pkmiller

I thought I was doing so well. I finally got to get fish about 6-7 weeks ago. I have a 35 gallon tank with 3 blue/green chromis, a clown, a banggai cardinalfish, a bicolor dottyback, a star fish (the brown one that cleans the sand), and some snails. A few nights ago I noticed the dottyback had just disappeared! I recently bought a peppermint shrimp but haven't seen it since the day I bought it. I just figured it was in the back somewhere behind the rock but I moved some of the rock last night and I still don't see it. Where did they go? I have a lid so they didn't jump out of the tank. If they died wouldn't there be some bones or a floating body??

Oil_Fan

What are your water parameters?

Also do you have any crabs in there? The reason I ask that is that crabs will fully consume dead fish. And I mean every little bit. I saw an emerald crab of mine eat one of my chromis. He took his time but ate the whole thing.

Another possibility but highly unlikely is a mantis shrimp. They are extremely deadly hunters who might have come in via one of the live rocks. You'd have to be on look out at night as that's when they tend be on the move. And they also make a loud banging kind of sound as the make their little caves in the live rock. But as I said that is more unlikely.

pkmiller

Nope, no crabs. Water is okay...nitrates were a little high but not bad. Everything else is exactly where it should be. I've been changing out 10% of the water weekly. In fact I have been buying my water premixed from a local fish store.