Hole eaten in fish

[N.Sreefer]

Well I have introduced something sinister adding wc fish.

 

[N.Sreefer]

Anyone have any ideas what would do that?

 

[N.Sreefer]

Bump anyone? The hole goes all the way to the stomach.

 

[MaxTremors]

Nassarius snail, hermit crab, basically any crab, polychaete worms, pretty much any scavenger.

 

[Weasel1960]

Bump for @vetteguy53081 he seems to know a lot of this kind of stuff

 

[N.Sreefer]

Nassarius snail, hermit crab, basically any crab, polychaete worms, pretty much any scavenger.

Thanks, my thoughts were its such a perfect circle it looks like something internal that exited the body via the hole. I guess it wasn't in the tank long enough for the scavengers to make much of a dent and thats likely why the hole is so small? Do you think the chances are low that its from something that will hitchhike into the tank? Only mollys and native fish right now so it wouldn't be the end of the world (I knew wc fish came with that risk) but it would be a pain to try and scoop out a ton of dead fish.

 

[MaxTremors]

Thanks, my thoughts were its such a perfect circle it looks like something internal that exited the body via the hole. I guess it wasn't in the tank long enough for the scavengers to make much of a dent and thats likely why the hole is so small? Do you think the chances are low that its from something that will hitchhike into the tank? Only mollys and native fish right now so it wouldn't be the end of the world (I knew wc fish came with that risk) but it would be a pain to try and scoop out a ton of dead fish.

I would guess it died of stress or disease and then was scavenged by something in your tank. Even a modest CUC can completely dissolve a decent sized fish in a few hours. Do you have any crabs, nassarius snails, bristle worms, shrimp, brittle stars, really any inverts (including hitchhikers)?

 

[Dom]

Nassarius snail, hermit crab, basically any crab, polychaete worms, pretty much any scavenger.

Ya think? I don't know... the hole is perfect! It's like a piece was surgically removed. I would expect a scavenger would leave a jagged hole.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This looks like a post-death discovery whereas the fish died and scavengers (and i know this sound bad) go for the eyes and anal area first in which this displays as such

 

[N.Sreefer]

Im relieved to hear this thank you all for the help! It is impressive how well defined the edges of the hole are. I don't have any hermits or crabs in my display but I'm sure theres worms somewhere in there/ other unseen cuc and my skunk cleaner shrimp is a scavenger when its hungry enough.

 

[Dom]

This looks like a post-death discovery whereas the fish died and scavengers (and i know this sound bad) go for the eyes and anal area first in which this displays as such

I can't get past the scavenger theory because of the perfect hole. It almost looks like a sample has been removed with a biopsy needle; it looks surgical. I would think a scavenger would leave a more jagged hole.

But after looking at the photo a second time, I can see what you mean.

 

[N.Sreefer]

I can't get past the scavenger theory because of the perfect hole. It almost looks like a sample has been removed with a biopsy needle; it looks surgical. I would think a scavenger would leave a more jagged hole.

But after looking at the photo a second time, I can see what you mean.

Thats what scared me looking at it I expected some of those fish to die after being added, I only lost that one out of 20 something, but I was afraid mabey some sort of evil made that hole lol. I guess I could see a worm eating a hole in that shape I think the shrimp would just rip chunks out.