Sad Day

[canadawest]

I came home this evening after a long day and fed my tank. I sat down in my comfy Ikea chair that faces the tank to relax and watch the fish eat. As I watched I noticed that my beautiful Christmas Wrasse wasn't tearing up the tank chasing down food. I though "hmmm, thats odd he should be out and about during daylight."

Well an hour later and still no Christmas Wrasse, so I decide that he's probably burried himself early tonight, I'll see him tomorrow. Unfortunately I saw him sooner, and not the way I ever hoped.

While doing some maintenance and cleaning I stuck my head around the side of the tank to wipe up some skimmer mess and found beautiful "Jesus" (pronounced hay-zeus) the Christmas Wrasse had made a "leap of faith" and had found his final resting place behind my tank. He was a bit "jerky-like" so I suspect he'd been there for at least 24 hours? :(

Ohh, a sad day it is. My first fish death in over a year, and first "carpet surf" (or hardwood in this case) ever. Between losing both my clams this summer, and now my precious Wrasse I'm very bummed.

Of course there is always a silver lining right? Papa Bangaii has finally held onto a brood of eggs for the first time in 6 months and is quietly swimming in seclusion in the nursery tank now, and we're awaiting the release of many tiny new Bangaii fry in the next few days! I'm gonna be a grandpa again soon. :D So I guess the circle of life continues in my world.

[Troy F]

Sorry to hear it Andrew. I've lost fish to the "jump" in the past and recently. It's not nice. At least yours is supposed to be a jumper, I had a freakin' percula go. I've covered my tank with egg-crate since even though I'm losing light.

[fishnut]

Sorry to hear of your loss - what a downer.

I name my fish as well, and it is heart-rending to have one die.

Recently I bought a needle-nose hawkfish, which are known to be jumpers, and I have covered the tank with egg crate, even though it is a bit of a nuisance.

[Dorkel Marine 1]

Real sorry for your loss Andrew. We get a little attached to our creatures. More some than others. I sometimes think of putting something over the tank. I'm very attached to Mr.Blenny.( bi-color)and have heard they can jump.
I'm rejoicin in your news of the cardinal fish. Could they I mean two be kept in a 30 gal. tank and be happy.
Happy reefin George

[farmerjo90]

Sorry to hear about your loss Andrew. Mandy, my mandarin goby went missing one night but I don't go to bed until I count tails. I found her stuck in a powerhead that I forgot to replace in the overflow. I unplugged it and took her out and she was lifeless in my hand and her head looked a little lopsided. I was devastated but I kept putting water over her gills like you would a trout you want to release and after a few minutes she just sprang back to life. I was very thankful. D On the other hand I bought a small black cap basslet from JLs and she was fine overnight and the next day...and then I never saw it again. :confused: I couldn't find it anywhere...not the powerheads, overflows, sump, skimmer, pumps, under rocks, floor...anywhere. There are no predators in my tank except a huge badass bristleworm. At least you know where your fish went; I wish I did. Everybody else accounted for every night and a few times each day. Cheer up there are brighter days ahead...like raising babies!
cheers
shirley

[canadawest]

Thanks for all the empathy guys, and you know I feel for those who have also shared their losses on here as well.

George, yes you could easily keep two Bangaiis in a 30 gal, as long as there weren't too many other fish in there, and no aggressive ones.

Shirley, hey guess what? My Mandarin Goby is also named Mandy. (Big reach for us eh?) It's fitting also in our case as my wife's best friend is named Mandy, and they are both pretty. ;)

Emily, my condolences on your loss. I have an open back tank, and so it's also my fault for not putting a screen of some sort over that. It's been open 18 months and this is the first jumper, but I guess it only takes one to send home the message eh? Kind of like petitioning for a pedestrian crosswalk. They never do anything until someone gets killed there, then there is a crosswalk installed the next week. :(

[EmilyB]

I share your sadness today, Andrew.

My dwarf fuzzy lionfish jumped from the tank last night. I've had her a couple years, and am really upset. :( It's my fault for not getting a top of some kind on there.