where are they going

[greyhawk]

all my wife wants in my tank are two clown fish. every time i get two they vanish. i thought it was my damsiel that was killing them so i got rid of him and bought two more friday. last night a 2am they were there this morning at 9am one is gone no trace no body no bones just gone. this makes five that i have gotten that have dissaperd anyone got any clues? maybe aliens?:D i just dont know anymore.

[Codeman00]

Interesting mystery you have on your hands.

Do you have any serpent stars especially the green kind?? or a mantis shrimp? Any unwanted crabs?

[greyhawk]

no stars that i know of not to sure of the mantis i do hear some clicking from time to time but its mostly 2 to 3 clicks back to back. i was told that was a pistol shrimp that did that and i do have some small gorrelia crabs im trying to get out. but this has been going on before i changed out the my rock and got all these new hitchhikers.

[Codeman00]

I have a pistol shrimp and I never hear 3 clicks back to back. It's always one click and then done for awhile. Chad and Robin have a mantis shrimp and it clicks repeatedly especially while its killing something. The fact that you have "gorilla crabs", "clicks", and "all these new hitchhikers" is a cause for concern. I'd try to remove or kill them before adding anything to the tank that you care about keeping.

[Rendos]

I have a pistol that clicks 3 times, 4 times, 1 time...it is different each time it clicks. He causes no problems in my tank at all.

[gflat65]

We've got a pistol in one of the tanks and it snaps once sometimes and repeatedly others. Never had a problem, though. I had an issue with small fish disappearing about four years ago. I attributed it to a rock crab. Apparently, it has died now, but it was not fun while I was losing fish. The fish would appear at the front of the tank still fat, but with holes in its side or a whole fin missing. If you can make some sort of trap, you might be able to catch it, but they are pretty wily. Good luck with it. Check for it at night.

[Codeman00]

I've killed both of my crabs by stabbing them with a sharpened skewer. To heck with waiting weeks trying to take them live.

One click, two clicks or three clicks..it really doesnt matter. Sounds like there are lots of hitchhikers in his tank and they need to be removed before adding any livestock that he wants to live.

[greyhawk]

well i have no clue on what is making the clicking noise i cant find it dont see it and cant catch it in any of the traps i have bought. the crabs i have tried to catch kill stab and pull but i cant reach then with out takeing my whole tank down. but as i said before this was going on even before i got the new rock with all the new bad hitchhikers on it so i dont think its them becasue i never heared a click before nor did i have crabs like these. and now im finding green hair alge spots on most my rock again so im about at my wits end with a reef tank.

[nam2212]

Originally posted by greyhawk
well i have no clue on what is making the clicking noise i cant find it dont see it and cant catch it in any of the traps i have bought. the crabs i have tried to catch kill stab and pull but i cant reach then with out takeing my whole tank down. but as i said before this was going on even before i got the new rock with all the new bad hitchhikers on it so i dont think its them becasue i never heared a click before nor did i have crabs like these. and now im finding green hair alge spots on most my rock again so im about at my wits end with a reef tank.

The small pistol in my 29G clicks repeatedly when something bothers it. Have you tried a sea hare (Aplysia dactylomela) for the hair algae? From what I hear, they are really good at getting rid of it. I actually took care of a small rock crab this week with an ice pick. I haven't added any rock to the tank in a year, so he had evidently been there for a while. I don't think it killed any fish, but I did notice my blue tort had been damaged a month or so ago. The corallites were crushed and the polyps had been ripped out. I attributed that to an emerald crab, but I guess I was probably wrong. You could also try a Lawnmower blennie for the HA, but I don't know how effective they are. I have one, but have never had HA. It's a very entertaining fish in its own right. If it were me, I would look for a sea hare. They are really ugly, I can describe what they look like, but I might get kicked off RC. I have seen them at Kermit's for sale.

[nam2212]

Also, have you checked the overflows for the clowns? Mine would occasionally get sucked into the surface skimmer for my Remora, so I think they could possibly take a trip over the overflow. Also, take a look around the tank. I lost 2 pink skunks that went carpet surfing.

[greyhawk]

yeah i did check the over flow and the floor no sign of him. i think aliens came and took him:D. been looking for a sea hare going to call kermits this week and see if they got one. i saw 2 of my gorilla crabs tonight and tried to spear them but the got away by going under a bottom rock. bummer

[Codeman00]

keep trying..they love to come out at night..try to get them cornered in a crevice and spear away.

[nam2212]

Originally posted by Codeman00
keep trying..they love to come out at night..try to get them cornered in a crevice and spear away.

I agree. The one I took care of got away the first time, but a few minutes later I spotted him again. I shooed it to the front and got it in a crevice. I felt a little bad after spearing it, but it had been in there a year and this was the first time I had seen it. There was no telling how long it would have taken to find it again.