Disappearing Fish or Hidden Asassin

[lmattix]

I have two fish that I haven't seen in a week. Both were about 3-1/2 inches long. One was abright yellow juvenile Orangeshoulder Surgeonfish and the other was a coral beauty. I am worried. For months now I have heard sharp clicking sounds that I could not locate. I have had a peppermint shrimp and three emerald crabs disappear. But never fish. When I first heard the clicking I thought about a mantis shrimp or a pistol shrimp but I have never seen anything. The coral beauty and the surgeon always swam in the open during the day nibbling at algae or pods on the rock. They slept inside the rock at night. What do you think? Has anyone ever lost fish like that? Did they ever return? Should I start trying to trap the culprit?

Larry

[sneeyatch]

yeah, i would consider a trap... i've seen people video tape mantis's at night, but surgeons are good sized - from what i understand, they would usually go after smaller fish (and that would be a bigger mantis). i can see peppermints and snails and such...

expensive fish vs an evil hitch hiker... bad combo - sorry for your losses

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

could they possibly have succumb to illness and ravenging from scavengers in your reef?

[lmattix]

Thanks guys. Tomorrow I am going to get a red filter for my flashlight and bait the tank to see if I can get a see it.

[sneeyatch]

any luck so far larry? keep us in the loop. the inverted bottle trick works for the nasties too.

[burke757]

sounds like classic signs of a mantis shrimp to me. you don't have a pistol shrimp, do you? they will make that same sound.

[The Shrimp X]

i have had this happen to a few small fsh such as one of my blue neon gobies.. and my scooter blenny which went missing while i was gone for the holidays...

[lmattix]

No, I don't have a pistol shrimp unless it was a hitchhiker, too. I read that the pistol shrimp does clicks in two's. My clicks are more random and usually just one, then a long time before another.

Larry

[burke757]

i had one (pistol shrimp) that was a hitchhiker and he did not make clicks in two's. try looking at the sand bed from below the tank. my pistol dug down to the glass and you could see him running around down there. since you have fish are disappearing, I think you have a mantis. the pistol never bothered anything at all.