[organicreefer]

today @%$!@#$ sucks my first fish in the tank is gone ...no trace .about a month ago i lost my red and black clown ...no trace,a month before that my cleaner wrass... no trace .something is eating my fish im convinced. i have two emerald crabs but theyre really small(1")and i dont think its them.#1 suspect is my sallylightfoot that thing has grown pretty big and is lightning fast could easily catch a small fish(could he eat a whole fish overnight though?)or do you guys think i have a hitchhiker murderer.i loved that blenny he was so cool anyone got any ideas a sto what i should do?im changing tanks pretty soon and there will be no crabs in the new setup(learned the hard way)but in the meantime any input appreciated the only fish left are my 2" mandarin 2"cleaner wrass 4-5"blonde naso.

[Iron Crab]

Sounds like a hitchhiker. Maybe a mantis. Really hate to say it's the sally- they are so cool and it would be a bummer to get rid of it for no reason but I know where you are coming from. My sally has gotten quite big and about a month ago has gotten aggressive. Last week I saw him grab my tang and went for a ride so you really can't rule it out. It's sort of hard to believe that the sally could eat all traces of a fish. So I'ld say something is taking your fish in a hole. During the winter we had a power outage and I lost my cleaner- it took over a day and a half to get it out because something was always chewing on it and I couldn't reach it. Good luck on whatever you try to do. Bill

[tomt]

Hi Organicreefer,
I'm going to have to agree w/ IronCrab and say its the sally. They spear thier prey at night while they're sleeping. Either get rid of the sally or get bigger fish or ones that burrow in the sand...
good luck
Tom

[organicreefer]

id say it was the sally too but hes been hanging out in the front of the tank all morning (his 75% of the time spot) could he eat a whole fish overnight i doubt it to tell you the truth i havent dug through the tank for the blenny yet (i couldnt find the wrass or the clown so i didnt bother yet)but i think im going to .i just added a blonde naso a little less than 2 weeks ago and hes just settled in and doing well and i dont want to stress him out by digging through the tank(am i being paranoid he still paces a little from time to time and i think hes best left alone)but i dont want a decomposing fish in the tank either(i have tons of hermits that would probably take care of the body)what would you do?anyway i dont think its a mantis never heard any clicking or popping in the first six months before i added my pistol shrimp.the tanks been up about 9 -10 months and in the last three months ive lost roughly a fish a month sounds like a pretty regular feeding schedule for a crab to me maybe a hitchhiker crab?hes had 6-7 months to grow feeding on scraps then got bigger appetite?sounds pretty likely to me maybe i should try to trap all crabs what do you think?like i said though id rather not mess with anything right now the naso is by far the most expensive fish i ever bought and woulld rather not go moving his new home around

[Iron Crab]

Hi again, organicreefer,
Have to agree totally with your last post. My sally is big and aggressive but everyday it has one of two places that it spends his time in. If he did get anything of any size he would have it in the morning. There in no way he could eat a whole fish in a few hours. Figure that you don't know what time of the night your fish actually got taken. Could be two hours before sun up. I will also say my sally has never taken a fish. A lot of it's aggression seems to be protecting it's space and fighting for the food I add for the fish. Like I said before I believe that something has to be taking your fish into a hole somewhere. Don't know how big your tank is or how much live rock you have but if you had a fish just up and die you would be able to see or find it. Even if my sally didn't get one of my fish that just died I have other things in the tank that would enjoy munching on it. Don't count anything out. My system has be up for a little over two years and I still have things popping up from who knows where. Have you tried looking into your tank at night with a small flashlite- might see something that doesn't belong. I'ld try that first. Well gotta go. Bill

[organicreefer]

bill,
i think youre right last night i did go looking in the tank with a flashlight and what i found was a sleeping sallylightfoot .i easily caught the crab and put him in my nano to watch and see what happens .i thought for sure the sally would be out feeding at night but i guess not. do they sleep?i guess my setup is not in my profile anymore its a 93 gallon tank 110 lbs liverock dsb the usual yes something must be pulling my fish into a hole, like i said im changing tanks in a few weeks (need a longer tank for the naso)and the rocks will get close scrutiny.i recently bought a setup with a couple hundred pounds of figi and in the process of moving it i caught 3 large unidentified crabs(there still in a thirty gallon tank in the garageanyone want em?)that the guy had no idea were in his tank!as far as night veiwing its been awhile 4-5 months since i really had a look late at night but im ready to bet money ive got a large crab in there.in the past ive also found a peppermint shrimp torn to peices the day after adding it. all these things and the three week- month interval between feedings.sounds like a crab doesnt it.