New fish missing; 2 Helfrichi & 1 Yasha

[Christopher Poore]

Hello all! I always seem to have a story to tell.

Little bit of back story. I once had a Yasha and Pistol Shrimp pair that were the highlight of my tank. I went to Hawaii and came back and the Yasha was being extra shy. A couple of days later I found him dying at the bottom of the tank, no luck in saving him. Shrimp still OK.
I have a Dottyback and it's possible the Yasha was attacked.

Fast forward to 5 weeks ago. I purchased another Yasha and 2 Helfrichi's.
The Yasha was acclimated a day before the Helfrichi's and was added to the tank at night after drip acclimating for 3 hours and I haven't seen him since.

The next day I added the 2 Helfrichi's acclimated again for 3 hours and added at night while the lights were off. I didn't see them for 2 weeks when suddenly one appeared. He was being attacked by my Dottyback so I was able to get a hold of him and put him in a breeder box. I was also able to capture the dottyback and he's now in my frag tank. This same day I saw the other Helfrichi and his fins were all in perfect condition. I kept the Helfrichi in the breeder box for a few days but while feeding one day he slipped out and back into the tank.

Neither of them have been seen since.

Any chance all 3 fish could still be alive? I guess it's possible the Yasha found the Shrimp but I don't see how he could still be alive after 5 weeks.

Any suggestions on how to get the Helfrichi's to come out? I don't want them to starve to death. I've yet to see the non captured one eat, but the one in the breeder box was fed a few times.

 

[Eva Rose]

My Helfrichi pair liked to hide in caves in the back of my tank then peek out at feeding time. They were cryptic fish. It could be still in the tank hiding. Since you removed the dottyback, keep checking. Maybe now that the threat of the dottyback is removed, it will emerge. You could spritz a small amount of a favorite food with a turkey baster in an area it retreated to in the past, stand back away from the tank and watch. Mine liked LRS Reef Frenzy. Good luck.