Missing fish

[reeflearner3]

Hey everybody. I have a 400 gallon reef tank and I just got three new fish for the tank and two of them have gone missing in less than 2 weeks. I got a solar fairy wrasse, hippo tang, and fire blenny (as well as a cowrie snail). The hippo tang and fire blenny are both missing and the cowrie snail is not moving and the shell appears to have a layer of fur on it, while the wrasse is doing perfectly fine. I have also noticed 2 green chromis have gone missing but I am not sure when they disappeared. The tank has plenty of live rock and corals that have been there for years and the fish and inverts include: 3 orchid dottybacks, 1 filefish, 3 Pajama cardinals, 1 foxface rabbitfish, 1 yellow tang, a breeding pair of clownfish, 2 clams, 2 cleaner shrimp, 2 urchins, 3-4 serpent stars, and about a dozen assorted crabs and snails all under 2 inches inn length. There has recently been an outbreak of Acoel worms in the tank too, I dont know if the two are related.

 

[jacobSD]

Parameters?

 

[reeflearner3]

Parameters?

Normal as far as I know. Everything in the tank is healthy so I haven't checked in some time.

 

[jacobSD]

Get the test results and we can go from there. That's usually where the problems and at the very least a good starting point.

 

[Maritimer]

At the very least, if you've got hidden dead fish back in your rockwork somewhere, you've probably got some ammonia to deal with . . .

On top of what killed the fish.

~Bruce

 

[reeflearner3]

At the very least, if you've got hidden dead fish back in your rockwork somewhere, you've probably got some ammonia to deal with . . .

On top of what killed the fish.

~Bruce

I looked around in all of the live rock and didn't see anything. I have full viewing access to all 4 sides of the tank and didnt see a thing out of place or unusual and certainly no remains. They arent the biggest fish, but still wouldnt totally disappear I would think

 

[Maritimer]

It may be that you have a very efficient cleanup crew, or that they've gotten themselves back into the rockwork somewhere. Did you set up with wild-grown liverock? The kind that can bring things like mantis shrimp?

Is there any possibility that one or more of them jumped out? They can bounce and flip a surprising distance . . .

~Bruce, still thinking you might want to double-check those water parameters

 

[CarrieB]

Did you QT the new fish?

 

[reeflearner3]

Did you QT the new fish?

Yes. They were kept in a quarantine tank for well over a week

 

[reeflearner3]

It may be that you have a very efficient cleanup crew, or that they've gotten themselves back into the rockwork somewhere. Did you set up with wild-grown liverock? The kind that can bring things like mantis shrimp?

Is there any possibility that one or more of them jumped out? They can bounce and flip a surprising distance . . .

~Bruce, still thinking you might want to double-check those water parameters

The tank has been established for almost thirty years and the live rock has been in there for at least 5 if not more. I didn't see anything on the ground or in the sump either. My clean up crew is very lackluster but it is possible that a bristle worm could have gotten to them I suppose.

 

[CarrieB]

Yes. They were kept in a quarantine tank for well over a week

A week is better than nothing, but not long enough to be sure they didn't have any parasites or diseases, IMO. There are a number of things they could have brought with them that subsequently killed them, velvet being the one that seems to be popping up a lot lately.