Dead fish disappeared

[snoope]

I have had my aquarium for 4 weeks now. The fish were doing fine and all levels when tested was good. but a few days ago 4 of my fish died but when I cleaned the tank they were no were to be found. Even checked in all the rocks. Could someone please explain this? thanks

[twisted]

if you have fish in a 4 week old tank, they are sure to die. thats a bit too early to have any life in your tank. not sure where they went, but you really, really,really need to read the stickies in the forum to learn how to set up a tank and how the cycle process works. its impossible to have good readings that early on. they died because your tank is toxic. we'll be here to help when you are ready

[snoope]

sorry let me explain it a little bit more. the tank was already filtering because it was a used tank. so the person i bought it from had it running for years. and she said most of the fish was at least 3 yrs old. and when we brought the tank home it still had some of the water in it so we added about 70% new water i have done the 20% water change twice since i have had it. do the snails or hermit crabs eat off the fish when they die?

[Parrothead]

sorry let me explain it a little bit more. the tank was already filtering because it was a used tank. so the person i bought it from had it running for years. and she said most of the fish was at least 3 yrs old. and when we brought the tank home it still had some of the water in it so we added about 70% new water i have done the 20% water change twice since i have had it. do the snails or hermit crabs eat off the fish when they die?

Yes, Hermit crabs will eat anything they can find,

Lets start with the basics,

what size tank?
Live rock and Sand????
Skimmer????????
When you bought the tank, how long did it take you to get it moved and the water flowing again???????????

[snoope]

yes live rock and sand. a 36 gallon tank. we have a skimmer and we had to set the tank up the same night we got it because we brought the fish and live rock home in buckets. and kept 30% of the water in the tank for the live sand and fish we couldn't catch. we have had it 4-5 weeks now and like i mentioned earlier everything was going good and now I don't know what happened. but still have 2 cinnamon clowns, yellow goby, hermit crabs, snails, and shrimp thats doing good. no rapid breathing and still eating and acting normally.

[snoope]

also i would like to add that they are eating the same food that the original owner was feeding them.

[Parrothead]

yes live rock and sand. a 36 gallon tank. we have a skimmer and we had to set the tank up the same night we got it because we brought the fish and live rock home in buckets. and kept 30% of the water in the tank for the live sand and fish we couldn't catch. we have had it 4-5 weeks now and like i mentioned earlier everything was going good and now I don't know what happened. but still have 2 cinnamon clowns, yellow goby, hermit crabs, snails, and shrimp thats doing good. no rapid breathing and still eating and acting normally.

What kind of fish died????????

[snoope]

1 bi color dottyback, 1 pearly jawfish, 1 wrasse, and 1 bumble bee shrimp goby

[Parrothead]

Might just have been stress from the move, keep and eye on your water parameters and other fish.

[snoope]

thank for your help and at least i now know that the hermit crabs could have possibly eaten the dead fish.

[Parrothead]

Glad I could be of some help

[twisted]

yeah, it doesnt take long for the clean up crew to make things disappear. im glad the tank was more established than the first post was read. i agree with parrot, it was most likely just stress from the move. keep an eye on things and make sure you post lots of pics

[Ninong]

Just to address the question of what happened to your missing fish, assuming you do not find any dead carcasses anywhere around the tank. Their remains will be eaten by bacteria, polychaete worms (bristleworms), hermit crabs and certain snails that are carrion eaters, such as Nassarius snails. Snails that are grazers will not touch them.

If four different fish all died at the same time, you have a problem. You may still have a problem. It's very strange for four different species of fish to all die at the same time unless you have some pathogen in the tank or some problem with your water parameters.

You said "all levels when tested was good." I hate to say this but that's an opinion and it conveys no factual information at all. There is no way to even begin to consider what might be wrong unless you post the actual test results: calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, nitrate, pH and water temperature. What brand of test kits are you using?

It's probable that your water parameters are "good" as you say but there is no way for anyone else to agree with that statement unless you post the actual figures. I doubt that you have a metals problem, such as copper, or your inverts would have died before your fish. But I guess I should ask this question anyway just to get this out of the way. Did you by any chance use any brass fittings in your plumbing setup?

[Parrothead]

good point on the brass fitting, I forgot all about that, and I had just read that thread about that being a problem in another tank.....