suspect hitchhiker predator

[dnsfpl]

5 yellow wrasse KOed in my tank

what puzzled me most was they were feeding hours ago
and dead the next moment, no struggling nor last breath
no obvious sign of serious injury

any tell tale sign of hitchhiker predator?

thanks

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Could be a mantis shrimp or xanthid crab.

 

[dnsfpl]

do they prey on cleaner shrimp too?

i have a pair, still surviving after 4 months

 

[dnsfpl]

bump !

 

[SushiGirl]

They all died at the same time?

 

[dnsfpl]

5 death over the a period of 2 months

 

[charleneatkins]

have you check your tank at nite for hidden visitors?

 

[smithj108]

Well... since wrasse typically burry themselves in the sand to sleep - look for a possible sand-dwelling predator (crabs, mantis, etc...). FWIW, I just posted some info on "Gammaridean amphipod" infestations in another thread, carnivorous and/or overly aggressive kind can be detrimental. Not saying this is your problem - but starting thinking along those lines if you have fish that just consistently "disappear" and no trace of a body can be found.

 

[dnsfpl]

tried shining torch in the middle of the night

all i can find are bristle worms, collonista & stomatella snails

nothing unusual

 

[jc-reef]

tried shining torch in the middle of the night

all i can find are bristle worms, collonista & stomatella snails

nothing unusual

You may have better luck using a Red flashlight as most fish/inverts/creatures cannot see the red spectrum. You can pick one up at one of the Depot stores. If you use a standard light, most creatures will hide as soon as you shine it into the tank.

It may take a quite a few nights of looking into the tank to see whats lurking and it sounds like you do have some kind of nocturnal predator like others have said. You can also try about an hour or 2 when lights shut down and turn off surrounding lights too for a while. I see a lot of activity at this time in my tank.

Good luck.

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[dnsfpl]

thanks for the tips