Missing Fish!

[lil0618]

In my 20g nano my diamond goby I just acquired has gone missing.

 

Places I've checked:

-*gently* sifted through Sand Bed to check, nope not there

-*gently* lifted rocks, no dice

-The filter has a lid on it and a guard around the intake

-*gulp* the floor, not to be seen

-I've also tested the ammonia and it came out 0 so he hasn't died

 

Any help appreciated, thanks.

[frankdontsurf]

He's in the sand, you missed it. Leave it alone. Lol, I lost a trochus AFTER I removed my sand bed and added him back in. Literally there's no place for him to hide and I can't spy him anywhere.. Oh well, I'll see him one day or when I test the water next week.

[lil0618]

Thanks, I figured that he was burrowed somewhere in the sand.

I was just worried because I didn't see any entrance/exit holes and didn't know how long they could be under sand.

 

Maybe your Trochus crawled out of the tank/into a rock?

[Acielot]

You sure it isn't dried up somewhere? I was in denial about my goby and sure enough he was fish jerky underneath the stand.

[lil0618]

I've looked within a 5 ft radius of where the tank is including inside of improbable things, underneath papers, socks, etc., and nothing to be found

[frankdontsurf]

I've looked within a 5 ft radius of where the tank is including inside of improbable things, underneath papers, socks, etc., and nothing to be found

James thinks your friend is stuck lost in the sand. I would drop some frozen foods in the tank he might smell em and come up.

 

I think the snail went under a rock and he's stuck I'm not sure. Won't be able to check till tomorrow.

[lil0618]

I feed frozen Mysis/Brine mix each night and he hasn't come up to eat so I'm really worried that maybe he's trapped???

[Tamberav]

If a fish is hiding, it generally does more harm than good looking for them as if they are alive, it will only stress and make them hide longer.

 

A well cycled tank will not show ammonia from a fish death so I wouldn't rule that out.

[lil0618]

Well I just fed them again.

He hasn't come out and I looked again on the floor with nothing to be found.

I've checked the filter.

I put a small amount of food around the sand bed to try to get him to come out but there was no movement.

 

My best guess is that he has died underneath the sand ;-;

[frankdontsurf]

My snail popped up last night, he was hiding under a rock. He's not as active at the other one.. Sorry about the fish, if you don't have anything else in there I would use a net to sift through the sand and locate him. When I dumped out my sand I found the body of a snail I hadn't seen in over 6 months.

[lil0618]

I've got Green Star Polyps, a peppermint shrimp, and a ocellaris clownfish.

 

Should I wait longer?

[frankdontsurf]

I'm not sure. If your sandbed is filthy when you stir it up it could cause a problem a mini cycle or ick. I had a royal gramma I lost once. She went missing for a month. Little girl was living in the rocks. I even pulled the rocks out.

 

This is one of those moments where you might just want to let it be and let your tanks biological balance or time handle it. Maybe drop a couple nassarious snails so they can get to work on the sandbed and any meaty items.

[Super CatPig]

Yea give it a while before you do anything like buying a new one. When there is a mystery that needs to be solved in your tank time will (or quite possibly will not) tell. And if it died of a disease time will definitely help. Do you have any cats or other large cuddly vermin running around your house?

[lil0618]

I have two dogs but they are not in the room where the tank is.

I have decided I'm at least not doing anything until this weekend.

I'm done with Gobies so I'm not going to buy another one. I've lost *three* maybe, I am not sure on the number.

It's not like everything is dying I am having a lot of luck with all of my other stuff.

 

The sand bed is not filthy I was just more worried about the fish.

 

If I haven't at least seen it by Sunday I am going to assume it is buried somewhere

 

This is really mean but my non-fish savy friend said "It dug straight to hell". I laughed and I cried.

[Dylan.N]

I found my diamond goby underneath my dresser a few days after i got him. and when i say underneath the dresser, i mean that he somehow squeezed between the carpet and the bottom of the dresser. pretty much physically impossible. hopefully yours is just hiding in the sand somewhere, or maybe in the rocks somewhere.

[lil0618]

~~~CLOSURE~~~

 

He was five feet away from the tank underneath my bed ;-;

[frankdontsurf]

James wins.

[Formula462]

You have something in your tank that the gobies ain't digging too much

[lil0618]

I have no idea what my gobies don't like in my tank,

I don't have much:

1 ocellaris clownfish,

1 skunk cleaner shrimp,

3 rocks worth of green star polyps,

2 Red Mushrooms (1 was just born/spawned/idk :3)

 

(I see what you did there (: "dig")

[Formula462]

Lol very subtle