Fish or Houdini: Have you ever had a fish disappear? What happened?

[AlyciaMarie]

Who knew the most impressive disappearing act could happen in a saltwater aquarium? I sure didn't, but it happens to the best of us. Some fish are more prone to this than others, but no one can truly escape the thrill of having a fish try to terminate their reef rent.

Have you ever had a fish disappear? Did you ever discover what happened to it?

Tell us about it in the comments!

Photo: Sharkbait19
Wizardization: GumbiesRUs

 

[Reefer Matt]

I had an instance of 2-3 smaller damsels disappearing one at a time for a couple months. I have lids on my tank, and didn’t see any on the floor or elsewhere. I began to suspect a coral banded shrimp, as it had grown to a large size and seemed to be harassing the fish during the day. I removed the shrimp, and the disappearances stopped. I never found any bodies. I can’t prove it was the shrimp, but the problem was solved regardless.

 

[lil sumpin]

When I first got my six line wrasse, he was immediately active and zooming around the tank. Later that evening I could not find the guy and it was kinda horrifying cause I'd just gotten him. I have a nano tank, so where could he have possibly gone? I eventually found him tucked away in a crevice and realized he'd called it a night

 

[paragrouper]

Both: I had a fire fish that found a hole (doesn’t take much) and was sacrificed to the carpet.

Then there’s this guy

When I got him, he was so small he made his way into the inlet of my AIO. I saw him in there a couple of times then he disappeared. A month later I found him (alive) in my protein skimmer.

 

[ubiq]

Who knew the most impressive disappearing act could happen in a saltwater aquarium? I sure didn't, but it happens to the best of us. Some fish are more prone to this than others, but no one can truly escape the thrill of having a fish try to terminate their reef rent.

Have you ever had a fish disappear? Did you ever discover what happened to it?

Tell us about it in the comments!

Photo: Sharkbait19
Wizardization: GumbiesRUs

Had a large Melanarus wrasse disappear, but in a tank covered in BTA's. I figure they got him.

 

[Reef-Rookie]

Who knew the most impressive disappearing act could happen in a saltwater aquarium? I sure didn't, but it happens to the best of us. Some fish are more prone to this than others, but no one can truly escape the thrill of having a fish try to terminate their reef rent.

Have you ever had a fish disappear? Did you ever discover what happened to it?

Tell us about it in the comments!

Photo: Sharkbait19
Wizardization: GumbiesRUs

I had a tailspot blenny and he was always out and accounted for during the morning feeding routine. One morning 2 weeks ago he was not. I then saw his tail sticking out of my rose bubble tip. He was healthy and active the day before so I think we made a fatal mistake and got too close. The anemone had an expensive meal that day.

 

[rhitee93]

I have a green spotted puffer that I got as not much more than a fry. It went missing one day and I finally found it in the overflow. It was small enough to swim between the weir teeth.

It was a pain to get 'him' out of a 24" deep overflow filled with pipes

 

[Dburr1014]

I have 2 Royal Grammas and one never ever comes out.

Once I had a blue star wrasse and he hid in the sand for 5~6 months. When he came out he was thin and died in a week.

 

[SilverRanger]

I had a blue stripe pipefish for like 7 months and it disappeared. I suspect a maxi mini anemone was the culprit. I'll never know. Miss that little guy

 

[kdx7214]

Boy do I have this one! Around 20 some years ago I had a tank setup and had a striped damsel. This little sucker was, as expected, vicious as hell. One day it just disappeared and I figured the BTA had eaten him. Fast forward a few years and I was changing out my wet/dry for a refugium. There in a small compartment in the wet/dry was that dang fish! It was now enormous, so big it had lived on its side for years. If you've not seen a wet/dry, there is a drip plate (basically a plastic plate with holes drilled in it) that the water enters the filter through. Somehow this fish got around the drip plate (still no clue how) and made it past filter floss into this little compartment. Given the location of the compartment there's no way I could have seen it without breaking it down.

So naturally I put the fish back into the tank and the now female clown kept its unruly nature in check

 

[TBSB2019]

Wife had a chromis disappear in her aio. Didn't see it in the compartments or on the counter where the tank was. Just figured it jumped and one of the dogs ate it. A few months later, upgraded her tank. Low and behold, it was in the return pump compartment. Was fat, but still small. Half the size of her others. Over a year later, and it is still in her 60 gal.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

Boy do I have this one! Around 20 some years ago I had a tank setup and had a striped damsel. This little sucker was, as expected, vicious as hell. One day it just disappeared and I figured the BTA had eaten him. Fast forward a few years and I was changing out my wet/dry for a refugium. There in a small compartment in the wet/dry was that dang fish! It was now enormous, so big it had lived on its side for years. If you've not seen a wet/dry, there is a drip plate (basically a plastic plate with holes drilled in it) that the water enters the filter through. Somehow this fish got around the drip plate (still no clue how) and made it past filter floss into this little compartment. Given the location of the compartment there's no way I could have seen it without breaking it down.

So naturally I put the fish back into the tank and the now female clown kept its unruly nature in check

yeah, that sounds like a damsel!

 

[McPuff]

I've had several fish disappear within the tank, never to be seen again.

 

[Reef Altitude]

Upgraded tanks and my six line wrasse disappeared for two weeks. Saw it living in super branchy rock and he still there.

Guess he was just moving into a new home and getting settled.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I've had several fish disappear within the tank, never to be seen again.

I wonder if something ate them.