Missing Cherry barbs

[Debo]

Hi,
I keep missing my cherry barbs. To date I have lost about 4 in a week. I just bought 2 tiny clown loaches in the past 10 days. Do you suppose they are eating the cherry barbs? The barbs are quite small. I have looked that tank over very carefully and I can't find one of them. If they did die first would the Loaches eat them? I had the same thing happen in a really large tank a few weeks ago. Where are they???
Deb

 

[juliethegr8t]

Is your tank planted or very full of decorations, etc? If so, those missing fish could very well be hiding somewhere you just can't see from your angle. On the other hand, they could also be dead and somewhere you wouldn't expect, such as in the filter, or stuck under a rock. You probably should move things around and find them, otherwise you may end up with a decaying fish which raises ammonia levels and is unsafe. I was missing a panda cory for about 2 days and when I finally moved things around, shook them, turned them all the way around, etc - I found him laying dead half buried in the gravel underneat a rock decoration. I don't know clown loaches very well, but I still doubt they would completely eat the barbs. They might pick at them, but I don't think they'd completely make them disapear.

 

[platypus]

Hiya,

Don't know if it helps, but I had a similar thing happen with my neons when I first set up my tank - they kept 'disappearing', and it was only when I noticed one day that there was a tiny bit of blue fin at the bottom of my tank that I realised the other fish were scoffing them so quickly I never had a chance to see their bodies . I don't think the other fish were responsible for their deaths, the fact that my water quality was bad caused this, but once they had died then the other fish certainly didn't turn down the chance of a free meal!

 

[Eelzor]

I second jule, i had some fish years ago that simply 'dissapeared' and when I found them they were hidden somewhere (ie, filter, heater, area) where I could not see them from several angles. Thats actually the reason I don't like small fish.