Bottom dwellers always die.. why?

[silverfish]

Hi Guys,

My tank has been running for 3-4 months already with a couple of fishes inside. However, everytime I add in cleaner shrimps, or fishes that sits on the sandbed, they will die the next day.. what can I check for?

thanks

[[d]3v|L]

any tube anemone? they stings.. also check if there are any hermits

[SharkBait]

Hi Guys,

My tank has been running for 3-4 months already with a couple of fishes inside. However, everytime I add in cleaner shrimps, or fishes that sits on the sandbed, they will die the next day.. what can I check for?

thanks

crabs, mantis shrimp

[silverfish]

Nothing leh, no crabs and mantis shrimp.. in fact I got a big blenny ( about 2 inch ) only 2 days ago mysteriously..

[blacknails]

Shine a torch light into your tank at night after the lights have been off for some time.. Or look closely during feeding time..

I'm pretty certain that there's come crab or reef lobster or something in your tank that's killing your bottom dwellers at night.. That's why they're disappearing at night...

Soon the thing might target your other fishes as well..

I hope it ain't the case man but the same thing happened to me some time ago and it was the same cause that I described.. Just that the murderer hides all day long...

All the best, though...

[Venezia]

maybe they didn't get enough food and die of starvation. check if the stomach is sunken. if not, it could be due to predators that attack them when the fishes are sleeping. u could provide more hiding places for them by creating caves with the lr or put shells or a conch shell which the fish can hide.

good luck

[silverfish]

Actually, I am quite positive it cannot be predator, because I hold the fishes, shrimp in an alternative compartment in the tank. Cannot die of starvation too , only 1 day..

I was suspecting the sandbed is ?dirty? not the ghost kind of dirty, but dirty like dirt..

[terryansimon]

why would a dirty sand bed kill sand dwellers and not the whole tank?

[silverfish]

U do have a point..

[Venezia]

fishes do not get to eat 1 day b4 shipment, durin shipment and 1 day after shipment . thats a total of 3 days..

[Hondace]

3v|L,Nov 26 2003, 08:35 AM] any tube anemone? they stings.. also check if there are any hermits

S u think hermit will eat stuff like star fish too? if u saw my posting, my starfish fresh is falling off. i think it is the hermits!

[reeflobang]

My tangs always finish all the pellets before it sinks to the bottom and thus the poor fellows on the "ground floor" has nothing to eat. Try dropping food pellets after lights out - especially shrimps will be able to get them in the dark.... good luck...