who killed my 3 fish?! could use some advice :)

[ahmer1781]

Long story, but I really need your opinion on what happened.

I have a 90 gallon setup with 30 galllon sump, running about 3 months now, ~90 lbs of live rock.

My tank consists of:

Yellow Watchman Goby paired with Pistol Shrimp
Foxface (maybe 3")
4 baby clowns (largest is barely 1") they host in a GBTA
Six line wrasse (maybe 1.5")
20 hermits, 20 snails, cleaner shrimp, 2 peppermint shrimp and 2 emerald crabs

Ammonia -- 0
Nitrites -- 0
Nitrates -- <5
Temp -- 77

I added:
2 Bangai Cardinals
2 Red Firefish

The first day, everyone was hiding. The next day all 4 fish were eating and doing okay. The Bangai Cardinals split up, 1 was in the middle rock area, the other 1 in the corner near the clowns. The one near the clowns stopped eating. 3 days later, that cardinal died and I found my clean up crew eating him.

The 2 firefish were eating great, coming out a lot, and at night time would hide in a rock. The rock happened to be the same rock that the Goby and Shrimp would live in. About a week later 1 firefish went missing. I looked everywhere to see if he jumped, didn't see him anywhere. 10 days after that, my last firefish was hiding in the day time and not eating. The next day I saw my crew eating him up.

What happened!? I did read that the Bangai Cardinals and the Firefish, if I got 2 of the same sex, would kill each other. So that would mean I'd be left with 1 firefish and 1 cardinal. In this case, I am left with no firefish, so who took him out?

I think it's the pistol shrimp or the ocellaris clown. The female is so much smaller than both Cardinals and Firefish, I just didn't see any behavior like that.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Ahmer Khan

 

[jdeb101]

ahhh the mysteries of fish deaths. I've experienced far too many similar scenarios. I don't have an answer for you, but can say I had a six line that turned nasty one day and started harassing the crap out of my clownfish.

 

[s_kelley]

I'd be suspect of the sixline, but sometimes it just happens

 

[MrX]

I had a couple unexplained deaths in my 120... stinks not knowing what happened. Like you I lost 1 of 2 Banggai's, and 2 of 3 red firefish. Unlike you though, I never saw the bodies... they were just gone.

 

[frank180reef]

six line
I had one it bothered my baby clowns I had to remove it from the tank

 

[P-Nut]

My pistol shrimp grabs my serpent stars arm and tries to cut it off. I can hear the "click click" from my couch. But it never cuts it off, the star leaves his cave alone. that being said, 2 of my clowns sleep right next to one of his caves, and in the early AM I see him cleaning it and working right next to the sleeping clowns and it doesn't bother them.

Look behind your tank, your fish could have jumped. I lost 2 fish and a shrimp to suicide.

 

[RadReefer]

If bangais are the same sex they will pick each other off quickly. Firefish are notoriously shy and it could have been the 6 line or the YWG if they were hiding near his burrow.

 

[pallobi]

Established 6-lines can be incredibly mean... Especially towards other small fish... That would be my vote... But to ask, well how are we supposed to know what happened in your tank? It's your tank, we weren't there to tell...

 

[ahmer1781]

Thanks everyone, Mrx, your story makes me feel a lot better

Not that I'm happy you lost fish, but at least others have seen the issues I'm seeing.

I added the 6 line only a week prior, I have not seen him show any aggression yet, but that's probably because he's so much smaller than everyone else.

 

[delta]

Firefish is a goby so good chance the watchman goby got them.

 

[cobraz]

I would place the blame on these guys...

2 peppermint shrimp - I have seen them in the past chomp on fish as they hunt at night.
Six line although can get brutie when larger would not kill another fish.. just chase them away from his area of the tank.
With a 90 gallon... it's the peppermint or another uninvited guest in the rocks.
If there's a large star fish in the tank.. mystery would be solved..

Long nights and a red laser pen - fish and inverts can't see the red color at night... but don't bag the tank they do fell vibrations.