Fish tank - more probs!

[dawncw]

Hi from my last posts ive been having a lot of hassle with my tank what with water quality and then sharks eating all other fish i wasnt getting very far!!

After getting all that sorted out we thought we would stick to keeping gouramis in our tank so i had 5 honey dwarf gouramis and then 4 golden gouramis and there are 2 colbolt blue tetras and 1 tiny little harlequin and a bristlenose plec!! They were all there on saturday but yesterday when turning their light on 1 golden has vanished and also 1 honey gourami! Its a big tank - 180L - but where could they go?! Ive checked under all the plants and ornaments but no sign at all!

Any one have any experience with disappearing fish?

[changilass]

Gouramis are nasty sods which could explain where your others have gone

[dawncw]

thanks i did think that but they all seemed to get along just fine thou, i always thought gouramis were very peaceful! Would there not be any remains left over, it was only in the space of a day?!!

Funny thing is the 2 tetras and the harlequin have survived everything and every other fish and they are the littlest in the whole tank!!

[justine]

Hi. Gouramis are normally very peacefull fish and would not normally go for its own kind., although i noticed that you have gold gouramis in with cobolt blues, and honey dwarfs. The only problem you may have with them is territory, but i have noticed that some of the smaller fish will go hide for days, even a week or so.I have a 180l tank and have lost tetras, only for them to appear again a week or so later.
If they have died over a couple of days ago thent he plec may have helped himself to the carcass, they would normally only stick to algae and food for plecs, but they have been known to eat dead flesh, being scavangers.The best thing that i can suggest is you remove any plants or ornaments and the filter and have a good look about. I have found dead fish inside plants before now.

Did you get your water sorted out, what are your levels for ph, amonia,nitrate and nitrite, they all been tested i hope.
If you need any hel with it let me know as i have been into fish tanks for 28 years and have 5 successful tanks.

[lady penelope]

How big is your plec? I had a plec that loved eating other fish! After about 3 days the missing fish would reappear floating.Took a while to discover why.:eek: He was pretty huge though.

[dawncw]

the plec is only about 2 - 3 inches long, not a big one at all!!!! I cleaned the tank out last night, took all ornaments out and gave it a good clean and cleaned the filter and i only found 1 dead honey gourami. However just now when i turned there light on to my amazement our Khuli loach has appeared, we got him a while ago and thought he had been a victim of the shark that we then rehomed but he is back!!!!! no idea where he has been hiding for so long!!!

Thanks justine i will take a picture of the tank and post it soon, nice to get some expert opinions as i have only had the tank for 18 months and have had problems the whole time!

[justine]

No worries. No expert advise just spent along time being a fish geek..:lol:

I have 2 Kuhli Loaches and they spend 99% of their time hidden away, but if you want to see them in their glory, can i suggest some led lighting , you can get them in single or triple sets in PAH. You get white, blue and red lights .If positioned in the right places they show up the tank in sereen lights, Kuhli loaches like this and will come to the front and top layers of the tank.They are great to watch in the red light being almost transparant.

It may also be worth trying to get hold of a couple moore kuhli, as they do like to be in groups of 2-4..you get to see more of them, out and about.Oh and the kuhli is also probably the one that is responsible for the eaten carcasses.If the fish died naturally he will scavange, Hyena of the sea.They love snails and anything small enough to go into their mouths.

Curiosity:is your bristle nose male or female.

Male has 3 rows of long bristles all over his face
Female has 1 row on top lip or none atall.

[jac1791]

hi Dawn

thought id let you know -- shark settled really quickly---no problem with my other fish , swapped them into the big tank and he now about an inch bigger already

thx again for him