My first devastating loss!

[romanr]

Came home today and did not see my Malachite Secretive Wrasse. Looked everywhere. Looked in the sump but nada. Looked on the floor even though I had covered the tank, nada. My angler ate him. I can see the big protrusion in his belly. I'm sick about his. I bought a chiller this week so I could keep the temp down in the tank to make the new Wrasse happy. I thought about putting him in the refugium for a while but decided to put him in the tank inside a specimen container. I waited 3 days till everyone seemed cool with the new fish. Minor fighting the first few days I let him out of the specimen container and then yesterday everything seem fine and the wrasse was out at feeding time holding his own and looking really good.

 

[Sheol]

Sorry for your loss.
Anglers are well known for gluttony & remarkable swallowing feats. A fact you now are sadly aware of..

Matthew

 

[prickles]

I know nothing about either of these fish, but doesn't "angler" mean fisherman...IE catches and eats fish?

 

[LKGRenegade22]

Did you not know the angler would eventually eat him or did you think he just wouldn't able to catch the wrasse? That's an expensive dinner!

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Ugg. Im sorry you didnt mention this when we spoke about the Pteragogus earlier. Anglers should not be kept in anything but a species tank. Like Matthew said, sadly a fact you now know.

 

[romanr]

I've had good luck with my angler until now. He leaves my shrimp and cleaner wrasse alone. I keep him well fed and all my other fish seem to know to avoid him. I took a bad risk with a new fish but I was going with my experience with the angler over the last 6 months. I feel really bad about it and blame myself. A very expensive lesson and a sad situation that such a beautiful and rare fish met its demise under my care.

 

[Reefer577]

Hard to believe it caught the wrasse, most wrasses are pretty smart/quick. Sorry for your loss. Large anglers feed on lion fish in the wild so they are capable of many feats when it comes to eating.

We can light a candle together for our fish. I had a freak outbreak of ich this last week and lost my beautiful yellow scopas tang and my big female African Allardi clown. :[

 

[BFG]

I've had good luck with my angler until now. He leaves my shrimp and cleaner wrasse alone. I keep him well fed and all my other fish seem to know to avoid him. I took a bad risk with a new fish but I was going with my experience with the angler over the last 6 months. I feel really bad about it and blame myself. A very expensive lesson and a sad situation that such a beautiful and rare fish met its demise under my care.

Cleaner shrimp and cleaner wrasse are not the main dietary item for most predator fish. They exhibit a certain color on their body to let other fish knows of their service. I bet you did not know this too. Angler fish are best kept in a species tank.

 

[BFG]

Hard to believe it caught the wrasse, most wrasses are pretty smart/quick. Sorry for your loss. Large anglers feed on lion fish in the wild so they are capable of many feats when it comes to eating.

We can light a candle together for our fish. I had a freak outbreak of ich this last week and lost my beautiful yellow scopas tang and my big female African Allardi clown. :[

Why do you think it's impossible? The wrasse would have to be in a position near the angler mouth and that's the end. And on another note, where did you get the info of angler fish eating lion fish in the wild? Is that a tall tale?

 

[Reefer577]

No, I can't remember where I read it, I'll have to hunt it down. But the solid black anglers that they bring in as tiny fish that turn into huge fish, feed on lionfish in the wild.


See cute, innocent looking fish that doesn't look like it will grow to 10+ inches. Some fish should not be collected. Not saying all anglers but def not these.

 

[Reefer577]

Okay, I had to work for it, but I found a video.

http://www.oceanfootage.com/video_clips/CMO02_074

 

[Andrew Henry]

Sorry for your loss but I've gotta say it's not unexpected.. Just like an Eel or Grouper if it can fit it in it's mouth there's a good chance it's going to be a meal.

 

[snorvich]

Not unexpected, in fact predictable. Sorry for your loss but you rolled the dice. That angler will eventually eat any fish that is 50% of his size or smaller. That is what they do.

 

[velvetelvis]

That really sucks. Sorry to hear that.

A similar thing happened to me and my family when I was a kid and we used to stock our tanks straight from the Atlantic (I grew up on the east coast of Florida). The cute little sargassum fish that my father brought home one day as a curiosity grew (and grew, and grew...) and ate everything else in our tank, including the 2" queen angel my parents had spent an hour catching on a family vacation in the Keys. And then the little monster bit the cr@p out of my dad when he caught it to return it to the wild. :lol:

 

[TampaReefer79]

I have nothing new to add, but am curious as to how much the wrasse cost?

 

[Sheol]

Not only that, but they will sometimes tackle fish too big to swallow. Thus killing the prey & themselves..
Best kept in a species tank, as mentioned. I'm not rubbing salt in the poster's wounds, but warning any newbies who might think they can "get away with it"!

Matthew

 

[snorvich]

Yes, frogfish can "over consume" and die from the experience. Not an infrequent event.

 

[massman]

Okay, I had to work for it, but I found a video.

http://www.oceanfootage.com/video_clips/CMO02_074

Awesome vid. I was actually looking at the other, larger angler, then got a big surprise. Thanks!

 

[rekn]

Cleaner shrimp and cleaner wrasse are not the main dietary item for most predator fish. They exhibit a certain color on their body to let other fish knows of their service. I bet you did not know this too. Angler fish are best kept in a species tank.

cleaners arent safe either. anglers are like sharks imo. when they see something move thats small they almost have to bite. kind of like blood in the water for sharks...they have no choice but to bite.