HELP!! My fish are being abducted!!

B

Bowshock

New member
I've got a 24g Nanocube that's been up and running for a couple of months now. It used to have:

(initial livestock)
Various clean up crew
1 Yellow clown goby
1 Green goby
1 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Coral Banded Shrimp

(added later)
2 Clown fish
1 Long Tenticle Anenome


The first fish to be abducted was the yellow clown goby. The tank is at my office. I left on Friday and he was fine. Came back in on Monday and he was gone. Checked the back of the tank, no go. Basted the rocks expecting to have a carcus come out of the rock.....nothing there. Figured he died and the CUC took care of the remains. Fast for Fast forward about 2 weeks. I then added the clown fish and anenome. Everything was going well for about a week and a half.

On Tuesday last week the green goby was happily swimming around. On Wednesday, he was gone. No bones, no floating bits of fish. Nothing. Now I'm getting suspicious. I thought that maybe the anenome got him. Oh well that's reef life right? I came in on today to find only 1 clown fish and once again no remains.

I haven't tested yet today, but there hasn't been an amonia spike like I would expect if they're poor little fishy bodies are rotting in the tank.

The only conclusion I can come up with is....ALIENS!!!

I would love any other thoughts you guys might have though before I report this to the FBI or wherever alien abductions are reported.

Thanks!
 
Do you have any crabs other than hermits. Sometime sally's and emeralds as they get bigger will eat what they can catch. It is highly possible that they are getting ate at night. Maybe you have a hitchhiker that you dont get to see. Do the fish seem healthy prior to the disappearances. I dont think it would be a problem for most clean up crews to eat a small fish like a goby overnight. How big was the clown that came up missing?
 
Maybe a fish eating brittle star as part of the clean up crew? Green brittles are notorious for eating fish, and I have seen the black ones try too.
 
The yellow gobies was small, but the clown fish and the green goby were both about 2" in length.

I think I have a couple of brittle stars in the tank, but they can't be that big. They tend to hide in the rock crevices so it's hard to find them. I acutally thought they had died until I saw 1 arm just today.

Any ideas on how to find/capture the dasterdly creature?
 
Wouldn't the anemone be a very probable explanation to fish disappearances? I thought "long tentacle" was just another name for the condylactis, which likes to eat fish, no?
 
I would try a trap since its at work and you dont get to observe it at night. I think this is Jesse's design. Take a water bottle or soda bottle and clean it. Cut the top off and put it back in backwards. I would then put a piece of silverside in it. Leave it at the bottom of the tank overnight and see whats in there in the morning. I have been trying to catch a pistol shrimp this way but the only luck I have had is with pods, crabs and worms. Good luck...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11402706#post11402706 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jasonh
Wouldn't the anemone be a very probable explanation to fish disappearances? I thought "long tentacle" was just another name for the condylactis, which likes to eat fish, no?
Click to expand...

I thought that might be the case, but I didn't think it would eat the Clown fish. Plus the yellow goby disappeared before the anenome was added.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11402776#post11402776 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hermanx7
I would try a trap since its at work and you dont get to observe it at night. I think this is Jesse's design. Take a water bottle or soda bottle and clean it. Cut the top off and put it back in backwards. I would then put a piece of silverside in it. Leave it at the bottom of the tank overnight and see whats in there in the morning. I have been trying to catch a pistol shrimp this way but the only luck I have had is with pods, crabs and worms. Good luck...
Click to expand...

I'll give this a try. I definately wont be buying any fish until I get this figured out.

:confused:
 
I have a really large green brittle that has snagged any wrasses I've put into the tank. He's not gotten any water column fish nor has he been able to take on the Percs. but I've seen him "fishing" and small fish or sand sleepers would be gonners. But he's a very effective scavenger.
 
I have watched brittle stars go fishing, at night mine would go up the glass, hang off of the egg crate, drop with all five arms spread out as wide as possible, lost three clowns this way.
 
Sounds like you've got crabs! ;)

Or maybe just one. I'd check at night if you can while the fish are sleeping.
 
One additional thought--have you looked in the back chambers (with a flashlight)?
I had an osc. clown jump back there one night-only reason I caught it was I head a swish noise.
 
The only conclusion I can come up with is....ALIENS!!!


You said you have this in your office ???
Do you work with others ?? that may have a key to your office ??

Perhaps you don't have aliens but 5 finger willy. honestly the first thing that popped in my head since I have seen it happen to one of the docs here at the hospital. The janitor was stealing his fish as he put them in there. :(
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11406795#post11406795 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JMCAquarium

Perhaps you don't have aliens but 5 finger willy. honestly the first thing that popped in my head since I have seen it happen to one of the docs here at the hospital. The janitor was stealing his fish as he put them in there. :(
Click to expand...

dubya-tee-eff? How messed up is that.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11408577#post11408577 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JMCAquarium
You lost me man what you say there ?
Click to expand...

You don't get it? Say it again, but a little slower this time.

That was by far the best spelling of an acronym to sneak it by the swear bots on many sites. Pure genius.
 
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