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

Have you ever had a fish disappear? (tell us what happened in the comments!)

  • Yes, and I found it alive!

    Votes: 29 29.0%
  • Yes, but I found it dead...

    Votes: 23 23.0%
  • Yes, but I'm not sure what happened to it.

    Votes: 60 60.0%
  • Not yet.

    Votes: 6 6.0%
  • No, thankfully.

    Votes: 3 3.0%
  • How do you lose a whole fish?

    Votes: 2 2.0%
  • Other (please explain!).

    Votes: 3 3.0%

  • Total voters
    100

AlyciaMarie

Where's my anemone?
View Badges
Joined
Feb 12, 2024
Messages
1,595
Reaction score
3,783
Location
Georgia, USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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!

1646938371366.jpg

Photo: Sharkbait19
Wizardization: GumbiesRUs
 

Reefer Matt

Reef Cave Dweller
View Badges
Joined
May 15, 2021
Messages
6,977
Reaction score
31,412
Location
Michigan
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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

Digital Sponge
View Badges
Joined
Aug 13, 2023
Messages
865
Reaction score
1,566
Location
New York
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
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

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 9, 2023
Messages
1,667
Reaction score
7,326
Location
Shady Shores, TX
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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
IMG_3594.jpeg


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

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 11, 2019
Messages
150
Reaction score
51
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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!

1646938371366.jpg

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

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
May 17, 2024
Messages
31
Reaction score
81
Location
Ventura
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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!

1646938371366.jpg

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

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 21, 2023
Messages
863
Reaction score
1,542
Location
West Central Indiana, USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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 :angry-face:
 

Dburr1014

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2016
Messages
11,300
Reaction score
10,981
Location
CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 28, 2020
Messages
165
Reaction score
114
Location
Texas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
830
Reaction score
725
Location
Columbia, MO, US
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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 :D
 

TBSB2019

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 5, 2024
Messages
122
Reaction score
126
Location
Palmetto
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 16, 2024
Messages
1,779
Reaction score
4,832
Location
northern ca
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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 :D
yeah, that sounds like a damsel!:rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:
 

Reef Altitude

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 20, 2022
Messages
141
Reaction score
202
Location
Atlanta
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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.
 
Back
Top