Disapearing Fish

[30tooo]

I have had a couple fatalities over the last couple of days through new fish being added to the tank . Because of this I have made a concerted effort to check every fish over these days to check their well being etc . The problem I have is the fact that I have lost 1 neon , 1 guppy and a small swordtail who was about 4 months old .

I have checked in amongst the plants , looked in all the nooks and crannies , moved things and checked the external filter but alas no fish . I have read somewhere that talking catfish are known to eat the odd neon here and there , and was wondering if this is the case . He is about 5 inches long now , and it seems , just as round , so is he big enough to eat the smaller fish ? If he is he must be doing it at night because we never see him in the light .

Any thoughts anyone ??

 

[Anita]

http/www.scotcat.com/articles/article58.htm

 

[beechey]

talking catfish have big mouths i would say yes, what other fish have you got in the tank..

 

[FishRfine]

uh oh... u got a hungry fishie on ur hands...

 

[mollylver]

Funny how that happen. I lost a small red tail shark in a tank of 6 tetras and 3 mollies. It completally dissapeared. Wasent in the gravel, filter, ground, dog's stomach, or anywhere. My guess is spontanious combustion

 

[Brad.H]

I once lost a platty i searched everywhere in the tank and it was the biggest thing in the tank at the time so i belived it couldnt have been eaten by another fish it came to the point where i was about to call in scooby doo when the fish re-appeared although dead on top of the condesation tray !

 

[30tooo]

what other fish have you got in the tank..

Well I have

6 peppered corys
10 neons
12 harlequins
3 penguin tetras
5 black widow tetras
4 sailfin mollies
4 female swordtails and 1 youngster out of 2 left
1 red tail black shark about 3 inches long
4 hatchet fish
4 guppies
1 3 inch gold gurami
and a talking catfish at 5 inches long

All are in a 5 x 2 x 2 tank with an Eheim external filter .

I have a couple of pictures to add but can't figure out how to do it .

 

[30tooo]

http/www.scotcat.com/articles/article58.htm

Thanks Anita . Just read an article through that link and my suspicions may be confirmed . The article says that the catfish are not to be trusted with smaller fish such as neons because they may be picked off at night . CHARMING !!!!!

 

[gettotank110]

yes that is ur answer hes eating them at night and he ate them because he could see them better at night than the rest of your fish i had the same problem i also have a raphael (talking catfish ) and soon after getting him i noticed my small 2 inch albino rainbow sharks were missing and in the morning i saw the culperate with half the shark sticking from his mouth so yes thats likly what happened

yes that is ur answer hes eating them at night and he ate them because he could see them better at night than the rest of your fish i had the same problem i also have a raphael (talking catfish ) and soon after getting him i noticed my small 2 inch albino rainbow sharks were missing and in the morning i saw the culperate with half the shark sticking from his mouth so yes thats likly what happened

 

[30tooo]

yes that is ur answer hes eating them at night and he ate them because he could see them better at night than the rest of your fish i had the same problem i also have a raphael (talking catfish ) and soon after getting him i noticed my small 2 inch albino rainbow sharks were missing and in the morning i saw the culperate with half the shark sticking from his mouth so yes thats likly what happened

So what's the answer ? Do I leave him in there and let him munch on the rest at his will , or should I find another home for him ? I don't know what to do really .

 

[gettotank110]

well decide what you want your common small fish or a not so common catfish yes he is cool but he may need to go or you just may need to get larger fish and re home the smaller fish and tetras are safe i dont know y he hasnt eaten those i guess theyr to fast but it is the bottom dwellers id guess hed eat more of so you should beable to come up with a decision for that , the fish ur mensioning that dissapeared are slow fish so mabe thats ur prob so , i hope i was able to help post a reply i wana know wut you did

well decide what you want your common small fish or a not so common catfish yes he is cool but he may need to go or you just may need to get larger fish and re home the smaller fish and tetras are safe i dont know y he hasnt eaten those i guess theyr to fast but it is the bottom dwellers id guess hed eat more of so you should beable to come up with a decision for that , the fish ur mensioning that dissapeared are slow fish so mabe thats ur prob so , i hope i was able to help post a reply i wana know wut you did