leaving dead fish in the tank.

[DaveG99]

I had a small firfish die on me. Hes in the back under the rocks in a hard to reach place. There are about 4-5 hermits having a firfish buffet right now. Should I leave him there? I am going to do a water change tonight incase nitrates are built up from this.

 

[SeanT]

I would remove the fish now.
The crabs got a snack and your water quality is more a priority than their buffet.

 

[cloak]

I'd leave it be. If the hermits don't finish it off something else will. Keep up on the water changes though.

 

[McCrary]

I doubt its going to do much, the water change should help out too.

 

[TarheelFrag]

If you have enough to clean him up in a couple days or less then I would let him be. I would perform about a 10%-15% water change tonight or tomorow. Then I would perform another 10% water change around the end of the week just to be safe. Keep an eye on on your Nitrites!

 

[DaveG99]

i tried to reach and get him but it isnt happening with removing the rock. I just did a 10% water change. Gonna do another one wednesday.

 

[Fishfreak218]

I left a Powder Blue Tang in my 90g. after he died... mainly because I couldnt get to him.. I didnt see any bad affects and he was eaten in about 3 days..

 

[TarheelFrag]

I would rather over do it with the water changes after a death in the tank. One death could cause a hell of a problem if you don't catch it in time.

 

[reefinmike]

hermits should eat him very fast. nassarious even faster if you have any. ive seen nassarious' completely consume a damsel in 15 minutes

 

[Roy G. Biv]

Fish die in my tank and I always thought they disintegrated. Poof and away they went. The last 4 fish that died on me never left a corpse for me to find.

 

[samsfishnchips]

DaveG99,

do a few water changes and don't worry about,

sam

 

[DouglasTiede]

Let it be! Water changes are way too expensive to do just because you think something might someday happen.... Your snails and other crew should clean it up by the time I hit [Submit Reply]. Unless you tank is about ready to spike for some other reason you forgot to mention. Just let him be food and all will be ok.

 

[sfilingeri]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10078465#post10078465 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DouglasTiede
Let it be! Water changes are way too expensive to do just because you think something might someday happen.... Your snails and other crew should clean it up by the time I hit [Submit Reply]. Unless you tank is about ready to spike for some other reason you forgot to mention. Just let him be food and all will be ok.

I second this...........keep your eyes on your water para....

 

[RichConley]

Its a firefish in a 46g tank. If the parameters even move, you've got much larger problems than a dead firefish.

Your tank handles more waste than this every day. Dont worry about it.

 

[DaveG99]

thanks.....it didnt last long. the hermits finished and have spread out again. i cant even see any signs of the fire fish. I think i may try another one and hope it lives.

 

[pledosophy]

It depends why the fish died. There are more concerns then just the waste produced. IMO the waste is not even a concern, but if the fish died do to internal parasites, or bacterial disease and you allow your other stock to eat the carcass, well now you have a bigger problem.