Fish Suicide

[Laniac103]

I got a pajama cardinal in yesterday that had an injured tailfin. I put him in the tank hoping he would recover over time but then today I woke up to him being eaten by my trachyphyllia coral. Is it safe to pull him out without hurting the coral? Or should I just let the coral eat it?

 

[rhdoug]

I'd let the coral have it.

 

[jassermd]

Expensive snack... let nature take it's course. You'll likely injure the trachy by trying to remove him.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Allow coral to eat it as pulling it out could cause internal injury on coral. Sorry for the loss

 

[KrisReef]

Do you have other fish in the tank? That tail issue sounds like a serious medical problem. If you have other fish I might consider removing the carcass if you can.

 

[Laniac103]

Do you have other fish in the tank? That tail issue sounds like a serious medical problem. If you have other fish I might consider removing the carcass if you can.

I have a few other fish yeah. What kind of harm could it cause to leave him in there? I don't think the fin injury was anything contagious as far as I could tell. Just the stress from shipping and acclimation combined with the fin might have been too much for the poor guy.

 

[KrisReef]

I have a few other fish yeah. What kind of harm could it cause to leave him in there? I don't think the fin injury was anything contagious as far as I could tell. Just the stress from shipping and acclimation combined with the fin might have been too much for the poor guy.

Ok. I find new fish do have a huge mortality rate on introduction. I always keep a sharp eye on the survivors for the week following these mortalities to make sure it wasn’t contagious and spreading.

I guess I use the same practice if the new add lives until they all settle in.