Keep losing Fire Fish

[Torps]

Well it's only happened twice, but both my purple fire fish have disappeared. They were doing fine, seemingly unbothered by other denizens, then they just vanished. I have a biocube with a lid, but the little access hatch is open for the automatic feeder. Could they have managed to aim for that opening (then a dog removes evidence)? They're not hiding in the back with the filters. The most aggressive thing in the tank is a pushy clownfish, but the timid clown goby doesn't seem to be bothered by him.

 

[Mebbid]

It's possible, they are known jumpers. But they also like to hide in caves so could have died in there.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Do you have enough caves on your rockwork? This fish likes to be able to bolt into his cave, without any hiding spots it will be stressed

 

[Torps]

Pretty sure there is plenty of hiding spots. They both would hide nightly and seemed fine until they stopped showing up. Here’s a pic from the side. I’m fairly sure I have no secret predators in there… Coral banded shrimp, serpent star (plain black), too many BTAs (down to 4 from 6, they were taking over), a sizable bristle worm or two (not fire).

 

[christinna77]

CBS can actually catch fish! They're not friendly shrimp. I wonder if that perhaps happened?

 

[Opus]

That is one of the fish I've tried many times over the last 20+ years. I don't think I've ever had one last over night for me. They go hide and I never see them again.

 

[mcarroll]

The serpent star getting hungry and going night fishing would be my bet.

Try either moving the serpent star out to another tank or feeding it directly right along with the fish and then try again.

they have a pretty wicked hunting style… If you google a little, you can probably find a video. IMO they only do it when they're hungry/starving… They would have no defense from a predator so I'm sure it's the last resort. keep them fed.

 

[Torps]

I have wondered about the Star and shrimp being the culprit, but the local LFS said that’s not likely. The Star is amazingly fast during feedings tho. I do feed a mysis shrimp cube weekly. The star and shrimp go crazy on that day.

 

[christinna77]

My harlequin serpent star has never bothered anything. I've only heard of the green ones being predatory.

 

[mcarroll]

I have wondered about the Star and shrimp being the culprit, but the local LFS said that’s not likely. The Star is amazingly fast during feedings tho. I do feed a mysis shrimp cube weekly. The star and shrimp go crazy on that day.

Brown Serpent Starfish - Frag Box Corals

Brown Serpent Starfish (Ophioderma cinereum) The serpent starfish, often overlooked by aquarists, is an easy to keep, peaceful, invertebrate with a voracious appetite. Often hidden beneath rock work during the day, this species is most comfortable foraging for food within the evening, when the...

fragbox.ca

It can be a little hard to believe if you've never seen them do it. their description is perfectly accurate though.

I would not say get rid of them, though. Just make sure he gets target fed along with the fish just about every day.

 

[Torps]

TLDR: I've lost 3 Firefish, a Clown Goby, and a juvenile Clownfish. Aggressive Clown and Serpent Star are gone.

My LFS (who also helps service the tank) said the large female Clownfish is very aggressive, which I certainly agree with. She said it looks like she's defending a clutch of eggs and was not at all suspicious of the Serpent Star. She said stress from the bullying could be causing the lower, more timid dwellers to starve. I upped feeding since water parameters are great, Spot fed the Star and added pellets for him to scavenge. I since lost the Clown Goby AND juvenile Clownfish.

I re-homed Mrs Bossy. The serpent star can be attributed to all, but the Clownfish seemed to not fit his profile. This week I got #3 Purple Firefish along with #2 Clown Goby, and the kiddo was quite fond of a Royal Gramma. The Firefish didn't last the night.

I'm 99% sure that the serpent star is hunting and becoming very good. The Gramma claimed a little cave under a rock overhang. This morning the Star was using his body to form a third wall to seemingly make it a trap. I zipped up to the LFS with Serpent Star in tow and came back with #4 Purple Firefish. I figure I can also attribute the Clownfish to him if he was "evicted" by Mrs Bossy and became more vulnerable.

If this Firefish doesn't make it, I think I'll be done with them. I'm not too suspicious of the CBS as it seems that the fish that have gone missing are far too large for him to overpower (several times his weight)... even if he had plenty of time getting a propper grip. And I really like him.

I plan to get some new clowns once these folks settle in. Leaning toward Frostbite and Midnight (complete opposites ).

In good news, my Kenya Coral is flourishing so well that it's almost too big. A second one popped up on a rock and is now big enough to be a centerpiece on its own!!

 

[christinna77]

At this point, I'd just set up a camera in front of the tank, and review the footage if another fish goes missing. It might give you some more insight into what's happening at night.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

The serpent star getting hungry and going night fishing would be my bet.

Try either moving the serpent star out to another tank or feeding it directly right along with the fish and then try again.

they have a pretty wicked hunting style… If you google a little, you can probably find a video. IMO they only do it when they're hungry/starving… They would have no defense from a predator so I'm sure it's the last resort. keep them fed.

This is the answer. Nightime is not friendly in the reef.