A puzzlement

dkeller22

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I don't have good beginning for this story because I don't know what's what's going on. On May 19th everyone was fine. On May 20th my Yellow Tang vanished. On May 21st my Power Brown tank was fine and on May 22nd he/she was gone. Both fish have been in the display tank for 7 months. Before that @Jay Hemdal and I went around (while both fish were in QT) trying to figure out what was up with the Yellow Tangs breathing. That never led to anything conclusive and since then both fish where fine. I haven't added any fish to the system for 6 months, but I have added coral fags here and there. My parameters and ICP results are all green (I'll post them here somewhere). So my question is, if the fish show no signs of disease and no signs of stress how do they just disappear in a 12 to 24 hour period of time? I've lost fish in the past, but I usually have a body to dispose of. In this case they're just gone. The tanks have screen tops, so jumping isn't really an option without leaving some evidence that the screen moved.

Am I looking for a predator? And if so what could completely consume a 6" tang in 12 hours? I am using my original Fiji live rock, but it sat dry for 10 years and was cleaned before I restarted the tanks. I know that nature will find a way, but really?

The other fish ( 2 azure blue damsel's, 2 captative bred clowns, and a Coral Beauty) are fine, as are the White tail tang, Rock Beauty Angel, purple fire fish, and Porcupine Puffer in the FOWL half of the system that shares the same water system.

What am I looking for an how do I find it?
 

blaxsun

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How large is your tank? Are there large enough crevices that could hide a 6" body? I mean, it's either in the tank (or what's left of it in the tank)/overflow/sump or outside the tank. It would have to be a fairly large predator to kill/consume a 6" fish.
 

vetteguy53081

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A predator is possible. Example would be Lg Crab, mantis shrimp (you would hear snapping sounds) or even a Bobbit worm. If one is present, after lights out, shine a flashlight and you may find/see the culprit
Also check overflow to see if fish may have gotten in it
 
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D

dkeller22

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Both tanks are 220 gallons and share the same water system. Yes there are places a body could hide that I can't see, but it's a little strange that two fish in 48 hours would just disappear.
 

MnFish1

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I don't have good beginning for this story because I don't know what's what's going on. On May 19th everyone was fine. On May 20th my Yellow Tang vanished. On May 21st my Power Brown tank was fine and on May 22nd he/she was gone. Both fish have been in the display tank for 7 months. Before that @Jay Hemdal and I went around (while both fish were in QT) trying to figure out what was up with the Yellow Tangs breathing. That never led to anything conclusive and since then both fish where fine. I haven't added any fish to the system for 6 months, but I have added coral fags here and there. My parameters and ICP results are all green (I'll post them here somewhere). So my question is, if the fish show no signs of disease and no signs of stress how do they just disappear in a 12 to 24 hour period of time? I've lost fish in the past, but I usually have a body to dispose of. In this case they're just gone. The tanks have screen tops, so jumping isn't really an option without leaving some evidence that the screen moved.

Am I looking for a predator? And if so what could completely consume a 6" tang in 12 hours? I am using my original Fiji live rock, but it sat dry for 10 years and was cleaned before I restarted the tanks. I know that nature will find a way, but really?

The other fish ( 2 azure blue damsel's, 2 captative bred clowns, and a Coral Beauty) are fine, as are the White tail tang, Rock Beauty Angel, purple fire fish, and Porcupine Puffer in the FOWL half of the system that shares the same water system.

What am I looking for an how do I find it?
You would be surprised how well tangs can get 'wedged' deep into rock when they go to 'sleep' at night. When/if your rock shifts (at all) - the fish can be trapped. and then is eaten by the CUC. Depending on the size of the tank - I would THINK that a 6 inch tang would cause a problem if it just died.

I guess I would go against a larger predator because I would be surprised that you wouldn't have seen other fish losses. instead I would consider a disease of some sort - or perhaps the yellow tang died - there was an ammonia issue - and the powder brown died. IDK

In my signature - there is a link - with various questions to answer - that help us give you better answer (parameters, other fish, etc etc). If you can try to answer those - perhaps we can get a better answer for you

Sympathies - its always difficult
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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