clown fish totally gone, bones and all, overnight

[ghill]

Overnight one of two clown fish disappeared overnight. It is a fish only tank with live rocks 9 months old. Red Sea 20 gal cube. Occupants include(d) 2 clown fish, 2 medium engineer gobys, lawnmower goby, banggani cardinal, large clam, small clam, sand sifting starfish, large green crab, large LTA, 2 small crabs, 2 hermit crabs, misc snails. Have serched everywhere in tank but not moved rocks. Missing clown had adopted large clam as its home. Now that it is gone the other clown is using it the same way.

No clue and no remnants. have had same situation before in another tank. Any thoughts?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

You said similar situation in another tank, what do you mean by this? Have you noticed your clowns being aggressive towards each other?

 

[RV Reefs]

Maybe check the sump (if you have one) and the sand bed? That sucks, sorry for your loss.

 

[radfly]

Check the floor…

 

[ghill]

Check the floor…

Re all above… no aggression, no floor, no sand or rock crevices/caves. What fish or combination of critters could devour or hide the remnants?

 

[Tamberav]

Re all above… no aggression, no floor, no sand or rock crevices/caves. What fish or combination of critters could devour or hide the remnants?

Bristle worms and pods would make the body disappear quickly. Can also easily get swept into/under the rocks. I would not move the rock though and let the CUC do its job.

 

[ghill]

Bristle worms and pods would make the body disappear quickly. Can also easily get swept into/under the rocks. I would not move the rock though and let the CUC do its job.

No obvious evidence of either of those but I will look again with that in mind.

 

[Tamberav]

No obvious evidence of either of those but I will look again with that in mind.

It would be really hard, near impossible to keep these out of the tank if adding things like corals or even your clams.

All your crabs would eat a fish body too and any nass snails.

 

[Vinaka_vakalevu]

I would leave it be, it will either re appear or not. You have a clean up crew whose job it is to dispose of dead or dying animals in your tank. I understand it’s definitely sad to lose a fish and feel terrible for you, but I’d try to take some solace in the circle of life.

 

[ghill]

I would leave it be, it will either re appear or not. You have a clean up crew whose job it is to dispose of dead or dying animals in your tank. I understand it’s definitely sad to lose a fish and feel terrible for you, but I’d try to take some solace in the circle of life.

Forgot to add one 3in conch. Re above… in 9 hours?

 

[ghill]

No obvious evidence of either of those but I will look again with that in mind.

No sign of above

 

[Lavey29]

In an overstocked 14g (with rocks) nano tank, agression and possible death will always be an issue. Sounds like the mortician crew did it's job.

 

[RV Reefs]

The crabs you mentioned in your stocking choice are likely culprits. I had a clown with Brooklynella and my crab was able to almost devour the entire body until I removed the body. I would assume that is what happened. My condolences.

It is less likely in an established tank, but please watch for ammonia and algae spikes, which are possible.

 

[Vinaka_vakalevu]

Forgot to add one 3in conch. Re above… in 9 hours?

Yes, easily within 9 hours. The starfish simply has to cover the fish and digest it all and you would never know.

 

[ghill]

Yes, easily within 9 hours. The starfish simply has to cover the fish and digest it all and you would never know.

No ammonia.. nitrates about 1.0. Other checks looking good. Dose all for reef 15 mg/da early morning single dose for 20 gallon tank with live rocks no corals but two clams and large LTA,

 

[KrisReef]

Overnight one of two clown fish disappeared overnight. It is a fish only tank with live rocks 9 months old. Red Sea 20 gal cube. Occupants include(d) 2 clown fish, 2 medium engineer gobys, lawnmower goby, banggani cardinal, large clam, small clam, sand sifting starfish, large green crab, large LTA, 2 small crabs, 2 hermit crabs, misc snails. Have serched everywhere in tank but not moved rocks. Missing clown had adopted large clam as its home. Now that it is gone the other clown is using it the same way.

No clue and no remnants. have had same situation before in another tank. Any thoughts?

2 medium Engineer Gobies are likely to have invited the missing fish to dinner.

I have lost 2 percs recently, both were looking weak and maybe were fighting over the last month as they got more and more disheveled and then went missing. I think the second was ingested by an anemone after it passed and the first was gone and never seen again. Vanished from sight.

I don’t know what cleared the table but the tank is very efficient at reallocating resources when they are in surplus.

 

[McPuff]

It's not surprising actually. I've had several fish just go missing, never to be seen again... and they weren't tiny fish either.

 

[ghill]

Prior to this I lost 4 of 5 banggani cardinals (nicknamed the gang of 5). 3 were found dead sucked to wave makers and one just disappeared like the clown. Last evening. I observed my large emerald crab try to grab my last banggani I removed the crab to isolation and now don't know what to do with it Too small for a crab boil!

 

[McPuff]

Prior to this I lost 4 of 5 banggani cardinals (nicknamed the gang of 5). 3 were found dead sucked to wave makers and one just disappeared like the clown. Last evening. I observed my large emerald crab try to grab my last banggani I removed the crab to isolation and now don't know what to do with it Too small for a crab boil!

The crab isn't going to be able to kill a banggai unless it's already close to death. It probably just scavenged it. No need to put it in isolation as they are fun to watch anyway.

 

[anemonalex]

Re all above… no aggression, no floor, no sand or rock crevices/caves. What fish or combination of critters could devour or hide the remnants?

Worms,snails,starfish are the big cuc in my 13.5g. I put about 3oz of thawed salmon with the skin on for my starfish to find last night and it's gone but I think the worms do 95% of the work. No bones but that wouldn't be a big deal on a small fish.