Miraculously Missing Fish!

[xamy_valox]

Is it just me, or does it drive you crazy when all of a sudden a fish goes missing and can't be found?!

Whenever I feed my fish I do a little head count just to check everyone is still present, when I noticed one of my black Cory's was missing. Waited a bit longer and had a search from the outside of the tank to check it wasn't rummaging in some nick or cranny somewhere but still nothing. So in my frustration I got elbow deep into the tank, moving the wood and rocks etc, but nothing!

How can they just disappear without a trace? No body, no remains nothing! Does anyone else get this?

 

[blueboy1]

They can actually die and be consumed without you seeing

 

[Gruntle]

If a fish passes away, there's a big chance that the other fish will eat what they can of it, and what's left can break down very quickly (especially in a heated tropical tank). I've seen a skeleton once, but I've also lost fish overnight without a trace. Then again I've also had a pleco that couldn't be found but he emerged from his hiding place at some point. I think he was just messing with me.
 
Sorry for your loss, if your fish has gone that is..

 

[xamy_valox]

I can only imagine that is what has happened in this case. I can kind of get that with the smaller tetra's and stuff as I expect my Angel to be straight in there, but my cory I thought I would have noticed floating about or something
Do you guys also have fish die for just no apparent reason? Like in this case, my water is fine, my last water change was a week ago, due to do one tomorrow. The fish itself was fairly young, only have it like 2 months or so, and was very small when I purchased but managed to get it to grow quite a bit, and now it's vanished?! Yet the one I bought with it is perfectly fine. I don't get why they just go sometimes?

 

[blueboy1]

Well when the lights are out all kinds can go on, I have found bullying ofte n occurs and one day you will wake up to a fish with no fins and swirling around at the bottoms of the tank and other fish trailing after it.

 

[Rexenator]

I just had this happen with one of my loaches. Gone for almost 2 days. I took all of my decorations out, ran my hands through the sand and nothing. Then one morning he showed back up.

 

[damanax]

I while ago I found one of my cories stuck inbetween some rocks and, in the process of removing, I accidentally dropped the rock back on the little guy. He was still alive but he seemed in a really bad state that night. Over the next week I couldn't find him anywhere and assumed he'd died and been eaten until he showed up again a few days ago.
 
I really thought I lost him.

 

[guppyguy1234]

happens alot i had three guppies they all died in a span of 3 months not a single body did i find

 

[xamy_valox]

It's just so strange.
 
I will keep a look out, but can't see that he will reappear. Fingers crossed though!

 

[PrincessKiara]

I don't know if cories jump, but that may be a possibility. I've had fish disappear for no apparent reason and later discovered their fates haha.
Once I lost a beautiful blue Guppy. It took me months, but one time I dropped something behind the tank and bent to retrieve it I found the crispy, dried out guppy. :'( Goodness knows how he jumped out, my tank had a lid...
Another time my adult zebra danio and guppy fry pulled a disappearing act, and I later fished them out of the filter, unhurt and very much alive haha.
Yet another time I came home and couldn't find my angel. It took me all day to find him. He was stuck to the filter, half dead.
After releasing a months-old (but still tiny) guppy fry into my main tank, I lost track of him and thought he'd been eaten despite his apparently large enough size, but I later found him hiding against the sand at the back of the tank.
 
If this doesn't serve to prove that fish are inherently evil, I don't know what will!
Good luck with finding your cory My e-hugs are reputed to save the lives of fish, so if your cory is still alive...*hugs cory*
LOL xD

 

[xamy_valox]

Hahah, thank you! I've had my fair share of disappearing acts, but i think in this case it is definitely a goner. Going to do a big clean on the tank today as I am away for a week so if nothing shows up today I am going to have to admit defeat.

 

[Ch4rlie]

I think this is a fairly common occurrence and many fish keepers have had this happen.
 
Has happened to me, have lost 2 Threadfin Rainbowfish and absolutely no trace of them whatsoever, had to conclude they died somehow and never found out why, tank water parameters were perfect etc etc.
 
Its unfortunate but it does happen.
 
In my tank, I do have quite a few assassin snails and shrimps as well as Thredafins, snails will easily consume most of a carcass, including bones, grim as it is, is actually a natural process especially in the wild.
Dead fish contains lots of good protein and nutrients that are advantageous to snails and shrimps as well as the thread fins who may have had a nibble too.
 
Of course there are possibility the fish may have jumped out of the tank and passed away that way, again this happens fairly frequently so it does pay to research if your species of fish will easily jump out of a tank, bettas, hatchetfish and rainbowfish to name but a few strong jumpers then might be best consider to have a closed lidded tank to try and prevent this from happening in future.

 

[David J]

This happened to me recently. A glowlight tetra vanished overnight never to be seen again. Searched everywhere. I posted on here about it and eventually concluded that it died naturally and was eaten by assassin snails overnight.

 

[Gruntle]

I recently lost a beacon (head and taillight) tetra, it had been swimming like it had swim bladder disease and then one morning it was completely gone.
 
Or so I thought, until I spotted the very end of its tail fin sticking out from under one of my mystery snails, who polished it off completely in the 9 hours I was at work.