED to have 8 neons. 4 albino cherry barbs and 2 gold barbs. I haven't done a count in a few days due to being busy but after counting today I realized I'm missing 2 fish! I moved all the decorations to make sure they weren't hiding but they're no where to be found! I'm missing 1 neon and 1 albino cherry barb. My water tests are fine. Could they have died and been eaten by the other fish? I've had them for about a month now, what could have killed them? There are no signs of any sickness.

 

[cabezon]

They were hiding in the decorations. Go count again. Try it at feeding time.

 

[Aqua315]

They were hiding in the decorations. Go count again. Try it at feeding time.

I've checked and double checked, even put in some food and still no sign of them. They're not hiding in the decorations because I upended them all and checked.

 

[roundar]

If you've completely removed the decorations and still don't see them, try checking your filter tubes/filter. They may have jumped out of the tank. They definitely haven't left the general vicinity of the tank however. Unless you have other pets...

 

[Aqua315]

If you've completely removed the decorations and still don't see them, try checking your filter tubes/filter. They may have jumped out of the tank. They definitely haven't left the general vicinity of the tank however. Unless you have other pets...

I checked the filter just in case (even though there's no way for them to get in there) and there's nothing. I also checked around the tank and nothing. The lid is very secure so I don't think they could have jumped. As I said, it has been a few days since I last counted. I've heard neons can be pretty aggressive scavengers so is it possible the bodies were eaten?

I'm more worried about that fact that if they did die, what caused it? I've been taking really good care of this tank and was so happy at how well everyone seemed to be doing. Can some fish die with no cause?

 

[roundar]

Definitely not. But, the cause can be a number of things that were unpreventable, and not really caused by tank conditions. You checked parameters and everything's fine, I doubt I'd worry to much about it.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Same thing happened to a couple of my cardinals on 2 different occasions. The other fish can bully them and they can most certainly die, especially if it's the weak one of the pack. Your neons, as with my cardinals, have a reputation to be pretty sensitive and can die from stress and a number of things. If you ruled out them hiding or getting sucked up by your filter, most likely they died and your other fish cannibalized them pretty quick, which can happen in one day real easy. Cherry Barbs on the other hand are known to be hardy but no fish is invisible, the same fate could have happened to it as well.

 

[cabezon]

There'd be bones. I'm telling ou, the little sons of guns are playing fort. I know you pulled out the decorations.but there is water still in them.

 

[LyndaB]

Neons, in my experience, are really fragile these days. I'm not at all surprised that you would lose a new neon. The barb is another matter. I know that tiger barbs are notorious for pecking at other tigers, not sure about your species.

 

[roundar]

Neons, in my experience, are really fragile these days. I'm not at all surprised that you would lose a new neon. The barb is another matter. I know that tiger barbs are notorious for pecking at other tigers, not sure about your species.

Interestingly enough neons used to be more fragile. There was a time when neons were by no means considered a beginner fish like they seem to be now. It is possible that a few strains are becoming fragile through inbreeding however.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

There'd be bones.

True but in a 28g and depending on the type of substrate, decor, and plants, small bones would be very hard to find. Harder than trying to find them alive hiding in the tank. If any of them died, the other fish would've made short change of them in a snap. Especially if the tank has a light colored gravel, those bones would be hard to spot in the background easy.

 

[brian7]

I thought i would use this thread since it is already started...

I have a missing tiger barb. I noticed one morning he was swimming funny (he would kind get pushed around but bubble curtain, but was still alive) and he had a fat belly (maybe a digestive problem... couldnt go poo). Anyways im sure he died after they way he was acting and i dont see it during feeding. i have not moved the decor, the only place it could be is under wood or in house... But could the fish of ate it? (danios, tiger barbs, small angel fish, small rainbow shark, small clown pleco)

 

[LyndaB]

Healthy fish will consume dead or dying fish in order to keep the bacteria level in their environment in check. Almost any fish will nibble on a carcass.

 

[brian7]

i did not even see the body though.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

i did not even see the body though.

Well move the decor around, check under the wood or castle as you mentioned you haven't checked there yet. If you don't have a lid or if there's an opening, check to see if it jumped out. Check the filter. You'll find him or his remains at least. Fish cannibalize the dead quickly, so if there are any remains it would be minuscule.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I meant "house" not castle... LOL

 

[LyndaB]

You sure you didn't mean "man cave"?

 

[brian7]

ok ill have to check around for it. i do have a lid on at all times besides water changes which i havent done one since, and i would have seen it on the floor. hard to see how it could of gotten in filter, as for whole on intake are very small.

 

[LyndaB]

My husband's tank had a 4 inch flying fox along with smallish goldfish. One day, the fox went missing. We looked everywhere, did a complete search of the filter components, all decor and substrate and he was nowhwere to be found. We never found bones or any debris indicating what happened. He literally disappeared. There won't necessarily be bones left, in my opinion. I have had a variety of fish go missing over the years and only once did I find a head, but the rest were just gone.

I should note that we had seen the fox that evening before bed and in the morning, he was gone. It didn't take long for him to be consumed completely, which is what I presume happened to him.

 

[brian7]

i found it i finally moved the house and it was in there. didnt seem like anything tried to eat it which im surprised