bdunn13

I was away the week before last on business and the wife took care of the tank for me. All she did was feed the fish, monitor the temps, lights.

I tested the water before I left and the nitrates were below 12, pH was around 8.2 and salt 1.025.

When I got back which was Saturday a week ago she told me she had not seen the lawnmower since Wed, so not its been at least 11 days since he has been seen alive.

Also, I had 4 green chromis, 2 medium and 2 small. One of the mediums looked like he was missing scales and he has now gone missing, while one of the smaller ones is missing too.

I also have a clown, 2 firefish, red sea sailfin, hippo and a kole...... as well as a few snales, some hermits and a small emerald crab.

I noticed the other day too I have what looks like to be a tube worm, so I know I got some things in my live rock that I did not know about. The question is what else do I have that I have not seen?

OH, I have a coral banded shrimp too.

How common is it for fish to go missing? I have a cat that likes to watch the fish, but there is no way he could have gotten any of them. The tank is 120 gallons and he hates water.

If they died, how long would it take before they floated to the top? Could they have been eaten before they floated to the top? I don't have THAT many hermits, maybe 10 tops.

What could have happened to my fish?

BD

Slug

In a 120gal tank, good luck finding them hehe. They could just be up in the rock work coming out at night, you never know.

If they did indeed die, they could easily be consumed before you noticed. They probably won't float up but rather get stuck or dragged into the rock work. There are many more critters in the rock and sandbed then just hermits and snails.

The live rock is probably full of all sorts of critters. Get you a flashlight and go exploring after lights go out. Wait about 30mins to and hour and go look, see what you see. You will be amazed.

You mention a cat. Another possibility is the fish went carpet surfing and the cat got it. In which case you will find no remains. Levels look pretty good water wise, i'd be inclided to think something like another fish was picking on them or they were sick to begin with....not sure how long you've had them.

Suave

Definately be careful when it comes to live rock lol. I have seen crabs found in that stuff. and not little itty bitty crabs either..

Oil_Fan

I used to have an emerald crab and once saw him eat one of my green chromis that had died. And he did not let a bit of him go until he had totally finished him off.

So now the question is what could have killed the fish What is your ammonia and nitrite levels?