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Tykhe

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So, I have a reef tank that has been up for about 6 months with a copperbanded butterfly, three two spot gobies, a juvenile percula clownfish, a condy anemone, a 2.5 in cleaner shrimp, a 3 inch fire shrimp. four hermit crabs, and a couple of green chromis. Problem is that lately a couple of fish have gone missing. About two weeks ago I added two tiny cleaner shrimp, about .75 inches in length. During the day, they were fine, swimming everywhere etc. However, the next morning they were gone!

Then two days later, one of my two spot gobies disappeared too! He was also about .75 inches in size. He had been living in my tank for about a week and a half and shared a burrow with another (much larger and more senior) two spot goby. During the day, he and the larger two spot worked together to build a new burrow. They night I came downstairs for a snack and saw the two of them cuddled up inside the burrow together. In the morning there was no sign of the little goby!

So, I've been very upset about the loss of the tiny two spot and the two tiny shrimp. They have been my only new additions fish wise for the last month or so. I've never had such large and sudden losses before.

I'm wondering if another fish or shrimp or invert in the tank might have eaten them. All three of the victims were pretty small. Also, all three were purchases from Fishtown (I don't usually purchase fish from there). I stopped buying from Fishtown after I bought two clownfish from them very early on and they not only died but I suspected they infected my tank with brooklynella (not confirmed).

So, if it is a murderer inside the tank, I suspect the copperbanded butterfly as he has the largest mouth, the fireshrimp because he only comes out at night, the cleaner shrimp because he looks like he was very full for a day post murder, the clownfish because he's a pig and the anemone because I skipped a feeding a week prior.

Can anyone help shed light on this situation?
 
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KathyC

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Have you checked for an ammonia spike?

If you have a lot of rockwork, they could be hiding in there with a burrow that faces the rear of the tank where you cannot see it?
 

Tykhe

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no, parameters have been about the same. All of the veteran fish are in their usual state of health. I didn't test the water the day of the deaths but all of the victims were active/showing no signs of distress up until nightfall when they disappeared. Hmm, cleaner shrimp don't seem to be hiders. I haven't seen them in a week.... Pretty sure little goby isn't hiding. He is always tagging along after one of the big gobies and shifting sand all day (never saw him eat mysis, blackworms, or flakes like the two old gobies....wondering if he died of malnutrition...but one and a half weeks seems a bit sudden).

Oh and I have a pistol shrimp...any chance he's the one behind it?

The culprit must be found and justice will be served.
 
Last edited:

jay1335

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Is your rock placed directly on the bottom of your tank or did you put it on top of your sand? I ask because pistols and gobys dig burrows under the rocks as you know but the rock could have shifted crushing and/or trapping them in there.
 

Tykhe

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I think I figured out what is wrong with my tank today. Today, when I went to check on the tank, I noticed all the corals were shriveled up and in various states of dying. It turns out that when I got the tiny cleaner shrimp, I placed a netted bag over the filter intake to prevent them from getting sucked into the filter. The bag has been slowly collecting dust and by today there was virtually no water being filtered at all.

Thank goodness the overflow box that does to my sump and skinner was still working or my fish might be dead too.

I fixed the problem and now the corals are coming back to life. Wheew. I wonder if this was the reason behind the demise of the little cleaner shrimp and goby....I am still suspicious of the pistol shrinp and fire shrimp though.
 

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