Did my blenny die in the sand...?

[JT101]

We bought a Dragon Blenny from Tropical Showcase in Hicksville about a month ago (at least that's what Gene called it). I unfortunately never took a photo of it but I have never been able to fully ID it because it looks different from every Dragon Blenny I've seen on the internet. Mine had like a "camoflage" coloring, and two large dorsal spines right behind the head.

Anyway, every night it would dutifully bury itself in the sugar sand I have, and reappear about 30mins to 45mins every day after the lights came on - until today. It always was VERY active and ate VERY well.

When I left for work at 10AM this morning I didn't see it. When I came home from work at 7PM, my wife claimed she hadn't seen it all day either

I gently poked the sand all over the tank, at least as much as I possibly could. I didn't feel anything at all (the FIRST day after I got him I panicked because I didn't see him right away so I poked the sand and he popped out, looking fine but a little pissed ).

I checked all around the tank on the floor, the overflow box, everywhere - can't find him...

He was eating like a pig every day including yesterday so it's not like he starved to death. He didn't appear sick at all! All of my other fish and corals look excellent, so I doubt it's water quality that did him in (IF he is dead).

The big questions are:

1. Is it common for some species of blennie to bury themselves in the sand for MORE than a day?
2. If not - and it DID die somewhere under the sand - how the hell am I gonna find him :banghead:?

Thanks
John

 

[jdnumis]

It can be still in the sand, or camoflaged in the rock work.

All the best,

~James

 

[40galreef]

The first couple of days all fish are scared, and they hide. I have a blenny that hides in this one piece of live rock the whole day it's common it stil live don't worry.

 

[JT101]

The problem is, it hasn't been only a few days I've had this fish, it's about a month and it's out of character for it. It has never been hiding for this long.

 

[KathyC]

Does it look like this fish?
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/4381/product.web

 

[JT101]

Does it look like this fish?
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/4381/product.web

More like this:

He never came out again...

 

[akma]

That looks like a dragon wrasse.

http://s.petco.com/assets/product_images/fish/1307495C.jpg

 

[litoreef]

+1 dragon wrasse

 

[JT101]

Thanks all.

Well, he never came out . I searched in the sand, no sign of him BUT I did detect that unmistakable "dead fish smell" so I did two 20% WC one day apart and skimmed wet. Everything seems fine, no damage to my critters, but I really wonder what happened.

 

[JT101]

Just spent some more time researching dragon wrasses and found several instances online where people have said theirs spent TEN DAYS OR MORE buried in the sand :shocked:

How do they eat under the sand?

How do they BREATH?

This is WEIRD!!

Thanks
John

 

[KathyC]

The longest I has a wrasse vanish under the sand & then reappear was 17 days...a very l o n g 17 days for both of us. He looked like heck when he came back out, some scales were missing, but he was alive.
Someone with a good knowledge of wrasses told me he was likely spooked by a crab I had added to the tank.
I don't think they eat while they hide like this, but clearly they can breathe as they do it on a nightly basis.

Are you sure he didn't jump and ended up someplace away from the tank? I had one that flopped clear out of sight, we didn't find him for awhile.