Flame Hawk missing, presumed dead

[Thunil]

Hi everybody,
Last night I lost my flame hawkfish. I had had him for about 1 1/2 years and in that time he had alway eaten well, looked healthy etc. So anyway after losing my flame hawkfish last night I decided to do a bit of spot lighting tonight. Now recently my flame hawkfish fish had been sleeping in a different spot and so I looked there tonight and I saw a gorilla crab, pretty big with one massive claw could he have killed my hawkfish (my hawkfish has always been a softy never had a go at any shrimps, crabs, hermit crabs, snails etc)

So basically my question is could a crab, that is now living where my flame hawkfish used to sleep, have killed my flame hawkfish?

Cheers,
Daniel

[landlord]

I am wondering if you found the carcass of the hawkfish? Did it look to be damaged? I would think that if the crab did indeed take a fatal shot at him you would see some sort of noticeable damage, missing scales, crush marks, punctures etc.

I would say that anything is possible when it comes to crabs but any additional information might help.

--landlord

[seapug]

check your overflow chamber & sump if you have one.

[psyrob]

I had a flame hawkfish disappear after having him for two years: He was the star of the tank and was always in view. Couldn't find him after moving rocks and all. Then when we bought a house and moved three months later, I moved my tank, and there he was, on the floor behind the tank, mummified, but still standing on his fins with eyes wide open...
Did yours jump out?

[sk8rreefgeek]

aw man...that looks like a cool fish. How big do they get? I'd get one if I had room

[sk8rreefgeek]

[QUOTE]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11369221#post11369221 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by psyrob
[B] there he was, on the floor behind the tank


My biggest fear for my fish. I keep mine fully covered

[psyrob]

Good point, my tank is ALMOST fully covered, it is acrylic and it has a brace type covering and a long acrylic flap that covers the vast majority of the tank, except for a one inch opening that runs the length of the back wall of the tank. I guess that opening is there if I wanted to have a HOB skimmer or external overflow...Anyway, I also have a porites digita that has grown up to the water level, and I think the flame hawkfish was sitting up on the branches, got spooked somehow and flipped out that back narrow opening. I was amazed that he got out, I have a big wooden canopy to boot on top of the tank...

[Thunil]

Thanks for the replies.
I never found a body in the tank or on the floor (first thing I did was to check the floor) I've also check my overflow and sump, no sign of him.

I did find what looked like some bone (part of his skeleton) and some fleshy thing in it that stank

[sk8rreefgeek]

ugh. sucks to lose a fish. some people just don't undertand