Neon Tetra disappearing and then reappearing days later

I have a 20 gallon tank completely full of plants. It has 6 neon tetras and a guppy, assassin snail and a few shrimp.

I've noticed that on multiple occasions, I'll do my morning headcount and notice that there's only four or five. I will spend literally hours going from top to bottom over the entire tank, sometimes even moving decorations and looking inside of them. Literally the same amount after scouring the entire aquarium.

Sometimes it'll be a day or two, but then it always comes back to six again.

This has happened multiple times and I just can't understand it. It would be one thing if they were disappearing because it died and my assassin snail ate the body. But the fact is they always come back and it's back to six again. It just doesn't make any sense.

I am a very observant person and I check very thoroughly when this happens. It just doesn't make any sense for them to completely disappear and then show back up again. I'm just trying to find a logical explanation to this.

 

I doubt you have magic tetras . They clearly have a place to hide where you are not seeing them. That is the logical explanation.

 

I doubt you have magic tetras . They clearly have a place to hide where you are not seeing them. That is the logical explanation.

Logically I know that has to be the case. But it just doesn't make any sense because it's only 20 gallons and there's only so many places to hide. This is like something out of The Twilight zone lol. I'm being gaslit by my own fish lol.

 

My daughter's tank has 7 rummynose tetras. After a water change one time there were only 6. Checked all over. Was convinced she sucked one up in the siphon. Went outside and checked all over the area where she dumps the tank water. Nothing,

About 24 hours later 7 tetras were swimming again. I had to apologize for blaming her with the water change . Small fish in heavily planted tanks are wonderful at hiding.

 

Trust me, it’s possible. I have a single serpae tetra in a 5 gallon tank which is planted but not heavily. He’s 6 years old and I often end up spending ages looking around the tank thinking he’s died of old age when I can’t find him. Then when it’s feeding time he’s already out before I am even near the tank.

 

They're transporting to another universe, and then coming back.

Or they're hiding better than you think they can. I once had a pearl gourami disappear in a moderately planted 40 gallon breeder tank, and then show up several days later. I know the tank is twice the size of yours, but a pearl gourami is several times larger than a neon tetra.

 

Well done. You have taught your fish to play hide and seek! They are winning right now.

 

I'm glad everybody is getting a good laugh out of this I'm certainly relieved to know that they're all alive lol

 

yes, alien abduction I think is the only reasonable answer here. Maybe it's a Men In Black operation, so best not to ask too many questions, just know that fish is away saving the planet.