dead fish?

[irene060606]

I was wondering - I havnt seen my little pink fish for 2 days. he usually comes out all the time, especially when im feeding. If he is dead, and in the rocks somewhere, i have to get him out, right? i mean, is there a chance he was eaten by numerous crabs and such? he is small - about an inch and a half, but its a 14g. tank. Will this effect my water? my problem also is that if i was to move my rocks to look for him, it would be difficult because my anemone is right in the middle of them and its hard to tell where which ones its attached to. help?

[MikeInToronto]

I don't know what your pink fish is but is it possible the anemone ate it?

I would do a thorough search for the fish but I wouldn't disrupt the rockwork. If you can't find it, chances are it was eaten by something in the tank. As long as the tank is established the spike will be small, even in a 14g. Disrupting the rockwork will cause more harm than the dead fish.

[fsjman]

Have had the same thing happen myself just well fed crabs or he may appear one day my pink flasher wrasse was missing for about a week also had a dart fish missing for three months still have them both LOL

[Madreefer]

If it's just a "little" fish and he's been dead for a few days he's most likely been cleaned up and gone. Disturbing your rockwork is gonna cause more harm to your water parameters and stress ouy any other fish you have. He may turn up one day so consider it a bonus if he does.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by Madreefer

If it's just a "little" fish and he's been dead for a few days he's most likely been cleaned up and gone. Disturbing your rockwork is gonna cause more harm to your water parameters and stress ouy any other fish you have. He may turn up one day so consider it a bonus if he does.

Good advice!

[irene060606]

So after i thought he was dead, the next day my cleaner shrimp went missing. I thought something might be off. I took my water the the LFS and they said everything was great. The dude also said, that there is a possibility that i have a "brown or black crab" that is feasting on my babies. I said "No way, i dont have any kind of crab, just blue legged and halloween" .....and then an hour later it hit me! About a month ago i found the head part of a skeleton- that was the shape that crabs are- but i brushed it of and forgot about it. Is there really a chance that i got a crab i never got in the tank, and its been hiding and eating all along? The crab head was about 3/4 of an inch. ....but that leads to another problem- did it die, or do i have more then one, or was that its old shell? Anywas, my fish has returned...the cleaner however did not. (btw, my cleaner has NEVER hid. I mean NEVER - all day and all night he chilled on the rocks. So now that the fish is back, the question is, do i have this crazy crab? ..if not...how did the crazy head get in there? weird. am i making ANY sence?

P.S> thanks for the replies everyone! im new and this website is REALLY helpful!

[Namnuta]

You probably have a crab, and the head you saw was probably a molt. I have a crap in my tank that just showed up. I used to see him only a night, he would just come to the edge of his hole. Now he roams the tank and i see him every time i feed. Mine has spoon like claws and doesn't seem interested in my livestock at all.

Your cleaner could also be molting, as mine will disappear once in a while ( i assume to hide to allow his new shell to harden). If you see what looks like a cleaner body don't fret right away, becasue is could and probably is just his old shell. When mine molts it old shell look exactly like him, legs, antenna and all.

[Madreefer]

If you want to catch that crab. Get a tall drinking glass and put some food in the bottom and place the glass at an angle in your tank. Preferrably when the lights turn off.