Something is killing fairy/flasher wrasses in my tank

[merkmerk73]

And it’s not my water.

Something seems to be getting at them at night

I suspect it’s my cleaner shrimp.

I had a flasher for probably 6 months and it showed more and more scale damage but seemed healthy

Then it died one night and I found its remains in a jawfish burrow

I later got another flasher and fairy on the same day

Everything was fine and then one morning the flasher had a lot of nips and scale damage but was still healthy and eating

Next morning it was gone with no trace

Fairy continues to do fine and then suddenly I realize I today that it’s gone, no trace

I have a tight fitting mesh lid so there is no possibility of escape there

Stock is a couple tangs, some blennies, watchmen gobies, clownfish, etc - everything is peaceful except the two cardinals that hate eachother

What I don’t understand is why it’s only my wrasses? I suspect because they go stationary at night where things can get at them

 

[littlefoxx]

Its not cleaner shrimp, they dont kill fish. Coral banded maybe but cleaners no. What else is in your tank?

 

[merkmerk73]

I've seen cleaner shrimp be too aggressive in picking at scales and skin of fish before.

Anyway, I mentioned this in the OP, but I have some candy cane pistol shrimp, yellow watchman gobies, several small blennies (two spot, tailspot, sailfin), two tangs, a copperband, two clownfish, and a couple of bangais

First flasher I had for about 6 months with no issues.

Second I had for probably a month then it disappeared (think it got stuck into the rocks)

Third was a fairy, not a flasher, and it disappeared this week.

Everything was healthy and eating and happy. Fairy showed no damage, then poofed.

Flashers had all shown some scale damage but not much fin damage

 

[littlefoxx]

I've seen cleaner shrimp be too aggressive in picking at scales and skin of fish before.

Anyway, I mentioned this in the OP, but I have some candy cane pistol shrimp, yellow watchman gobies, several small blennies (two spot, tailspot, sailfin), two tangs, a copperband, two clownfish, and a couple of bangais

First flasher I had for about 6 months with no issues.

Second I had for probably a month then it disappeared (think it got stuck into the rocks)

Third was a fairy, not a flasher, and it disappeared this week.

Everything was healthy and eating and happy. Fairy showed no damage, then poofed.

Flashers had all shown some scale damage but not much fin damage

Ah asked cause the ect in the post made me wonder what else was in there. But yeah I dont think the cleaner shrimp is killing them, maybe too rough. Hum Im not so sure. @Slocke and @i cant think might be able to help since they are wrasse people.

 

[Slocke]

Definitely not a shrimp. Scale loss is probably due to water conditions or some disease. Do you see them scraping on the rocks? What is your alkalinity and pH. A high alkalinity can cause issues with the mucus membrane and a low pH can also cause irritation.

Tangs are always a likely when it comes to bullying. Clownfish and cardinals can bite.

 

[merkmerk73]

LFS expert thinks it’s the pistol shrimp - the fairy / flashers go sleep by their caves and they get picked at when they’re sleeping

Sounds believable even if they’re little candy cane pistols - I do hear them snapping at stuff randomly at night

Alk is 8-8.7

Ph is 8.3

 

[Slocke]

Hmm your parameters are good.
A pistol shrimp can maybe stun a fish for a few seconds but I doubt it could kill one of any size. They sometimes kill other cuc but very rarely fish. It sounds to me like you had a couple fish fade away which happens. Bullying, cyanide collection, gut parasites etc can all cause this. @Crabby48 ?

 

[Crabby48]

Glanced over. This could be a lot of things.
What other wrasse are in the tank alive?

 

[Trixter227]

LFS expert thinks it’s the pistol shrimp - the fairy / flashers go sleep by their caves and they get picked at when they’re sleeping

Sounds believable even if they’re little candy cane pistols - I do hear them snapping at stuff randomly at night

Alk is 8-8.7

Ph is 8.3

Doubt on the pistol shrimp. I have multiple wrasse in my tank with a pistol shrimp for a year or more. He snaps day and night.

You dident mention quarantine for any of the fish. Did you quarantine the wrasse? They can be delicate, and disease can go unnoticed for months.

 

[DCR]

Might be crab or a mantis shrimp, although I would think your gobies and blennies would be vulnerable as well if those were present. Flashers and to a lesser extent Fairies are not the most hardy of fish and do not live exceptionally long. A couple of years is quite common (even less for Flashers).

 

[Boehmtown]

And it’s not my water.

Something seems to be getting at them at night

I suspect it’s my cleaner shrimp.

I had a flasher for probably 6 months and it showed more and more scale damage but seemed healthy

Then it died one night and I found its remains in a jawfish burrow

I later got another flasher and fairy on the same day

Everything was fine and then one morning the flasher had a lot of nips and scale damage but was still healthy and eating

Next morning it was gone with no trace

Fairy continues to do fine and then suddenly I realize I today that it’s gone, no trace

I have a tight fitting mesh lid so there is no possibility of escape there

Stock is a couple tangs, some blennies, watchmen gobies, clownfish, etc - everything is peaceful except the two cardinals that hate eachother

What I don’t understand is why it’s only my wrasses? I suspect because they go stationary at night where things can get at them

My guess is the tangs. They don't like the flashers flashing sometimes. And they are just no match for a tang. Or could be the clowns just generally menacing them to death. They are fairly peaceful for a wrasse in general

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Flukes can cause scale damage that leaves the fins alone.

Jay

 

[Pistondog]

And it’s not my water.

Something seems to be getting at them at night

I suspect it’s my cleaner shrimp.

I had a flasher for probably 6 months and it showed more and more scale damage but seemed healthy

Then it died one night and I found its remains in a jawfish burrow

I later got another flasher and fairy on the same day

Everything was fine and then one morning the flasher had a lot of nips and scale damage but was still healthy and eating

Next morning it was gone with no trace

Fairy continues to do fine and then suddenly I realize I today that it’s gone, no trace

I have a tight fitting mesh lid so there is no possibility of escape there

Stock is a couple tangs, some blennies, watchmen gobies, clownfish, etc - everything is peaceful except the two cardinals that hate eachother

What I don’t understand is why it’s only my wrasses? I suspect because they go stationary at night where things can get at them

I had a flasher disappear for 3 weeks 2 days after putting him in the tank. I think the kole tang bothered him into hiding. Hes out now.

 

[merkmerk73]

Definitely not a mantis shrimp - I've never gotten any corals larger than small frags, and no live rock, so there's just not any feasible way one could have entered my system.

This has only happened to my wrasses, and only fairly recently.

* I had a fairy wrasse and a flasher wrasse for many months without issue, but I took the fairy back as trade in.

A month or so later, that flasher died.

* Then, about 2 months ago, I got another flasher/fairy - they were smaller and younger.

Flasher showed some fin damage but was otherwise fine, and was hungrily eating and co-existing with the fairy without any aggression (they go to sleep at night so I wasn't worried about night time between them).

Then about 2 weeks ago the flasher disappeared. Last time I saw it, it was trying to sleep in the mated pistol shrimp burrow area (randall/candy cane...pretty small)

Then this week, with no signs of bullying or damage, the fairy disappeared.

None of my other fish have shown any signs of bullying or being bullied, and only the wrasses try to sleep along the sand or in the rocks - which is why I suspect something at night.


I really don't have any reason to suspect the clowns, tangs, or any other fish because everyone is chill in the tank

edit: I also don't have any reason to suspect isolated illness, because they were fine for over a month and very active and eating. Anything is possible of course

 

[DCR]

May be obvious but have you checked your overflow boxes. My wrasses are very adept and getting into them. That is the first place I look when one disappears and I frequently find it there.

 

[Sharkbait19]

A candy cane pistol is definitely not capable of killing a fish.
Don’t be so sure it isn’t the tangs or clowns - they don’t always show you if they hate something. The aggression is often secret, fish act different when they know someone is watching.

 

[merkmerk73]

A candy cane pistol is definitely not capable of killing a fish.
Don’t be so sure it isn’t the tangs or clowns - they don’t always show you if they hate something. The aggression is often secret, fish act different when they know someone is watching.

Fish aggression would present on these 3” fairy wrasses as damage over several days and resulting shyness and then death

I don’t think it would present with an overnight vanishing

 

[Sharkbait19]

Fish aggression would present on these 3” fairy wrasses as damage over several days and resulting shyness and then death

I don’t think it would present with an overnight vanishing

My clown has made things disappear overnight…
I’m not saying aggression is the cause, but something to consider especially when everything else is a dead end.
If it’s just wrasses dying, I’d assume there’s some specificity in the killer.