Disappearing Fish... Help

[Tripple T]

Hey everyone,
I have a bit of an issue. I have a 34 gallon solana that is well established. Recently I have been trying to add fish and they seem to just keep disappearing. I've gotten rid of a serpent star, thinking he was the culprit, but fish still are disappearing. I'll start with the inhabitants and the history. The tank was set up 8 months ago and I began adding fish about 4 months ago. I began with 2 ferry wrasses and a pigmy angel, alongside a chalk basslet and a mandarin goby. All seemed well for about 2 months then all of a sudden the 2 wrasses disappeared and the pigmy angel had chunks missing out of its fins. The next thing I knew he disappeared as well. I figured I would try a coral beauty that was a little larger and today he is gone after being in the tank for less than a week. The chalk and mandarin appear unharmed. Also I have a kukenthals and skunk cleaner along with some other reef safe hermits. They all seem fine and healthy. I have been thinking mantis shrimp but I would think the mandarin would be the first victim as he is not a strong swimmer and is in the rocks a lot. Any advice that anyone has would be appreciated on what the cause might be.

 

[Cake_Boss]

OMG! My nightmare come true! Just for reference, what is your water testing at?

 

[phillipj2]

Check the back of the tank for jumpers. Otherwise you have a predator.

 

[projectx]

Do you hear clicking, popping or snapping from the tank?

 

[Tripple T]

Permeters

Parameters all check out. Nothing out of the ordinary. No jumpers either. It's a predator the question is what. I haven't heard snapping but I will listen carefully. What else could it be?

 

[Cake_Boss]

Lately there have been people reporting teddy bear crabs, I honestly have no idea and anxiously await what the resolution is.

 

[Tripple T]

Could it be the chalk basslet?

 

[Mantid]

Best way to find the culprit is to sneak up to your tank in the pitch dark and click on a flash light and quickly scan your tank. With the fish having a damage fin, it makes me think that if its not another fish, its probably something trying to snag them while sleeping like a preditory worm or crab. This might take a few tries but would a good way to see whats going on when you, and the fish, are not looking.

 

[Tripple T]

Another night another death

So last night the mandarin was attacked by whatever has killed the rest of the fish. I have tried the flashlight trick many nights and cannot find what it is. I need help coming up with a plan of action. I have deduced the following from my situation. 1) whatever is killing my fish has only recently become large enough to do so . I know this because there were several months that everything was ok. 2) It kills even when other food is available. I can see the dead angel behind the rocks yet it attacked and tried to kill the mandarin. I know it all happens at night. I also know it is fairly large because to take down a large coral beauty would take some size. I for a long time was thinking it could be the chalk basslet but I no longer think this. 3) it kills only fish. This is just a guess but so far my cleaner and kukenthals have been unharmed. This could be because they do not sleep at night when the predator is out. I need a plan but at this point in time I'm stumped. It seems that even taking out all of the rock may not resolve the problem as I don't know what I'm looking for. =-(

 

[Cake_Boss]

Cone Snail! OK now I'm throwing out wild guesses. Do you have a webcam or camcorder with night vision capabilities? If not, a webcam with some moonlights on the tank would probably work. I'm suggesting that you record all night. Use the inverted bottle trick and put some smelly food in there. I'm not suggesting that you'll capture whatever is in there, just trying to lure it out with food. What way you know what you're dealing with. I guess it's similar to the flashlight trick but doesn't require you to be awake.

 

[WrasseAttack]

I put my money on the Chalk Basslet. I bought one from Saltwaterfish years ago because they called it peaceful. You could still get their $89 free shipping back then and the basslet ate everything, fish and shrimp, from that order in a couple of days. The only thing I had left in my tank was my favorite old sixline wrasse and the chalk basslet. Trying to catch the chalk basslet my sixline got scared swam into a nem and started spinning around in the water. Died the next day leaving me with just a chalk bass. They look innocuous but they're a bass and they can open their mouths really big.

 

[Cake_Boss]

Mine ate my sexy shrimp, then committed suicide.

 

[WrasseAttack]

Jihad bass.

 

[Tripple T]

good idea

Rocky I really appreciate you trying to help me figure this out. I do have a camcorder that can record all night. I don't think it has night vision though. I suppose i need to let the angel decay as there is no possibility of getting to it to get it out of the tank....... I did see a large bristle worm on it but ive never had bristles kill a fish b4. I think I will try the videotaping in a week or so now that I don't need to feed the tank anymore. Any other ideas from you or anyone else would be appreciated as well =-)

 

[KhensuRa]

Jihad bass.

hahahaha... Now that is funny...

 

[Tripple T]

I have thought of teh bass as well...... He is teh only one in the tank unharmed. BUt how in teh heck would he kill a coral beauty? and ive never seem him attack anything. Also it always happens at night. If you still put your money on the bass let me know because for those reasons i have ruled him out, but i could be wrong.

 

[othercents]

I would have to say that you can rule out mantis even though a spear mantis wouldn't make snapping or popping sounds and would typically just eat fish starting with fish that swim in the water column and not fish that scoot along the bottom. The only reason why I would rule them out was because of the pygmy angel that was caught and released with damage on the fins. By the time a spear mantis starts eating their prey typically the fish has been speared through the head and body. Not something you would swim away from.

You probably have a crab hidden somewhere. I would try to move the fish to a hospital tank and clear out as much "food" as possible. Then set a trap. Many predator crabs are very good at hiding.

 

[MartinsReef]

I would have to say that you can rule out mantis even though a spear mantis wouldn't make snapping or popping sounds and would typically just eat fish starting with fish that swim in the water column and not fish that scoot along the bottom. The only reason why I would rule them out was because of the pygmy angel that was caught and released with damage on the fins. By the time a spear mantis starts eating their prey typically the fish has been speared through the head and body. Not something you would swim away from.

You probably have a crab hidden somewhere. I would try to move the fish to a hospital tank and clear out as much "food" as possible. Then set a trap. Many predator crabs are very good at hiding.

+1 on this!

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[Tripple T]

The chunk that has been taken out of the mandarin actually looks like a fish bit it and its the same as how the pigmy looked. The only thing is that I have never seen the bass be aggressive towards anything. I suppose that this does not mean that it isn't. However it is odd that the bass is the only one ever unharmed and that the shrimp are also unharmed. I think that maybe the bas is attacking stuff territorially when I'm not around .. Anyone have any other opinions?

 

[Dan s mixed reef]

Flashlight at nighttime see what fish is most active at night sounds like your fish are being ambushed at night when they bed down. Mantis do work like that, but any mantis would most likely kill your shrimp first.