I woke up this morning to find my Japanese fighter had completly dissapeared! He was the biggest fish in the tank and my favourite as he was beatifull!
He looked perfectly healthy and content last night swiming in and out of his castle and keeping my other fish in check.
I have recently introduced 10 pencil fish, but everyone seemed unphased by their arrival.
I know my tetras have slowly decreased in number, but they are tiny and you'd expect them to leave no trace behind.
I have a large tank which now homes three dwarf gourami's one spotted gourami, two indian gouramis, ten pencils, three neon's and one cat fish( who is reletively small and keeps himself to himself)
I am astounded that such a large and assertive fish can be eaten, presumably alive, in the space of a few hours.
Has this happened to anyone before?
2007-03-18 11:11:43 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Thanks for your answers. I have since found very small remains of my beautifull fish, and it was not so beautiful! Why do they go for the eyes?
Since this incident I have also lost one of my dwarf gouramis and a pencil fish. I am convinced its the new pencil fish from our local large chain pet shop. I called in today to find all their fish were off sale due to treatment to the water. (they reckoned it was because the waterboard had been doing some work and hadn't told them!) However on this visit and one I made on saturday nearly all the tanks contained several dead fish!! I have checked my water and it is fine, could these pencils be carrying something with no obvious symptoms?
2007-03-20 10:38:13 · update #1
Thankyou for your help and criticism(!) I always check with the pet shop before I add any more fish to make sure they are compatible. My local shop has since admited liability as their fish are still off sale (although they won't tell me why) And have since refunded the cost of my two larger fish.
I hope I have better luck in the future!!
2007-03-26 10:30:21 · update #2
Maybe he was eaten up by the filter or hid away somewhere and died. I know alot of fish do that.
Another possibility, being that he's a Siamese fighting fish (not Japanese), is that he moved up to the Siamese Fighting championships, which are held in Asia. Dude probably packed up and went to fight in Asia.
2007-03-18 11:15:58 · answer #1 · answered by Mickey Mouse Spears 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes strange to have no trace at all ,but it is amazing how quickly the other fish eat them when they die,but you said you have a large tank so it might not be that easy to see parts of it ,and what about in the castle have you looked inside ? Hope you manage to find another Japanese fighter that will fit in with the other fish they have always been my favourite as well.
It does sound strange all that happening at the pet shop ,do you have another tank, could you separate the pencil fish ? better be sure before you get another fighter. It is alot to think about isn't it,when I bought mine I thought it was going to be restful!!! but it is great when all goes well hope you restore peace again soon ,by the way i had a gourami once that became vicious even though he started off docile .
good luck
2007-03-19 03:45:13 · answer #2 · answered by lucy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Gourami's nipped him to death. It happens all the time when inexperienced keepers mix unsuitable fish. The Gourami's will now fight each other and your neons will also be targeted.
You have a very badly mixed tank setup. Lots of fin nippers and peaceful fish who won't fight back.
Next time you want to keep a betta (siamese fighter) do some research first. The best site is UK Betta Forum. They have lots of info and are friendly.
Get help with your tank now before you lose the rest of your fish. The Gouramis will need sorting first.
2007-03-20 20:31:57 · answer #3 · answered by Dark Angel Rogue 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look on the floor around the tank. If there is any opening, even 1" wide, he could have jumped out. I lost one that way. The opening was where the heater fit through the cover. It was probably 1" square and 2" to 3" above the water surface but he jumped through it. I came home to an empty tank and found him on the carpet behind it. I was also in a Petsmart near me a few weeks ago. They have small, triangular holes cut in the lids of their betta cups rather than the usual slit for air. I saw 2 dead, dried up bettas lying in the shelf where they had jumped from their cups.
2007-03-18 18:42:17 · answer #4 · answered by rdd1952 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My bet would be on the spotted gourami and the indian gouramis. Of course the cat could be involved as well, you don't say what kind it is or how large and they can seem quite docile during the day and be quite the hunter at night.
Of course, the filter could be an option as well. And did you look behind the tank and all around on the floor? Could it have jumped and flipped several feet away during the night?
MM
2007-03-18 18:31:58 · answer #5 · answered by magicman116 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
you cant keep dwarf gourami's and spotted gourami,with tetras and the fighter fish as they are different fish and they will eat them.
I have 2 seperate fish tanks one with swordtails and guppies and the other is with dwarf gourami's and malawi`s (they are known as chiclids). Wehn you buy fish you should really ask the pet shop what fish you can keep together in the tank and they will tell you. If i was you i would buy a seperate tank for ETC: guppies,swordtails and neon tetras.
2007-03-22 04:21:16 · answer #6 · answered by cathy j 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He probably died of natural causes and the other fish ate him. I had a shark that wasn't too big nor too small. It died. I left it in the tank because we have 5 Oscars, 2 cat fish, 2 pletcos and other fish. It was gone within an hour. Totally disappeared.
2007-03-18 18:15:16 · answer #7 · answered by FaerieWhings 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi,I have a siamese fighter & he his very timed.My angel fish chase him.He is in no danger has its pecking order in the tank.Sounds like you have a bacterial infection I use esha 2000 it works really quick.I use it some times to be on the safe side especially when im not sure what is causing the loss of fish.Im sorry on your loss has its heart breaking.
2007-03-25 15:38:21 · answer #8 · answered by Ollie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
gourami and fighters are part of the same family, they should not have been put together. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they had a fight and your fighter lost.
I'm afraid you would be very surprised at how quickly a community tank can eat a body
2007-03-19 04:56:49 · answer #9 · answered by Dark_Mushroom 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hard to spot a dead fish.....when they go 'fins up' they usually sink to the bottom and lose colour.
he may float to the top but i would expect all trace of him to be gone by then, sometimes they get caught in planrs/decor and you never see a sign of them again.
the reason these and gouramis etc take in air is bacause they are labrynth fish and they possess a type of 'lung' meaning they can actually breathe air....also if they are nest building they will take air to produce the bubbles.
2007-03-18 23:02:34 · answer #10 · answered by safcian 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋