missing fish

[armymedic]

Well I took the advice of some and went ahead and put a black and white damsel in the tank over the weekend and he was doing fine all week until yesterday he stopped eating. Now i cant find him. I am assuming hes under all the liverock/baserock. Should i move all the rock to find him? the temperature of the tank has been 78-80 and the salinity has been 1.023-1.024. Not sure what could have killed a damsel. I thought they were one of the hardier fish?? well thx for your input in advance.

 

If i find him and he's dead should i take him out?

Edited September 24, 2010 by armymedic

[BowieReefer84]

Yes, take him out if he is dead.

 

sorry

[bluce]

Damsels are usually pretty hardy - do you have other fish that could be being aggressive towards it?

Not sure about the black and white ones - I had some clowns that didn't like my yellow tail damsel and they harrassed it too much.

 

If you have lots of hermit crabs you probably won't find it if it dies, but if you do, definitely take it out.

[armymedic]

yes he is dead. I think i can see him im just not sure i can get to him. I will try the turkey baster and try to suction him up. I dont have anythign else in the tank like snails or crabs or other fish so i guess i just had bad luck. thanks again.

[BowieReefer84]

Did you acclimate the fish first? Float the bag to get temp the same, then slowly mix water with tank water?

[armymedic]

Yes i left the bag in the water for about an hour...then cut a hole to let the water mix together over a period of about 30 minutes. He looked fine for the first 5 days....it was something sudden. Just not sure what.

 

 

[Coral Hind]

What were your ammonia and nitrate readings?

[Origami]

Did the fish look OK during that time? Any spots? Any visible hemorrhaging? I normally don't cut a hole in the bag to let the water mix, but intentionally add and drain water to and from the bag over time to allow the parameters to adjust. Also, as a precaution, I very rarely add water from another system into my tank (that is, when I take water from the bag, it's tossed).

 

By the way, did you first measure the salinity of the water that the fish was delivered in? Sometimes it can be pretty low if the shop kept the fish in hyposalinity conditions.

[trockafella]

2 things, be thankful the damsel died and you didnt have to catch him to get it out, and invest in a drip acclimation kit, or swing by and I will give you one free.. Way better than the bg in the tank with a hole..

[armymedic]

yep..things could be alot worse. So my OBI-Wan jedi reefmaster collegues...what is my next step?? Check parameters obviously, then add another or continue to let self cycle? i guess let me get the numbers first and i will get back with you so you can impart some of that great knowledge!

your faithul padawan

 

sheesh its been a long week..beer first then check water!

[Vadim]

I think you need to cover your tank and let it be invisible for like a month or 2 and than uncover it. don't even look at the tank for a couple weeks and keep your hands away from it. touch something else if you have the urge to touch the tank. lol once again patience is the key

[Vadim]

*bored at work*

[Chad]

^LOL

[armymedic]

well i tried to get to him but couldnt using various techniques....now i cant see him at all. should i take out ALL of the live rock to get to him?? or is it that big of a deal? thx again.

[CHUBAKAH]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. This will help to cycle the tank, but if you do not have any crabs or snails, this would be a good time to at least add a few hermits which will make quick work of the dead fish.

GL

[Kristen9]

What about a serpent star? isn't the reason to have these ugly starfish that you never see to eat dead fish?