What killed my wrasses?

[Asantiago1]

Hey guys so I recently purchased a wrasse as well as a new CUC I brought Scarlett hermit crabs, a cleaner shrimp, blue leg hermit crabs, and a couple snails. Now I have a emeral crab from my last clean up crew and the emerald, cleaner shrimp and blood fire shrimp all hang out on and in the rocks. Unfortunately I found my wrasses being eating by the hermit crabs below the rocks and am wondering which critter did it, I only have two clownfish and a watchman goby but I don’t think they’re the culprits. Only the wrasses stomach was eating and I’m wondering if it was the shrimp or the emerald crab so I can get rid of it.

 

[paul01609]

Maybe the fish just died and the clean up crew were just doing there job?

 

[Pebbleofdoom]

I doubt your cuc is responsible for your fish death most of those inverts are scavengers. So unless your wrasse was sick or succumbed to an injury it’s more likely it died and was scavenged by your clean up crew

 

[jmichaelh7]

I had two emeralds in my quarantine tank. A new wrasse wasn’t doing well as evidenced by floating in one spot. I left the room and came back and literally the hermit crab was eating at the tail already and the fish succumbed. They are one heck of a clean up crew

 

[Asantiago1]

The wrasses would always hide at night time and use its mucus coating to hide its scent as I read, the reason I think it was killed and not sick is because my water parameters are fine and during the day it acts as it normally would but at night it goes into this zombie phase and wraps itself in the mucus and does wake until the morning where I find it swimming. Also I've found dead snails and scarlet hermit crabs lately as well so im wondering if its the emerald crab or one of the shrimp I hear emeralds are opportunistic feeders but im always feed it and what would only eat the stomach?

 

[fachatga]

I think there’s another reason things are dying. The wrasse especially is very unlikely to have been killed by the cuc. But they will always go after the dead carcass

 

[Cell]

The cuc did not kill the wrasse. You probably bought a sick fish.

 

[fachatga]

The wrasses would always hide at night time and use its mucus coating to hide its scent as I read, the reason I think it was killed and not sick is because my water parameters are fine and during the day it acts as it normally would but at night it goes into this zombie phase and wraps itself in the mucus and does wake until the morning where I find it swimming. Also I've found dead snails and scarlet hermit crabs lately as well so im wondering if its the emerald crab or one of the shrimp I hear emeralds are opportunistic feeders but im always feed it and what would only eat the stomach?

A few points. They only ate the stomach because you likely found it before they finished the job. And water parameters normal really isn’t the issue. Read through sick fish threads here. Water parameters are almost never the cause of fish death unless it’s ammonia or something.

But more importsntly are any of your other fosh showing symptoms of anything? You’ve mentioned a bunch of deaths and something is wrong in your tank. We can be more help with some more information so everybody doesn’t die from what killed the wrasse. That really should be the goal here. Wrasses are delicate and don’t travel well. It could have been a one off. But best to really investigate to make sure. It’s really not the clean up crew. They’re not predators.

 

[Tamberav]

It not your cuc… wrasses are delicate and it looks like a fairy or flasher. If it wasn’t disease… well… these fish are easily spooked and are notoriously famous from dying from injury when they smash into the glass or a lid.

It is easy to blame the cuc but you don’t have anything on your list that would bother a healthy fish. The emerald crab wasn’t even snacking on it when you found it. Sounds like it was just the hermits so far.

As far as finding dead snails and hermits. That is normal… hermits will kill each other and snails looking for shells.

 

[Alex Cataldo]

I doubt your cuc is responsible for your fish death most of those inverts are scavengers. So unless your wrasse was sick or succumbed to an injury it’s more likely it died and was scavenged by your clean up crew

Very good point, they are scavengers not the reason for the death