Flame angel and valentini puffer missing

[merlberg]

Ive had both fish since feb. of this year or even longer... Both were well esp. My flame angel which was really really fat. I just noticed both are missing and I literally want to cry. Ive been back n forth looking for them all night.

About 2 weeks ago I put in a purple reef lobster but I havent seen it in the tank since I put it in so I figured maybe it died. I moved my rocks around this week but just 1 side of my tank thinking I would find it but nothing. Now im thinking its still alive and it killed both of my fish. Ive heard mixed reviews on them so I took the risk n said Ill overfeed the tank at times so it can find food at night.

Do you guys think im right with the lobster killing them? I do have to find the lonster today to remove it right?! I love all my fish way too much to loose more :/. Ive had the flame angel the longest, thru ich, qt, upgrading and all it survived :/. I want to kill tht lobster if i find it :/. But what if I dnt?!

 

[Duke4Life]

How big was the lobster?

 

[merlberg]

How big was the lobster?

It wasnt even that big. Maybe 3 inches and if it wasnt the lobster i have no idea whT else it could of been... They were both very active in my tank n no one is sick in my tank so i can only blame the lobster at this point idk but im so mad [emoji30] I thought the $10 lobster was cool n it killed 2 of my fish tht cost way more n tht i had for a while.

 

[Duke4Life]

My chainlink would happily hunt and kill it for you, if only that was an option. Those fish seem 2 big for that small of a critter, are you sure they're just not hiding? How long since you've seen them?

 

[merlberg]

My chainlink would happily hunt and kill it for you, if only that was an option. Those fish seem 2 big for that small of a critter, are you sure they're just not hiding? How long since you've seen them?

No way they are hiding IMO. The flame angel is way too greedy and the puffer is way too nosey tht once i open the tank top he always looking to see whats coming in the tank. I havent seen my puffer since yesterday and my angel like 2 days now. They are not hiders niether they are always out in the open... Both of them. My only fish who likes to hide is my tiny twinspot wrasse and he is all over now. I dnt get it, y else would they both just go missing if not the lobster? And you are right the flame angel was big for the lobster but not my puffer.. Idk what else to think.

 

[merlberg]

And this Am i woke up still no sign of both fish. I'm dreding moving my rocks because they are perfect but i would hate to lose another fish esp. Being that I have way smaller fish in the tank than the 2 that are already missing like my wrasse and firefish

 

[Duke4Life]

No way they are hiding IMO. The flame angel is way too greedy and the puffer is way too nosey tht once i open the tank top he always looking to see whats coming in the tank. I havent seen my puffer since yesterday and my angel like 2 days now. They are not hiders niether they are always out in the open... Both of them. My only fish who likes to hide is my tiny twinspot wrasse and he is all over now. I dnt get it, y else would they both just go missing if not the lobster? And you are right the flame angel was big for the lobster but not my puffer.. Idk what else to think.

I feel for you, this is the sort of thing that drives me crazy as well, especially like you mentioned their active. As bad as I hate 2 say this (i've had 2 and it sucks) I'd be moving rocks as well. Is it possible something spooked them from outside the tank, like a quick sudden movement towards it?

 

[merlberg]

I feel for you, this is the sort of thing that drives me crazy as well, especially like you mentioned their active. As bad as I hate 2 say this (i've had 2 and it sucks) I'd be moving rocks as well. Is it possible something spooked them from outside the tank, like a quick sudden movement towards it?

You've had 2 what exactly? 2 fish disappear? Yes it sucks so bad, once I realized I wanted to cry and thts all I kept talking about to my friend. I knw my friend was looking at me like who cares but I couldnt help myself and needed to vent lol i was even complaining to my brother the entire night :/. I dnt think anything or anyone spooked them tho. No way! I think something happen to them both, i just dnt knw what yet [emoji85]. And yea Ill be moving all my ro ks today to get down to tge bottom of this!

 

[Duke4Life]

I've had 2 take apart my rocks due to 2 fish MIA. I take it your tank is covered (neither of these 2 appear as jumpers but you never know)? (another idea/grasping at straws) Good luck with this!

 

[Tahoe61]

There is no need to move your rocks around, if the fish are dead moving rocks is not going to change that and basically just mess up the scape. I seriously doubt moving rocks will reveal the reason for your fishes demise.

You should however test your water for ammonia and nitrates. Check your pumps for flow impediment.

A Lobster is a predator, that is what they do it's not the Lobsters fault. If the Lobster did not kill the fish then it likely cleaned up the decaying bodies. If you do not want the risk the comes with housing a Lobster then return it to the LFS, but do not be mad at it for doing what comes naturally.

I am sincerely sorry for your loss, it's extremely frustrating.

 

[merlberg]

I've had 2 take apart my rocks due to 2 fish MIA. I take it your tank is covered (neither of these 2 appear as jumpers but you never know)? (another idea/grasping at straws) Good luck with this!

Ohh ok I see... And yes my tank is covered all the time so theres no way that could of happened. Thanks for your help and ideas! Really appreciated.

 

[merlberg]

There is no need to move your rocks around, if the fish are dead moving rocks is not going to change that and basically just mess up the scape. I seriously doubt moving rocks will reveal the reason for your fishes demise.

You should however test your water for ammonia and nitrates. Check your pumps for flow impediment.

A Lobster is a predator, that is what they do it's not the Lobsters fault. If the Lobster did not kill the fish then it likely cleaned up the decaying bodies. If you do not want the risk the comes with housing a Lobster then return it to the LFS, but do not be mad at it for doing what comes naturally.

I am sincerely sorry for your loss, it's extremely frustrating.

The reason to move my rocks is to look for the lobster to remove.

Yea I plan on def. checking my water parameters today as well. Ill check my pumps as well. Yes I do understand its not the lobsters fault but tht does mean it will kill more of my fish so I will return it to the LFS if I find it... That is why i dnt have a choice but to move my rocks around, even tho Ive never seen the lobster roam around at all and Thank you. I know I cant be mad at the lobster for doing what it does naturally but I cant help tht I was attached to those fish because of the length of time I had them. Thanks again :/

 

[merlberg]

So I moved the rocks and found the body of my puffer n looked like it was cut open. I also found another piece of fish which had to be my flame angel but it didnt look like it at all so it died before my puffer. I also found a dead coral banded shrimp which was alive last night.

I checked my parameters and my nitrate is the only thing tht was off but like i said they were both healthy and active fish. I looked everywhere for the lobster and couldnt find it but I didnt want to disturb the sand too much.

My friend that was helping me said it could of been my snowflake eel but i knw my eel and they have been housing w/ each other for months now... Why would he eat them now? And also the puffer looked like it was cut and the eel would swollow anything it eats not chew on it.

Idk wht to do but if any other death occurs i will have to move the rocks again n sift thru the sand because i knw the lobster is still alive since I found no shell of his... I was hoping my eel ate him but my eel is picky when it comes to food... He doesnt even take live fish.

So does it sound like the killer is still on the loose or what? [emoji85] [HASHTAG]#prayforme[/HASHTAG] [HASHTAG]#nomoredeaths[/HASHTAG] :/

 

[jwilliams860]

I had a snow flake that was a great resident so I doubt it was it, although it could have eaten the lobster. If the tank is established and you have a decent clean up crew, a dead fish won't take long to get cleaned up. I know in my small tank if I lose a flash for whatever reason all sorts of creepy crawlies come out and go to work. I think for the lobster to actively hunt them and then catch them it would have eaten them almost completely. If he is that carnivorous I think you'd be able to coax it out with some sort of food offering, either to try and catch him or just confirm its still in there.

 

[merlberg]

I had a snow flake that was a great resident so I doubt it was it, although it could have eaten the lobster. If the tank is established and you have a decent clean up crew, a dead fish won't take long to get cleaned up. I know in my small tank if I lose a flash for whatever reason all sorts of creepy crawlies come out and go to work. I think for the lobster to actively hunt them and then catch them it would have eaten them almost completely. If he is that carnivorous I think you'd be able to coax it out with some sort of food offering, either to try and catch him or just confirm its still in there.

Yes i agree tht i doubt it was the eel. I dnt really have much of a clean up crew besides 1 turbo snail n i had a banded shrimp which is now dead n i figured the lobster would b good at tht But i knw someone had a blast with my flame angel. The lobster never ever comes out during feeding time... Never. I literally have never seen the lobster since i put it in the tank. I would check in the middle of the night to see if it comes out but never any sign of it.. Its weird idk but i hear its normal not to see them but to never see them[emoji33].

 

[Duke4Life]

Interesting. If this had been your firefish or wrasse my thoughts would have gone to your SFE as these are known to go after fish (reason I didn't pick 1 out and went with what I did). I'd be closely watching and not adding any others until you figure this out.

 

[merlberg]

Interesting. If this had been your firefish or wrasse my thoughts would have gone to your SFE as these are known to go after fish (reason I didn't pick 1 out and went with what I did). I'd be closely watching and not adding any others until you figure this out.

What type of eel do u have? And my eel literally never bothers any1 so i can vouche for him even tho at 1st my friend had me questioning if it was her or not [emoji85] then i had to think they are way smaller fish in the tank and i always have to rip what i give her because she has a hard time eating anything too big so y would she go after any big fish... Yes I agree I cant put any other fish in there until I figure this out :/

 

[Duke4Life]

What type of eel do u have? And my eel literally never bothers any1 so i can vouche for him even tho at 1st my friend had me questioning if it was her or not [emoji85] then i had to think they are way smaller fish in the tank and i always have to rip what i give her because she has a hard time eating anything too big so y would she go after any big fish... Yes I agree I cant put any other fish in there until I figure this out :/

I have a chainlink, the snowflakes cousin. Now I'm not saying it is your SFE because I'd be willing to bet he didn't take the flame angel out, the shrimp is a possibility. And out of the fish you listed I would think the firefish and wrasse would be its first targets. How big is your SFE? I know you've got a 120g I believe, so plenty of space.

 

[merlberg]

I have a chainlink, the snowflakes cousin. Now I'm not saying it is your SFE because I'd be willing to bet he didn't take the flame angel out, the shrimp is a possibility. And out of the fish you listed I would think the firefish and wrasse would be its first targets. How big is your SFE? I know you've got a 120g I believe, so plenty of space.

The thing is ive never seen her eat live food... Ive had the shrimp in there for months as well. Im going to try n take a picture later because she is always all over the tank. The thing is she is really fat but barely eats -_-. I try to feed her every other day but she will eat twice a week and it'll be 1 shrimp. I think maybe the length of a ruler and thick!

 

[Duke4Life]

Who knew eels could be such finicky eaters, my boy only eats clams, squid, and octopus.

I did some reading on lobsters and have you tried looking at night much at all? Seems they're a bit skittish.