MURDER SUSPECT..........Help ID please

[jbpig]

The past week I have been loosing fish at an alarming rate. At first I thought it was some level out of wack but never could figure it out. Well Noticing my manderin wasnt floting around eating as usual i did some searching. To my alarm I found him under a rock with a tentacle, leg, whatever wrapped around his head. I have never seen this creature in my tank befor (2+ years setup) and have not introduced anything that it could have hitch hiked on in over 2 years also. Any help would be appriciated on what it is and how to get rid of it. TIA

JB
This is the best Picture I could get

 

[GSchiemer]

It's difficult to tell from the picture, but it appears to be a bristleworm. Bristleworms do not eat live fish. You problem lies elsewhere.

Greg

 

[jbpig]

a HUGE bristleworn then. I thought so too but did not know for sure. I just dont understand what the heck is going on. Everything has been fine then 'wham' but see i cant find any of the dead bodies anywhere! Tis is the first that I have found. It just all of a sudden happend in the past week or so

 

[Unarce]

I definitely agree with Greg. Bristleworms are scavengers. Although they're sometimes listed as herbivores, dead or dying tissue will attract them. This is why they're sometimes blamed for losses. The bicolor ones that you might have aren't capable of killing.

 

[jbpig]

Ok well here is what is left swimming in the tank as of right now. 1-Yellow tail dam. 1- Purple tang and 1-marine beta. Of corse there are snails and red leg crabs. No snails or carabs are missing. I just am at a loss for whats happening.

 

[Anonymous]

There are some predatory worms that can make their way into a reef tank but it is very rare - thinking of the dreamweaver worm and bobbit worm in particular.

What other animals have dissapeared lately? I would suspect it's more likely some sort of crustacean that's killing the fish and the bristleworms are just tagging along.

 

[jbpig]

Since this started happening a week or so ago i have lost: 1 kole tang, 3 yellow tail dam, flame angel, manderin, royal gama, domino dam, coral beauty.

 

[Anonymous]

How long have you had the beta?

Reason I ask is that I read a pretty recent thread somewhere where someone's beta was making nightly assinations on the other fish.

Thread might've been here or on RC, the only two places I've surfed in last handful of days.

Anything change at all just before you started losing them? - New rock or anything else at all?

 

[jbpig]

Well I originally thought that it was the beta(it was my thread), but all have told me the beta soulld be very cald and not predatory, and my domino was pretty large compared to the beta

 

[Anonymous]

Well I originally thought that it was the beta(it was my thread), but all have told me the beta soulld be very cald and not predatory, and my domino was pretty large compared to the beta

Sorry, the largest marine betta would not be able to swallow a kole tang or a flame angel unless they were tiny. If you are a crustacean - watch out! My betta is a very very very shy fish and won't even eat if the other fish are too jumpy. You can have variations in any fish but I would say it's unlikely the betta is consuming them - possible there are territorial battles going on, he is killing the fish and the worms/crabs/snails what have you are cleaning up the loser - again these are not usually aggressive towards other fish.

 

[jbpig]

I could possibly understand the smal yellow tail dam but the kol, flame and the domino were large. Yes he is shy but for the 3 weeks I had him prior to this he never bothered a sole. I have not witnessed any of this, just fish are disappearing like crazy, Wife is having a fit, I am stressed, and now she want soto go back to the LFS to get more fish to replace the lost ones. Believe be a 150 looks prettly empty with a MB, small yellow tail and purple tang! LOL but the 300lbs of rock look great! ....

 

[Unarce]

Large worms that are considered predatory tend to be the ones that feed on corals. Even if a very large fireworm or bobbit worm were to get hold of a live fish, it would literally have to lick it to death.

The crustacean possibility would be parasitic isopods which you could actually see on the fish.

It could be disease, tank conditions, you name it.

With 300lbs of live rock, it's even more likely that a mantis shrimp is responsible.

Could you elaborate on what the condition the dead fish were in when you found them?

 

[jbpig]

Like I said befor I have not intorduced anythign a mantis could have hitch-hiked on in over 2 years and have not lost anything until recetly. The folowing were never found.....kole, coral beauty, 3 yel tail dam, and domino(dissapeared between 1am-8am), the fklame angel was found near my carpet no marks, that was the 1st , so i just attributated it to old age, about 5 years old, Manderin was found in rock tims afternoon as the picture shows, saw him last night also, and the royal game was found with the purple munching on its body. It was pretty much gone by the time I found it. AGGGGHHHHH

 

[Unarce]

I know you're frustrated.

I still wouldn't rule out the mantis shrimp as it could have been just a little bugger 2 years ago and has now come of age. Just a possibility.

 

[jbpig]

I forgot add to the list of MIA 2 baganii Cardnals. Just found the domino, of corse dead.. but nothing seemed lie he was chomped on, As I was trying to get him out he slid behing a huge wall of rock that has GSP's growing all over them so If I mover the rocj to get him I will rip the colocy apart, guess he will have to stay, same goes for the manderin, as I would destroy stuff the get the body out. Should I do this or leave them there?

 

[Unarce]

Maybe it isn't a mantis. I don't know if they could operate at this murderous rate.

Normally, a tank that large could handle the decaying process with minor ill effects. In this case, if the problem exists in the water, you don't want to add to it. You also could be exporting the problem if you can get them out.

Addition by subtraction.

 

[jbpig]

Think I should do another water change? I have already done about 50g in the past week and a half

 

[Anonymous]

Ahh.. - Well, I guess it would make sense that it was your thread.. :lol:

So other than the domino there's been no other sign of bodies eh? - That's pretty suspect for sure..

How about overflows? - Any way they might have taken a ride in to the sump and gotten hacked up on equipment down there? Do you own a cat? :?

 

[jbpig]

How about overflows? - Any way they might have taken a ride in to the sump and gotten hacked up on equipment down there? Do you own a cat? :?

:lol: yes I own a cat tbut the canopy is completly covers so she cant get in there I checked th overflow an nuthin....I have some blue filterpads in there so if anyhting does go down it dont get run thru the pumps etc... Damn this isthe most agravating thing i have ever went thru in my reefkeeping experience!

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's a preadator of any kind...just logic:

A predator that was introduces that long ago and is only now getting big enough to kill fish would A.) start with small fish, B.) leave a lot of time between kills, because he's full from the last one, and C.)would take a lot longer to dispose of so many fish.


Since you have lost so many fish, large and small, fast and slow, fairly agressive and passive, in such a short period of time, this has to be a water quality issue or a disease. Since you have corals that are presumably healthy looking and you can't find a problem in your tests, I would lean toward a disease.

Along that line, what was the last fish you introduced to the tank? The last object (coral, rock, shell on a snail's back, etc.) that could have carries a parasite in? If it was a couple of weeks before the fish started dying, I would then think that you brought in some terrible disease that kills very quickly, like velvet.