I'm missing a fish....and war just happened.

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reefguy24

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The past 3 hours have been the worst time in my tanks entire life. I'm sitting on my couch stressed out from a huge war that just happened.

I got my tank ~6 months ago-ish. It's a JBJ 24ga nano tank.

Two weeks ago, I had to move into a new home. So I moved the tank.

I originally had two clowns and a purple pseudochromis. The purple psuedochromis had popeye....and he's now blind in one eye. Or should I say "he was", but we'll get to that part later.

About 2 months ago, one of the clowns jumped over the divider and got caught up in the propeller of the pump. RIP.

So now there was one clown and the purple pseduochromis who's blind in one eye.

I moved the tank successfully into my new home 2 weeks ago.

Today, being the first day I had to change the water in 2 weeks (I usually do a ~3-5 gallon water change every 7 days, religiously) due to the move.

So after I did the water change, the trouble started. My local fish store had some really cool looking picasso clown fish. They were of a "low" grade and as such only priced at $40.

I have been meaning to get a new pair of clowns and decided to re-home my current clownfish. The local fish store promised they wouldn't kill him (since I have spent so much money with them) and they promised to give him a good home.

So after I did the water change this morning, I got out the net and scooped up the clownfish. Took me all of 10 seconds to capture him.

So I drove to the local fish store and donated the clownfish to the middle tank. I was in there for a few so right as I was leaving, they let me turn the clownfish loose into his new 100gallon home that has a mature reef (store display tank).

Feeling really good about myself for finding the clown a good home, I purchased the two "designer" clownfish for a grand total of $80 and tax.

I get home and drip acclimate the clowns for about 2 hours. After 2 hours, I netted them and put them in my tank.

This is where the trouble started. The blind-in-one-eye purple psuedochromis did NOT like his new neighbors. He kept pecking and pecking at them.....until I realized it was either the clowns or the purple psuedochromis.

So I called the fish store and they said they have a place for him in another display reef tank in their store.

Sweet! Two good homes in one day. What luck!

So now all I had to do was catch the purple pseudochromis.......[profanity]

For 1 hour, I tried to net that stupid fish. He had dug himself a little burrow under the rockwork and it was a game of cat and mouse.

After 1 hour I kinda sorta lost my temper....being that I was being bested by a 3" fish with only 1 eye.

Removed~dc

So the testosterone kicked in inside my head and I got a bucket and started removing rock after rock after rock in my tank.

One way or another I'm going to get this sucker.

For the next hour I chased that fish around the tank with two nets, while I was trying to balance a rock that had my maxima clam attached to it, and not take the rock and the clam out of the water.

By this time, my two Savannah jungle cats had settled in and were watching the show. Water was everywhere, I was cussing up and down, I could see my new neighbors walking by my front window, looking at me as I was swearing up a storm because I could not catch the fish.

So I get down to the last rock.....and the purple psuedochromis is nowhere to be found.

I took apart my entire tank.....and he's gone. He didn't jump. I highly doubt he burrowed into the sand......he's not in the 3 chambers behind the false wall in the back.

He's not in the bucket I was temporarily storing the live rock.

He's NOWHERE to be found.

There's at least a gallon of water spilled on my new carpet. I accidentally spilled a lot of water on my power strip, and when I plugged everything back in....I smelled "electrical", so I unplugged it and just plugged the lights and pump and heater into the wall.

I'm sitting on the couch, trying to calm down as I write this post. My blood pressure is through the roof.
So I put all the rocks back, and I hope I just didn't nuke my tank. It's been about 30 minutes since the ordeal and all corals and the clam are "open" so that's a good sign....

But I cannot find that stupid fish.


Today I got bested by a one-eyed purple psuedochromis [profanity]

He put up a good fight.


I don't know what to do now?
 
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Here's what the tank looked like during the 1st hour of me trying to catch the psuedochromis:



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/edit...I tried to post an image but it's nor parsing for some reason due to mod control maybe?
 
Oh man! Does not sound fun, but I feel your pain. While switching my brackish tank I was able to transfer the puffers and scat with no issues. Getting the knight goby was a different story. After taking everything out to get him he was gone! Finally figured out he somehow managed to get inside a dead tree decoration. After 45 mins of fully deconstructing the tank it was as easy as putting the stupid decoration in the new tank.
From what it sounds like of he re-appears he should stay.
Off topic, what generation Savannah's do you have?
 
I think we've all experienced something similar. I'll bet that sucker's hiding in a bolt-hole in one of the rocks.
 
Ok so when I made this post, the fish was gone.


About an hour later I saw the fish swimming in the now re-arranged tank.


This entire day has been a huge disaster. I hope I didn't kill anything trying to capture that stupid fish.


The running theory is that he hid under the sand bed.....because he could not have been in the rocks. I took every single rock out of the tank.


I have decided to let the purple pseudochromis stay in the tank.....he's not bothering the other clowns now, presumably due to an entirely re-arranged tank.


Wow.....what a day. I hope none of you have to go through this nightmare that I went through.
 
Oh man! Does not sound fun, but I feel your pain. While switching my brackish tank I was able to transfer the puffers and scat with no issues. Getting the knight goby was a different story. After taking everything out to get him he was gone! Finally figured out he somehow managed to get inside a dead tree decoration. After 45 mins of fully deconstructing the tank it was as easy as putting the stupid decoration in the new tank.
From what it sounds like of he re-appears he should stay.
Off topic, what generation Savannah's do you have?


I got an F2 and an F4c Savannah.

Here's a picture of the F2 Savannah checking out the tank:


1520716_1407162922864564_862257798_n.jpg
 
Purple pseudo is known to be aggressive to new comers...so best advise is to remove it while you can!
It will be a problem every time you add a new fish

Also 2 hrs is too long for drip acclimation
 
Well cuss at home, not here. Sounds like my chromis/damsel experience.
 
I would say that the purple psuedochromis is most likely done attacking the clowns since they are no longer in "his" tank.

I had a psuedochromis in a temporary tank with about 3 rocks in it. I added a goby in there and it got attacked right away. I take both fish out put them in a cup for about 3 minutes while I move the rocks around put them back in an no more aggression.

But if anymore fish are added your purple psuedochromis will go back on the attack.
 
I would say that the purple psuedochromis is most likely done attacking the clowns since they are no longer in "his" tank.

I had a psuedochromis in a temporary tank with about 3 rocks in it. I added a goby in there and it got attacked right away. I take both fish out put them in a cup for about 3 minutes while I move the rocks around put them back in an no more aggression.

But if anymore fish are added your purple psuedochromis will go back on the attack.

OP here. So knock on wood...the purple, one eye, pseudochromis has stopped attacking the two clowns.

HOWEVER....the yellow watchman goby that I bought yesterday? MIA

He was floating on the top of the water during the war.....more "swimming" than floating. I cannot find hide nor hair of him.

The two new clowns are busy swimming the length of the tank, and attempting to acclimate.

The purple pseudochromis is attempting to build a new burrow as the rockwork is completely "different" than before....so like you said, it's no longer "his" tank anymore because everything he build got destroyed in the war and the rocks are in different positions.

He's zipping in and out of the rock crevaces now.

What a disaster yesterday.

I would not advise anyone to get one of these fishes as he's very aggressive towards new tank mates and he's just a [profanity] to everyone. Napoleon complex going on here with him.
 
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OMGosh, I could only picture this in my mind. I also had a smile while reading this post, Grinning ear to ear with little giggles here and there.. I believe we've all gone through similar events time to time. First thing I do is drip while the bag floats inside the tank as they all can go visit the new room-mates. My blue hippo hates new mates and will go behind the glass and bang on it.
I also try to get the fish late in the evening so I can get it acclimated and put him in when the blue lights come on and fish are ready for bed(less aggressive) and calm.

I have had to take my 180 apart trying to catch a SW lobster that decided he didn't want to scurry the bottom for left overs but decided to catch fish while sleeping. Lost a powder/clown/wrasse in one week. I caught him eating the powder while it was still alive, so he had to go. I even tried to catch him with a tiny DIY crab pot Lol', three hours and 150lbs of rocked removed I got him.

We all go through things and I'm pretty sure you are cracking a smile about now, and it makes for a good story. Hehe, can't wait for the next, hair pull post.
 
OMGosh, I could only picture this in my mind. I also had a smile while reading this post, Grinning ear to ear with little giggles here and there.. I believe we've all gone through similar events time to time. First thing I do is drip while the bag floats inside the tank as they all can go visit the new room-mates. My blue hippo hates new mates and will go behind the glass and bang on it.
I also try to get the fish late in the evening so I can get it acclimated and put him in when the blue lights come on and fish are ready for bed(less aggressive) and calm.

I have had to take my 180 apart trying to catch a SW lobster that decided he didn't want to scurry the bottom for left overs but decided to catch fish while sleeping. Lost a powder/clown/wrasse in one week. I caught him eating the powder while it was still alive, so he had to go. I even tried to catch him with a tiny DIY crab pot Lol', three hours and 150lbs of rocked removed I got him.

We all go through things and I'm pretty sure you are cracking a smile about now, and it makes for a good story. Hehe, can't wait for the next, hair pull post.

Not exactly....because the main purpose was to catch the one-eyed purple pseudochromis.....and now I cringe at having to capture him.

He was easy enough to capture the first time when I moved the tank into the new home....the water level was low and there were no rocks (they were all in buckets).

But apparently he has some sort of memory and realizes he had better escape otherwise he's going to get caught.

Anyways.....the tank is now "mature" and I need to focus on finding corals that won't cost an arm and a leg. Being that most of them are upwards of $60 each....I might just forgo eating out a few times each month and use those monies to stock the tank with nice corals.
 
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