Sudden Anthias Dieoff

[jrobbins]

I had a harem of 4 bartletts anthias in my tank for about 6 months. They ate like pigs and seemed very healthy. Yesterday when I came home from work I thought it was odd that none of the anthias were out, but I didn't think much of it. This morning when i went to give the early risers a bit of food, I saw the head of one of the anthias being eaten by the crabs. I went poking around with a flashlight to see if i could find the others (they always sleep in the same place) but they were gone.

I'm pretty sure they all died off in one day, which would seem to be something environmental or chemical, however nothing else in the tank seems to be doing poorly. I cant figure out what would kill just the anthias and not harm any other fish or inverts...

Just to be safe i did a quick water change this morning, but I have no clue how i killed these guys.

For those who want to know,

Tank inhabitants:
2 Ocellaris Clowns
4 threadfin cardinals
1 hippo tang
1 cherub angel
snails, crabs, and serpent star...

SG: 1.025
Temp: 79-80
Nitrates: <5
I don't have to many other test kits right now so thats about all i know. I am running a polyfilter and it isnt showing any contaminants either...

So how the hell did i kill these fish...

 

[prattreef]

Are you sure they are all gone? It is a bit sudden, but I wouldn't be surprised if you were left with 1 triumphant male who disposed of all the competition.

 

[Awibrandy]

Or the serpent star fish! I took both of mine out! I just don't trust them.

 

[jrobbins]

Hey Randy,

Im pretty sure they are gone. I will check again tonight when I get home, but I have a feeling they are all toast. Normally when I throw some food in the morning they are the first to go get it. They didn't come out to eat last night, and none this morning either.

Awi - As for the serpent star, it has coexisted for almost 3 years with a bunch of much smaller, easier to catch fish. I find it hard to believe that it could catch 1 let alone 4 anthias in a day...

 

[Euroreefer]

Could they have pulled a free willy and jumped ship?

 

[jrobbins]

checked behind the tank, no dice. conceivably they could all have jumped into the overflows, and one just was in such a rush that he forgot his head. i consider this unlikely though...

 

[jobu28]

Hey guys, new here. I was just reading on another site that flukes are a silent killer. One guy in particular kept losing his anthias until he addressed the fluke problem. If you find any dead ones give a freshwater bath and see if flukes fall off. They seem pretty relevant.