Stupid Question, Maybe???

[wardworld]

This may be a doofus kind of question, but I've never had a fish die before. My copperband has gone to that great aquarium in the sky and now he's become part of the "circle of life" for some of my cleaner shrimp. Is it okay to let them eat him or should I get the carcass out of the tank???

 

[hexedagain]

I would remove the dead fish if it was me.
They should have had a big enough snack by now. LOL

 

[Sk8r]

If you have a lot of bristleworms, ok to leave him in; if not, I'd take the carcass out if you can do so without taking your reef apart.

 

[chrisstie]

First of all you have a "problem" I'm sure many people wish they had, what with fish living forever and what not ;p a big kudos to that!

As for the first casualty, if the corpse is mostly eaten I wouldn't worry about it but if there is a lot left with the potential to decay I would remove it - closely monitor any possible ammonia spikes and maybe do a water change if you can detect any or for the "just in case" situation

Good luck!

 

[wardworld]

Thanks for all the info...I removed it (the cleaner shrimp get enough to eat )

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

now remember to stay away from the copper band if possible in the future. how long did you have him? kind of a dilcate fish

 

[wardworld]

I "inherited" him from a friend whose yellow tang was picking on him (which I later also inherited). I had him about 3 months. Beautiful fish, but you're right, too delicate for me (at least at this point). Although, he appeared to be doing fine - eating and such.