Firefish.... Houdini ??

[penguinfree]

I just dropped three firefish gobies in the tank yesterday, and all three were looking happy right up till the lighting shut down. This morning I only see one ? He's eating well and looking comfy (well, except seeming a little nervous when the tangs try to school behind him). My tank's got a full canopy around the top and the water level is a good inch from the top of the tank; it wouldn't be easy to hop out of there without just flopping around inside the canopy a little and falling back into the tank. I don't see or smell any evidence of carpet surfers; but then I wouldn't put it past the dog to beat me to them if they did get loose. With my peppermint shrimp, it's easy to get why sightings are rare... but these guys have me a little baffled. The remaining firefish doesn't seem interested in the rocks and caves at all. What's the likely scenario ? Dead firefish deep in the crevices someplace ? Or hiding too deep in the rocks to see ?

 

[snorvich]

Well, three firefish will become one over time (within four months) but they are notorious jumpers.

 

[Coelli]

I added one and it disappeared 3 days later. Never saw it again, and it didn't jump. Still no sign of it when we broke the tank down.

 

[ThRoewer]

They are notorious jumpers but usually fish don't jump unless they have a reason like for example bad water quality, being hunted, being disoriented...

What other fish or inverts (crabs, anemones, LPS corals,...) do you have in your tank?

There are a lot of things around that like a little midnight snack and firefish have the ideal shape to go down easy...

In my beginner days I had a hawkfish and wondered why all the small fish and shrimp ether would disappear without a trace or jump out. That was until I added a cleaner shrimp and soon after found the hawkfish with the shrimp's antennae still hanging out of his mouth. That guy had taken anything small I added for food and swallowed all that couldn't escape by jumping out. The store where I bought the hawkfish told me they are peaceful...

Well, three firefish will become one over time (within four months) ....

Why that?

 

[snorvich]

Why that?

Firefish get along fine at the LFS where they have not established territories so you can keep 20 in a 40 gallon breeder. Once they establish, unless you accidentally happen to find a pair that will bond, the most aggressive one begins to harass the passive one(s) so they hide and then starve to death. Usually takes 3-4 months or there about. Occasionally, two firefish that are different species will work, but it is a roll of the dice. Perhaps one time out of three (?) is my estimate. Now if the OP has a fish that is already harassing firefish, it is likely to lose all three.

 

[EI Gringo]

Firefish are real buggers :L either get fights and deaths or get lucky and then sometime down the line get fights and deaths, not a reliable community fish with its own kind. I prefer to keep them singly

 

[snorvich]

Firefish are real buggers :L either get fights and deaths or get lucky and then sometime down the line get fights and deaths, not a reliable community fish with its own kind. I prefer to keep them singly

Singly even, can be a problem if you have a tank mate that harasses planktivores.

 

[penguinfree]

Sorry it's taken me a bit to get back to the computer. To add a little more detail, it's a 120 gallon with LR and corals. As far as parameters, temp set at 76, spgr 1.0245, pH about 8.3, no ammonia or nitrite, nitrate about 10ppm, carbonate hardness a little low of what I'd like at ~9dkh, Ca 450mg/l, Mg a little high about 1400mg/l. It's a pretty new setup, so I've been watching chem closely. Just moved everyone into it from a 56gallon last week; using 160 lbs of new sand, but moving all the live rock from the old tank as well as using the wet/dry from it (live rock and matrix media, and a little activated charcoal) without disturbing anything in there. As insurance I've also been dosing stability.

As far as tankmates, there are a cinnamon clown, a kole tang, a yellow tang, a hippo tang, a scopus tang, a sailfin tang, and a powder blue tang, all little guys about 2 inches not counting the tail. Also a few emerald crabs and little scarlet hermits. Tonight I did find one of the firefish dead in a spot I jussssst baaaaarely can't reach :/

None of the other fish had really been harassing the firefish noticeably, although the yellow tang has been a little curious about the remaining firefish off and on today. No agrressive body language though.

 

[ThRoewer]

I kind of get the feeling you didn't quarantine them, did you?

BTW: Pairs are fairly easy with firefish as male and female have differently shaped genital papillae: males thin and pointy, females thick and rounded. You may have to bend them a bit to get the papillae to protrude though.

 

[penguinfree]

You're correct sir, I didn't quarantine :/ I just acclimated them over about a 15 minute time period before letting them free into the tank. The one that didn't disappear is still happily cruising around the tank, and the other fish have about gotten over their curiosity about him.

 

[MellowReefer]

I kind of get the feeling you didn't quarantine them, did you?

BTW: Pairs are fairly easy with firefish as male and female have differently shaped genital papillae: males thin and pointy, females thick and rounded. You may have to bend them a bit to get the papillae to protrude though.

You may have to bend them a bit? Are you talking about when you are holding the fish in your hand? (I'm imagining myself asking the employee at my LFS if I can inspect the firefish's genitals before I buy them.)

 

[MrDemonicAngel]

My past experience with firefish is also like yours where it just disappeared...do you have an overflow section?

 

[tc2007]

Assuming they
1) did not jump,
2) not in the sump,

the guy that is outside has beaten the s**t out of the other 2 and they are either dead, dying or hiding.
If you verified 1 and 2, maybe take out the guy that's happy and give him back or put him somewhere else (in a timeout box in the tank?) and see if the other 2 come out.

 

[tc2007]

My firefish went into hiding for several weeks because it possibly was afraid or being harassed by someone else. When it came out it was weak. I thought I will loose it but it started eating and hanging out more and more outside. After a few months, it is happy and swimming outside for the most part. Knock on wood!

 

[ThRoewer]

You may have to bend them a bit? Are you talking about when you are holding the fish in your hand? (I'm imagining myself asking the employee at my LFS if I can inspect the firefish's genitals before I buy them.)

No need to take the fish out of the tank. I hold them against the glass, one finger under the head/throat, one finger under the tail and a little pressure with the thumb on the back. That usually causes the genital papillae to show.

If you are able to convince your LFS that you know what you are doing they usually let you do it. I never had much problems.

 

[MellowReefer]

No need to take the fish out of the tank. I hold them against the glass, one finger under the head/throat, one finger under the tail and a little pressure with the thumb on the back. That usually causes the genital papillae to show.

If you are able to convince your LFS that you know what you are doing they usually let you do it. I never had much problems.

That's cool. If I ever want to get a pair maybe I'll ask you to meet me at an LFS in Fremont (just name your fee!)

 

[snorvich]

With six tangs in a 120 gallon tank, the OP has more serious issues than missing firefish.