Need Help (Missing Fish) What weird place did you find your missing Fish?

Wally.B

Active member
I can't find my Fairy Wrasse.

He isn't tiny as shown below.

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Looked everywhere (Floor, In Rocks, Both Tank Sumps, Ceiling :) etc)

Picture shows where I've look meticulously.

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I know they are jumpers and after loosing my Black Capped Basslet I installed a mesh over the tank for this Wrasse replacement.
He could have jump thru the fish feeder Cylinder (Odds are small).

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He was there last week. That photo above was him in tank last Weds. He was perfectly healthy for the longest while. Always out to eat.

Now he is gone. My sand bed is too thin to have buried himself. (but possible). Why?

My rockscape is fairy open and with a flashlight I can see pretty well everywhere. Even saw that Fire Goby which never comes out.

I did remove the sump drain guard for maintenance, but I checked the sumps (a bit). Nothing.

The mesh was removed while put in some new frags, but the photo shows him there after that.

I checked on top of light fixture. All over the basement floor area in case he flopped around. (we'll not more than 10 feet around). If needed I'll look farther.

I guess I'll smell him soon if he jumped out, and isn't somewhere in the sumps. The last fish that jumped started smelling after a week. Couldn't find him, then move a bucket and there he was.

Has anyone every found a fish in somewhere you never would have thought to look. (Humour is acceptable :) , but good idea's better).
 
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Do you have any dogs/cats? I found my chihuahua chewing on a dried up clownfish once.
Nope, we just have a hamster. He likes to chew on sticks and stuff. Still in cage, nothing in his cheeks :) . But good thought for Dog/Cat Owners they could steal a fish (not here).
 
I have a webcam that does time lapse images. Running it day and night (has IR Night Vision) taking photo's every minute and watching playback, in case he is hiding well in the tank. Nothing so far.
 
I had a wrasse that could hide pretty good in the corner overflow. Another got to the sump and was in my weir that was tough to find.
 
I was going to say check the sock. I had a wrasse go down there as well once. Did you hopefully find him alive??
 
I had a wrasse that could hide pretty good in the corner overflow. Another got to the sump and was in my weir that was tough to find.

No wonder they call you "Gone Fishin", you are good at catching fish.

GENIUS!!!

My overflow is covered with Coraline and he matches perfectly.

Stopped the water, and with a flashlight I found him in the CORNER!!

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Thanks a lot.

You made me really happy!!!!! :) :) :) :) :)

Going to remove that guard and get him out.

THANKS !!!!
 
Man, he was powerful when I tried to net him. Almost flipped out onto floor.

Anyways, he's back in the tank (Yellow Arrow), and I'm going to seal things better. (Lesson Learned)

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The fish are a bit upset to have him back (They had a few days without him).

Thanks for that Overflow idea. I checked in there and put on the Guard, but didn't check really well till the idea about hiding was given.

Who knows if I would have ever looked.

THANKS!!!
 
Yeah well, was going to say overflow as that is where I found my clown. Well at least twice, the third time he missed the overflow and I found him behind the cabinet...
 
I just wanted to chime in and say first, congrats on finding him! And second, I love love love your use of arrows in these posts. :D
 
Congrats funny thing I was just looking for my starfish an hour ago, I saw him in my overflow earlier today but couldn't reach it so I was waiting for it to come a little higher. Forgot about till we were having dinner. Thought he went down the tube took it apart looked in the sock, behind the tank even got my inspection cam to look through the tubes. Then I took the panel to my overflow that gets the water from lower in the tank and there he popped out right away
 
I can't believe the Wrasse was in the small overflow-box for a few days (and Survived!!).

Lucky for him I have a DC Variable Speed Return Pump, which I run on slow (25%) overnight, so he managed to get some sleep (barely).

I run Various speeds during the day so that must have not been too much fun.

...AND twice a day I run Full Tilt 90% for 3 minutes for a Power Sweep of tank.
Overflow screams at it's limit.

He must have gone through hell during that brief period. But way better than on the Floor!!
 
glad you found him. when those guys don't want to be found they can hide pretty good. Sometimes I look after lights out and can't find the majority of my fishes.
 
My wrasse actually swims in and out of my overflow. I keep the water level to the weir teeth in it and he will jump in when he wants to get away from other fish. I went about nuts getting ready to remove my canopy and such to dig him out first time I noticed till he swam back out. Now I see him do it a few times so not a concern of mine. Its like his own private place to go as the other fish are too large to jump into the opening to get in...
 
Glad you found him..

I had a lawnmower blenny take a plunge down the 14 foot of 3 inch pvc. pass thru a pre filter box and then thru another 10 foot of 1 1/2 pvc into the Refugium tanks.. It was missing for 3 months before i found it... Living happy with all the pods among the Calupera . He is still there. If he wanted to be there this bad who am i to disagree
 
Ya they like the overflow boxes, I have a low flow bulkhead that I had a fish who lived in it he would vanish into the bulkhead and I would search the whole tank for him and one time I opened the flow to that bulkhead and he came shooting out of it haha
 
Darn,

The Wrasse is GONE AGAIN.

Don't know how long since didn't notice.
Maybe a week, possibly two.

Not in overflow this time.
Did flashlight search in Sump (not a full tear apart, but can see mostly everywhere).
Nowhere on Floor (there is a small 1" gap in the Tank Cover Mesh), plus the hole of the Feeder tube.

CHECKED EVERYONE's Suggestions above.

No smell of rotting Fish.
 
Darn,

The Wrasse is GONE AGAIN.

Don't know how long since didn't notice.
Maybe a week, possibly two.

Not in overflow this time.
Did flashlight search in Sump (not a full tear apart, but can see mostly everywhere).
Nowhere on Floor (there is a small 1" gap in the Tank Cover Mesh), plus the hole of the Feeder tube.

CHECKED EVERYONE's Suggestions above.

No smell of rotting Fish.


Hamster still in the cage? :spin3:
 
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