Missing fish

[kmbyrnes]

I have lost 2 fish in the last week. Not cheap ones either.
No sign of disease, no carcasses, no bones. Just .... POOF!
The tank is a 350 FOWLR, established last November using dry rock and sand, so unknown predators are unlikely.
The only known carnivore is an anemone hermit crab - dardanus spp.
He has been a great tank dweller so far. Has he developed a taste for $200 sushi?
Any other possibilities?

 

[Silly clownfish]

I'm sorry for your losses. I went through a similiar scenario 2 and a half weeks ago when my Randall's goby suddenly disappeared without a trace and no symptoms. All I could come up with was some kind of trama like trying to jump out, but getting injured hitting the canopy, or a pice of live rock falling and crushing him.

My story has a happy ending though - this morning, after 2 1/2 weeks he reappeared. No clue where he was. He normally never misses coming out for a meal and I didn't see him for meals in that time.

 

[Cliving1]

A little more...what else is in the tank? Anything different in maintenance? What type of fish went missing?

 

[CStrickland]

Do you have a lid?

I lost a goby once and never found the remains. But for like 4-5 days my herbie drain was on the fritz. Eventually it clicked for me that he'd gotten past my overflow defenses and been caught in the plumbing somewhere. Once he rotted away the nitrates spiked and the drainage went back to normal.

 

[kmbyrnes]

Lost fish are a 4.5" Goldflake angel and 2.5" Pearlscale butterfly.
Crab is currently in the sump.

Tank is a 10' Eurobraced acrylic, no lids but a 2' tall canopy covers 100%. Any jumpers would likely be contained. And no bodies found.
Overflow weirs go all the way to the bracing, so a fish would have to jump up and over a 3" ledge to reach the overflows and both fish are too large to fit down the drains without blocking the gate valve.

The only change is that I switched from regular IO to Reef Crystals over the last month, to see if the Reef would do better. The other 3 tanks were also switched without any losses.



Tank mates are:

2 Sailfin Tangs
Chevron Tang
Powder Blue Tang
Naso Tang
Koran Angel
Flagfin Angel
Red Coris Wrasse
Rusty Angel
Eibli Angel
Coral Beauty
Pakistani Butterfly
Yellow Long Nose Butterfly
Declivis Butterfly
Vagabond Butterfly
Yellowhead Butterfly
Dotdash Butterfly
Heniochus
Moorish Idol
Sargeant Major Damsel
Javanese Damsel

 

[g_langley]

This happened to me with a Xanthid crab hitcher on the LR. But that being said my tank is only just over 1 year old and your's is much older (2013), so would have expected this to have happened much earlier if were that. But maybe something along those line if you have LR.

 

[g_langley]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+501+624&pcatid=624

Oh OK, considered "aggressive". Ouch.

 

[scooter31707]

I think they are hiding real good or they are stuck in the pipe somewhere and decomposing. I am sure if they died in the tank you would have seen fish that big floating, especially with no CUC in there. Do you think the other fish may have got rid of them once they died?

 

[kmbyrnes]

My money is on the crab. I'm thinking HE may be on the menu soon ( not really), but I remain hopeful they are just in hiding.
As for aggressive, it seems like a switch got flipped overnight. I've had him since 01/2015, and he has always been fine with the fish. And the most entertaining resident of all my tanks.
It's always something in this hobby.
Thanks all for letting me vent a bit.