Constantly missing fish in successful SPS reef?

[JLAudio]

OK, to start off I have successful reef, where my SPS corals are growing and thriving along with clams and some LPS, polyps etc. (just saying this because if quality of water was bad enough to kill fish usually acroporas and milliporas, would also decline, USUALLY!)

I constantly find myself missing fish, but never find any outside the tank or anywhere else. The only possible predators are a blue spot goby (3inches, and larger than other fish), a sand sifting star, and 2 CB shrimp. But I never seen any behavior that would indicate that they are being aggressive.

Is this common in reef tanks, possibly a natural order or something. Because in the last few weeks, im missing:
1) Black clown
2) Hectors goby
3) Fang blenny
And overtime I always seem to have missing fish, just cant figure it out

No bodies, no real culprits any thoughts?

 

[lazibonez]

Jason, question. is your avator with joe rogan doing an arm bar submission on you? lol.

On your question on missing fishes. Most of the time fishs dead bodies gets eaten up by inverts fast before u can even find it.

Unless u have a mean fish that keeps killing them, you can suspect it might be mantis shrimp living in your live rock. They kill small rock hiding fishes one by one. A way of knowing if u have one of these shrimp or not is the clicking sound they make when your lights are out. Its very noticable. Hope this helps.

 

[lazibonez]

From your list of existing fishes, blue spot goby can be territorial towards other gobies. I have heard CB shrimp kills fishes, I guess depending on their size. And the list of dead fish you listed.. Hector goby are hard to keep long term. Were these fishes eating while they were alive? if it they werent, obviously they will eventually die. Other factors such as diseases could have been the cause.

 

[reefman]

some could've went carpet surfing. u may find a dry up fish in the back somewhere.

 

[JLAudio]

Im very impressed you identified the submission, and no thats not Joe Rogan but a dead ringer, LOL. I actually got out of the submission and won that fight but lost later that night.

And to you fish response, I actually always hear clicking but I have a pistol shrimp in their that I have attributed it too.

Its not just fish bodies, its like perfectly healthy eating fish all of a sudden just disapear, giving some validity to the mantis shrimp idea

Jason, question. is your avator with joe rogan doing an arm bar submission on you? lol.

On your question on missing fishes. Most of the time fishs dead bodies gets eaten up by inverts fast before u can even find it.

Unless u have a mean fish that keeps killing them, you can suspect it might be mantis shrimp living in your live rock. They kill small rock hiding fishes one by one. A way of knowing if u have one of these shrimp or not is the clicking sound they make when your lights are out. Its very noticable. Hope this helps.

 

[JLAudio]

Reefman I immediately thought that but I can see behind and look extensively and cant find it, Either way im going to setup the "wrasse proof cover" for top

 

[lazibonez]

I am a black belt ju jitsu master and a muy thai kickboxer myself..... I am only kidding, I just watch alot of UFC.. lol

Sometimes even fishes eat but still get skinny and wastes away, its due to internal parasite and worms. Therefore you can keep the fish for so long, and it does spread in your tank from their fece matter. I am not sure, I remember reading pistol shrimps can kill fish, but alot of people say they wont. You are going to have a hard time finding out if theres a mantis shrimp in your tank from the clicks, since u have a pistol. I guess u can try to pinpoint where your pistols home is and observe if theres other clicking sound coming from somewhere else.

 

[JLAudio]

Thanks LAZI, and you had me going about the Jujitsu master and thaiboxer

 

[lazibonez]

lol..

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

I still bet the two CB are doing the tag team UFC on the missing fish

 

[Chongpark27]

Im very impressed you identified the submission, and no thats not Joe Rogan but a dead ringer, LOL. I actually got out of the submission and won that fight but lost later that night.

And to you fish response, I actually always hear clicking but I have a pistol shrimp in their that I have attributed it too.

Its not just fish bodies, its like perfectly healthy eating fish all of a sudden just disapear, giving some validity to the mantis shrimp idea

If your hearing clicking sounds and fish are mysteriously disappearing, my guess is its a mantis shrimp doing the damage to your fish.

 

[marki24]

I also have a successful sps tank and i lost a few fish and my conclusion is that the water reached 89 a few times. SPS will outstand that temp but the fish wont from my experience.

 

[Chase]

Sounds to me like there is something in that tank that is taking out those fish. Hope you find the culprit.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Just to amuse us why not post your water parameters.

 

[JLAudio]

Ok parameters:
Ammonia-0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Ph 8.2 (All tested on AP kit)
Alk 3.5 (Instant Ocean)
Calcium 400 (AP, Seachem and Salifert)
Phosphates shoowing up as zero but only using AP and Seachem, so probably not accurate (AP, and Seachem)
Using all RODI water/10% WC a week (coralife salt)
SG 1.026
Temp-was having a prob stabalizing before recent chiller purchase (it was goin from 76 at night to 85 during day on some extremely hot days, but this swing only occured a cpl times when AC was turned off. (This is another possible culprit)

temperature now 80 stabalized.

I think I listed most of them

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Cool. Parameters look in the green, I would say that the temp swing might have had something to do with it and in conjunction with the temp swing making the fish a little weaker the CB's and the Crabs might have taken advantage of some "sick" fish. I have never had my CB shrimp attack a healthy fish but they are opportunistic feeders that will practice the survival of the fittest plan and take out a sick animal. Crabs will do this as well. If you have a mantis you will hear clicking. But also if you have a mantis I would say that your shrimp and your crabs would be some of the first to go due to the fact that they are in the same swim level as the mantis for the most part.

 

[bigbbinthehouse]

my 2 cents say CB, I watched as he would try and jump any fish smaller than him or slow enough. The last straw was he tried to get my mandarin. Had to go. Again, no expert, just 2 cents. Hope you do find the culprit.

 

[JasonE]

1) Black clown
Not uncommon to lose these, brook can run through in less than 24 hrs
2) Hectors goby
Tricky little fish, my guess the CB
3) Fang blenny
All of the fang blennies have a very dubious record in captivity.

IMO, nothing to do with your tank, just not picking appropriate fish for your system....

And overtime I always seem to have missing fish, just cant figure it out

No bodies, no real culprits any thoughts?[/QUOTE]

 

[JLAudio]

1) Black clown
Not uncommon to lose these, brook can run through in less than 24 hrs
2) Hectors goby
Tricky little fish, my guess the CB
3) Fang blenny
All of the fang blennies have a very dubious record in captivity.

IMO, nothing to do with your tank, just not picking appropriate fish for your system....

And overtime I always seem to have missing fish, just cant figure it out

No bodies, no real culprits any thoughts?

[/quote]

Your probably right

 

[GQ22]

are u feeding your fish enough? Some people dont really feed their sps tanks