dead fish i cant get to what do i do

joesfiddy · 12/20/2007, 04:16 PM

my first dead fish and i dont know why well anyways i was trying to get it out and it went behind the rocks and now a crab has ahold of it what do i do to i get it out behind the rocks away from the crab or should i just let it in their for the crabs to eat. and if so will i get some ammonia or nitrate spikes ? what do i do? its a clownfish this sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kau_cinta_ku · 12/20/2007, 04:18 PM

what size cleanup crew do you have? if it is decent size I wouldn't worry about it. if you don't have much for a CUC then I would try to get it out.

joesfiddy · 12/20/2007, 04:20 PM

yeah its swarmed right now with a bunch of red legged hermits and a fiddler crab looking thing is eating on it too i have a 55 gallon tank with 25 red leg hermits 2 other crabs that just came on the rock and some snails but i dont think they eat fish do they

Sk8r · 12/20/2007, 04:21 PM

If you have crabs, snails, and bristleworms and your tank is a few months old it's not a problem. In a 55, it will just disappear without a blip. They NEVER demise where you can reach them in a reef.
Sorry about the fish.

....whoa! Fiddler crab looking thing?!!!
Bait a wine carafe trap and get out ANYTHING crabby that's not a hermit or a green mithrax crab. They can go in your sump, but not in your main tank. The fiddler-crab-looking-thing may not have waited for your clown to demise: he may have hunted it down. WOrms are 99.9 percent good guys as hitchhikers: crabs are almost 99.9 percent predator bad guys.

They likely will not respond to bait after this feed. But after your tank is back to normal [hoping they don't get another fish] starve your tank for a few days, and at night, put some raw cocktail shrimp [one] in a wine carafe braced against the rocks. Crabs don't climb glass well. If you can trap them wtih that, to the sump with them.

joesfiddy · 12/20/2007, 04:22 PM

tank is lil more than 4 months

kau_cinta_ku · 12/20/2007, 04:24 PM

you'll be fine. the CUC will take care of the fish for ya.

and also sorry to hear about your loss.

Ralph ATL · 12/20/2007, 06:08 PM

get that crab outa there!

usmc121581 · 12/20/2007, 06:22 PM

I rearranged my rock work and found one of those things along with over $100 in snail shells. Lucky I did that or I would never had found him. NOw he lives in my refug.

Sk8r · 12/20/2007, 06:30 PM

Note my revised post above. All crabs out that you didn't buy.

12/20/2007, 04:16 PM	#1
joesfiddy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Morris IL Posts: 518	dead fish i cant get to what do i do my first dead fish and i dont know why well anyways i was trying to get it out and it went behind the rocks and now a crab has ahold of it what do i do to i get it out behind the rocks away from the crab or should i just let it in their for the crabs to eat. and if so will i get some ammonia or nitrate spikes ? what do i do? its a clownfish this sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12/20/2007, 04:20 PM	#3
joesfiddy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Morris IL Posts: 518	yeah its swarmed right now with a bunch of red legged hermits and a fiddler crab looking thing is eating on it too i have a 55 gallon tank with 25 red leg hermits 2 other crabs that just came on the rock and some snails but i dont think they eat fish do they __________________ 250 dd, 180 reef tank 100 gal sump, 75 reef tank 30 gallon sump, 40 gal frag tank, 12 gal nano Current Tank Info: 100 gal long reef, 75 gal reef, 40 gal frag tank

12/20/2007, 04:21 PM	#4
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	If you have crabs, snails, and bristleworms and your tank is a few months old it's not a problem. In a 55, it will just disappear without a blip. They NEVER demise where you can reach them in a reef. Sorry about the fish. ....whoa! Fiddler crab looking thing?!!! Bait a wine carafe trap and get out ANYTHING crabby that's not a hermit or a green mithrax crab. They can go in your sump, but not in your main tank. The fiddler-crab-looking-thing may not have waited for your clown to demise: he may have hunted it down. WOrms are 99.9 percent good guys as hitchhikers: crabs are almost 99.9 percent predator bad guys. They likely will not respond to bait after this feed. But after your tank is back to normal [hoping they don't get another fish] starve your tank for a few days, and at night, put some raw cocktail shrimp [one] in a wine carafe braced against the rocks. Crabs don't climb glass well. If you can trap them wtih that, to the sump with them. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

12/20/2007, 04:22 PM	#5
joesfiddy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Morris IL Posts: 518	tank is lil more than 4 months __________________ 250 dd, 180 reef tank 100 gal sump, 75 reef tank 30 gallon sump, 40 gal frag tank, 12 gal nano Current Tank Info: 100 gal long reef, 75 gal reef, 40 gal frag tank

12/20/2007, 06:08 PM	#7
Ralph ATL Formerly mysterybox Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Flowery Branch, GA (North ATL) Posts: 1,842	get that crab outa there! __________________ Ralph Scheriff

12/20/2007, 04:18 PM	#2
kau_cinta_ku Moved On Join Date: May 2005 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 8,669	what size cleanup crew do you have? if it is decent size I wouldn't worry about it. if you don't have much for a CUC then I would try to get it out.

12/20/2007, 04:24 PM	#6
kau_cinta_ku Moved On Join Date: May 2005 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 8,669	you'll be fine. the CUC will take care of the fish for ya. and also sorry to hear about your loss.

12/20/2007, 06:22 PM	#8
usmc121581 Where am I? Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Abingdon, maryland Posts: 1,671 Blog Entries: 1	I rearranged my rock work and found one of those things along with over $100 in snail shells. Lucky I did that or I would never had found him. NOw he lives in my refug. __________________ I prefer not to think before I speak, I like to be just as surprised as everyone else by what comes out of my mouth. Current Tank Info: I have a 180 gal mostly LPS corals, it contains 1 Val. Tang, 1 yellow striped clown fish, 3 percula clownfish, a blood shrimp, cleaner shrimp and a sand shifting goby, 5 pajama cardinals, 1 green chromis. Also a 75 gal. sump/fug.

12/20/2007, 06:30 PM	#9
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Note my revised post above. All crabs out that you didn't buy. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.