New tank... missing fish?!... how to clean and add corals

[tinker02]

We finally put fish in our new tank! 1 snowflake clownfish, 1 Banggi Cardinal, 1 damsel and a chromis. It’s almost been a week since we had the fish and on day 2 our chromis, Houdinid out of the tank. I have no idea how. Before bed he was swimming around and in the morning gone! I wonder if it’s even possible for a fish to consume an entire fish in such a short time bc we can’t find the body.

My next question is what coral to introduce to the tank first? Bc we do want this to be a reef tank.

 

[EmdeReef]

We finally put fish in our new tank! 1 snowflake clownfish, 1 Banggi Cardinal, 1 damsel and a chromis. It’s almost been a week since we had the fish and on day 2 our chromis, Houdinid out of the tank. I have no idea how. Before bed he was swimming around and in the morning gone! I wonder if it’s even possible for a fish to consume an entire fish in such a short time bc we can’t find the body.

My next question is what coral to introduce to the tank first? Bc we do want this to be a reef tank.[/QUOTE

Yes, many of us have experienced fish disappearances. I don’t think it’s likely any of the fish you have ate it but if you have crabs or bristle worms they’d eat the remains.

Re.corals you should post a bit about your tank (how old) and equipment (lights etc) and also what kind of corals you want to keep and I’m sure you'll get some good advice.

Good luck

 

[pletlibo]

Fish can hide in a LOT of places. So can snails, crabs, etc. No way those other fish ate it, but it could have died and the body is stuck hidden in some crevice in your rock work that's very difficult to see. It also could have been consumed by crabs or worms or other inverts after it died, like EmdeReef said. Also don't forget to check skimmers, overflow boxes, pumps, sumps or any kind of equipment as fish have been known to make their way into these places as well.

As far as first corals go, definitely go with softies. Green star polyps, Xenia, Zoanthids, Leathers, etc. Easy corals to keep and require low lighting and flow. You could even venture into the LPS range if you're feeling adventurous, my first batch of corals was two softies and an Acan LPS.

Don't add any corals for at least 3-4 months before setting up your tank, and make sure that all your parameters are stable before adding them in. Corals don't do well in unstable, new tanks.

Also if you haven't already you might consider dipping the corals upon arrival and/or quarantining them to avoid introducing predatory pests that will bother/kill your corals. Something to think about.