Missing fish?

[andrealynn]

I had 5 danios. Today, when I woke up, the one that looked the worst out of all of them is missing. Normally he's either at the top or by the filter. Today he's no where in the tank, I pulled the filter out and everything to look for him. I even looked behind the dresser that it is sitting on. I don't think he could have jumped out of the tank. The hood on my eclipse 12 tank is pretty tall, and the lid is closed except for when I feed him. If he's dead I don't want my ammonia to spike but at the same time, I can't seem to find him. Any suggestions?

[YaYgoldFish]

any tank mates besides the danios?

[andrealynn]

Nope just the danios.

[troy]

It probably died, and the other danios ate it.

[andrealynn]

Do they really eat other fish that quick? If they did, that would maybe explain the weird spots of "film-like" stuff floating at the top.

[troy]

They could, probably.

[andrealynn]

Well as long as he's not rotting in my tank anywhere or rotting anywhere else behind the tank (if he jumped), I guess I'm ok. I'm gonna keep on the look out for him though.

[cocoa_pleco]

the film may just be from little current. the body couldnt get eaten that fast. check every nook and cranny and stir a bit of the grave lup

[gm72]

Agreed that there are probably bits of him in there somewhere. The film is not likely to form that quickly given a dead fish, usually the film forms due to poor water circulation/surface agitation and can be an omen of bad things to come.

[andrealynn]

Well it wasnt there last night, I have a bubble wand that takes up a good 10 inches of the back of the tank in addition to the eclipse filter which is supposedly 150gph... so theres a pretty big current and water circulation in the tank considering its only 12 gal. so I dont think water circulation is a problem but I will look for him. I've moved most of the stuff in the tank and havent found him yet. I can't imagine he'd be too far in the gravel being he hasnt been missing for that long.

[cocoa_pleco]

thats really odd, he must have jumped some amazing way then. danios are too fast and busy to bother to eat their own species

[andrealynn]

I took a flashlight and looked around behind the dresser that the tank is on and I saw no sign of him. Another thing that makes jumping unlikely was the fish looked abnormal. He seemed to be having trouble swimming. Whether he actually liked swimming next to the filter or was just having a hard time staying away from it, I never could figure it out. He appeared longer and skinnier than the other 4 danios. His stripes were also odd looking more like dots in some spots, so I don't think he coulda jumped because the only spot uncovered in that tank was about an inch by inch square for the cords to go out of the hood. I'm still looking for him but I've found nothing.

[cocoa_pleco]

uh oh, sounds like he had tuberculoses

[andrealynn]

Is that gonna ruin my tank? and my fish?

[cocoa_pleco]

it could attack the other fish and you. TB is a disease that pops out of nowhere. it is common in animals and humans. if your fish with TB is still in the tank, the other fish could catch it. DO NOT touch the infected fish. you could catch the disease and ger sick, and possibly die. sorry if im scaring you. none of this disease is your fault. it just comes straight out of nowhere. many of us have dealt with TB. Me and GM72 are the most recent victims. both of some of our fish got it

[andrealynn]

Well I haven't found the fish so I have no clue what happened to him. I'm not really one that enjoys touching fish so I won't have to worry about that. I just hope my other fish will be ok. They all seem fine and very active - nothing like the affected fish. The stayed away from him as well so hopefully I will avoid complications with whatever he had wrong with him.

[gm72]

Watch that tank very, very carefully. Fish TB is a disaster. Hopefully your problem either was not TB or was contained to a single specimen. I have read that TB does not necessarily spread to all other fish in a given tank.

[Bill M.]

Haha.. this has happend to me before.... I bought a pair of sunburst wag platys and one morning, one was missing. I did a W/C w/ a G/C and it was no where in the tank... or on the floor surrounding the tank. I think my pleco is secretly a murderer... Ever since I got him fish disappear.. *cue twilight zone music*

[gm72]

LOL, funny stuff. Pleco the killer.

[cocoa_pleco]

if the other fish peck at the sick TB fish they may catch it

[andrealynn]

Still no sign of the fish. I had my friend come and look all around the tank as well to see if there was something we might have missed. It's literally like the fish disappeared completely. I have no clue where he could be. But I've looked at pics of fish with TB and he really showed no signs of it that I know of.. He just seemed to be skinnier than the rest of the fish. Where the rest of the fish seemed to have a more rounded normal looking body, his was very thin and straight.

[gm72]

May just have been a weak fish then, not sure. Good that you are following-up with everything.

[A340]

Maybe he's been abducted by alien fish?

Seriously though, he probably just died during the night and the others ate him up. You'd be surprised how quick other fish will clean up a dead fish.

[andrealynn]

lol alien fish.... possibly...

the other fish could have eaten him but i havent found even a trace of him and thats why this is all soo weird.

[andrealynn]

Just updating: I finally did fine the missing fish. He somehow got burried under the biggest rock in the tank. I was looking around the tank and randomly I saw a tail. So the missing fish was in fact dead and in the tank and wasn't eaten.

[gm72]

Good you found him and got him out of there. Check your water parameters, a decaying fish can play havoc.

[A340]

Good to hear you found the fish, but sorry that he didn't make it. Guess it wasn't alien fish after all, huh? :ezpi_wink1:

[RobbieG]

Glad you found it - I've had fish die in the darndest places. When they do they can send your ammonia etc. through the roof. I spend about an hour each day just doing headcounts to be sure everyone is OK

[andrealynn]

I checked the water, everything seems fine. For some reason, even with a cycling tank and having that dead fish in there for a day, there is no ammonia or atleast very very small traces of it. No nitrites or nitrates either. I started getting ammonia levels of like .25 and did 2 water changes at around that time, but that was a week ago and I still have nothing. Any ideas?

[Mark Lathrop]

Have you cycled your tank yet?

Dead fish can end up in the weirdest places. And remember, if your dead fish could end up under the heaviest of decorations, imagine how much waste/decaying food can get trapped under there! Remember to vaccuum under your gravel with your syphon as well.

[andrealynn]

I'm in the process of cycling or trying to. My ammonia levels started rising just as I did 2 water changes and since then, they haven't gone back up. and I found the fish yesterday. And unfortunately, my python siphon broke when i was cleaning my other tank. The Petsmart around here is jacking up their prices a good 20-30 bucks on everything so until I get a chance to drive out to the other fish store, I'm out of luck with water changes.

[gm72]

If you aren't able to even do water changes you may as well give up for now. Cycling shouldn't require water changes, but if you don't have basic equipment you might want to consider waiting until you at least have a siphon. Once you are ready to add fish you'll need some basics.