What is going on in my tank!!!!

[JosephM]

I’m freaking out right now. Verge of a breakdown. Earlier today my fire fish got badly injured. Created a hospital tank for him. Got home from work just a little bit ago to find my Dracula goby dead! There’s a crab that I’ve barely seen make appearances dead right outside of the pistol and gobies cave. The Dracula goby is dead on the other side of the tank though. what the heck happened. It looks like a massacre. No way a 3/4” Randall’s pistol could do this right??? Please any insight. This is my second time trying a Dracula and it pains me. Not only the price but they’re so hard to find

 

[Yates273]

First off what are your water parameters and what’s your ammonia reading.

 

[PBnJOnWheat]

I’m freaking out right now. Verge of a breakdown. Earlier today my fire fish got badly injured. Created a hospital tank for him. Got home from work just a little bit ago to find my Dracula goby dead! There’s a crab that I’ve barely seen make appearances dead right outside of the pistol and gobies cave. The Dracula goby is dead on the other side of the tank though. what the heck happened. It looks like a massacre. No way a 3/4” Randall’s pistol could do this right??? Please any insight. This is my second time trying a Dracula and it pains me. Not only the price but they’re so hard to find

I wish I could help I’m watching to see. I wouldn’t think it killed them if it was ‘paired’ with the goby.

 

[Courtney Aldrich]

Did you recently introduce some live rock (with a mantis)?

 

[JosephM]

First off what are your water parameters and what’s your ammonia reading.

As of a couple days ago. Alk - 9.6, salinity 1.025, Calc - 455, Mag, 1550, P04 0.04, N03 15-20. Seachem alert badge is showing safe. I have API for ammonia but I’m about to do a round of tests

 

[JosephM]

Did you recently introduce some live rock (with a mantis)?

Live rock has been in for over 2 months. Never seen it and I’ve never had any issues with snails disappearing as I’ve heard they like to kill them

 

[dedragon]

did anything change or did you add anything these last couple of days/weeks? I would retest all parameters including ammonia as seachem badges do expire at some point

 

[JosephM]

This is the hitchhiker crab that was dead right outside the burrow. He was a hitchhiker in the live rock but I never saw more then his legs

 

[dedragon]

what did the injury on the firefish look like?

 

[JosephM]

did anything change or did you add anything these last couple of days/weeks? I would retest all parameters including ammonia as seachem badges do expire at some point

I added a UV sterilizer on Friday. I did take half of my matrix today for the hospital tank

 

[JosephM]

what did the injury on the firefish look like?

 

[dedragon]

it does look like it got snipped or bit and not like any parameter issues to me. That crab you caught looks too small to do this type of damage though imo

 

[JosephM]

This is pics of dead Dracula goby. No visual damage

 

[JCM]

That firefish was seriously bullied. Something in your tank has become a murderer.

 

[JosephM]

That firefish was seriously bullied. Something in your tank has become a murderer.

In my tank left I have 2 phantoms and 1 royal gramma. Before my Dracula and pistol addition they all swam together during feeding time. After feeding time fire fish would go back into hiding and royal gramma and clowns are always out together

 

[dedragon]

i suspect a second crab or other pest murdering in there. Maybe it was that small crab but i dont think it could do that damage so fast

 

[zalick]

Following along. That's a serious chunk taken out of the firefish.....

 

[JosephM]

i suspect a second crab or other pest murdering in there. Maybe it was that small crab but i dont think it could do that damage so fast

Setup some bottle traps overnight? I’ve done this before many times to no avail of anything though.

Following along. That's a serious chunk taken out of the firefish.....

Believe it or not he’s still kicking in the hospital tank. Not looking to good but still alive

 

[JosephM]

Ammonia tested zero on API as well. Still testing everything else.

 

[JCM]

The goby looks malnourished. The firefish was obviously harrased to (near) death. I doubt the gramma did it. A female clown can get aggressive in a small tank but I'd expect to see signs of aggression before a chunk of its rear went missing.