I have something eating my fish

[davidbradley]

I am trying to figure out why my fish keep disappearing. I have a top over the tank, so I know they are not jumping out. I have Hermit and emerald crabs so they could be grabbing the fish. The only thing I know that is in there besides them is some bristle worms. Has anyone else had this issue?

 

[Lavey29]

None if what you mentioned will go after live fish. They will eat dead ones though.

 

[Gtinnel]

I have never heard of emerald crabs, hermit crabs, or regular bristleworms killing fish. Any chance the fish are dying for some reason and they’re just quickly being “cleaned up” by those things mentioned.

 

[exnisstech]

I also have all of the critters but no disappearing fish. What type of fish are disappearing?

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Have you checked your sump? As others have said, those crabs will only eat dead or extremely weak fish. Did you add any live rock to the tank? If so, where is it from?

 

[davidbradley]

Sump is clean. I lost 3 healthy fish. Banded Cardinal, Diamond Golby and a Desinger Clown. I lost one unhealthy clown also. It has to be something in the rocks. I tried to lure it out with a big piece of shrimp but only got hermits peppermint shrimp.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Sump is clean. I lost 3 healthy fish. Banded Cardinal, Diamond Golby and a Desinger Clown. I lost one unhealthy clown also. It has to be something in the rocks. I tried to lure it out with a big piece of shrimp but only got hermits peppermint shrimp.

Where is your rock from and how long have you had it?

 

[tautog83]

 

[steveschuerger]

Yeah bobbit maybe. Or a mantis. But I’d pin my thoughts on bobbit or similar

 

[davidbradley]

Where is your rock from and how long have you had it?

Most of the rock started out dry from my old aquarium. I did bring in a new rock from the fish store that had corals on it. I am suspecting that is where it came from.

 

[davidbradley]

I am going to upgrade to a bigger tank and was thinking about taking my rocks out one at a time and straying them with fresh water to see what comes out of them. Do you think that is a good idea?

 

[Sharkbait19]

You said one clown was unhealthy when it died - I’d bet the other fish also had what it did. They got sick and died, and the cuc made them disappear.

 

[davidbradley]

All the fish got eaten or came up missing within 3 days of getting them. I have two healthy clown fish in the tank that have been there for a long time. One was gone the next morning after putting him in the tank and I am finding no remains of any of them. The unhealthy fish was a clown fish I bought with another clown fish to be a pair. The healthy one is still there. I understand that the unhealthy one disappeared, but the healthy fish that disappeared within one day, just does not make since.

 

[davidbradley]

I upgraded my tank to a 150 gallon, in the process, I had to move all rocks. The only thing I found that could have been eaten them is two giant bristle worms and one medium size. Apart from that, I had a few large crabs. The tanks seems to be running fine, so I went and bought a Six Line Wrasp and a Yellow Tail Damsel. The fish have made it through 2 nights, which is more than I could say for some other fish that disappeared.

 

[seder710]

Did the damsel and six like make it? I’m also battling disappearing fish with no bodies… but it’s typically weeks after being in the tank. Very annoying

 

[davidbradley]

The damsel and six line made it. However, we had a tornado here and lost power for 2.5 days. I lost the six line during that time. Current focus is trying to bring my corrals back to health. The only thing I can think of is it was the Bristle Worms or Hermit Crabs that were getting my fish.

 

[LiverockRocks Verified Sponsor]

I upgraded my tank to a 150 gallon, in the process, I had to move all rocks. The only thing I found that could have been eaten them is two giant bristle worms and one medium size. Apart from that, I had a few large crabs. The tanks seems to be running fine, so I went and bought a Six Line Wrasp and a Yellow Tail Damsel. The fish have made it through 2 nights, which is more than I could say for some other fish that disappeared.

Hey there,
You may get lucky and find 1 of the missing fish in those overflows, happened to me many times over the years.
-Wen