# How do I catch a fishnapper?



## landcfan (Jun 25, 2012)

Hi everyone.

I've made a few posts concerning a salt water fish tank at my school. I was first concerned about a puffer fish (Concern about Algae in Teeth). I check on it most days (I think I saw it yesterday, if not, on Thursday or Friday.) The puffer was gone. I had noticed a week or two before that the goby and a shrimp were missing as well. When I spoke to the stock manager about them last week or so (we had someone of an unfriendly history, as I badgered him to get help for the puffer) he said that the shrimp often die, and that perhaps the goby died and was eaten by the others (none of the others were that much bigger than the goby, and there was absolutely NO TRACE). Today, when I was looking for the puffer, the stock manager passed by, and I asked, "Do you know where the puffer is?" He replied, "I don't know. Do YOU know where the puffer is?" He said that so far, the goby, both shrimp, and my favorite little puffer friend, Scootaloo, had vanished without a trace. As he clearly considered me the prime suspect, since I was so intent on getting better treatment for the puffer, I began defending myself, and replied that I had no salt water tank, to which he responded, "I don't know you don't have a tank." For the record, I live in a dorm, and will be switching dorms in a few weeks. I have no family in the midwest (the school is in Minnesota) so I have no one to care for fish when I go away to my family in Virginia. Clearly, a salt water tank is not practical at the moment. There are people who live off campus right now, and as I doubt anyone is keeping them in the dorm, (as most will switch dorms or rooms in two weeks when summer school ends, and large tanks I understand are difficult to transport), it is possible some students took them there. Our school has an unusually honest student body, to the extent that we leave our bags, even purses, out in the open when we go to the caf to eat, and our POs don't lock. Admittedly, I suspect my iPod was taken recently after I left it somewhere, but these events are rare here. When things like bikes are stolen, it is generally understood that it's mostly the townies. I don't know if townies would go into a building and steal fish, though. I believe I had noticed the goby missing after a weekend, but it may have been missing before that, and while I think I checked on the puffer yesterday, I can't remember for certain, and he may have been taken over the weekend as well. I called the only fish store in town, and no one had tried to sell them the fish, but they'll keep an eye out. I am extremely upset about this, and fear that I will not be able to concentrate on my studies until this is sorted out. Does anyone have any suggestions for other steps to take?

PS: PLEASE keep an eye out for a golden head sleeper goby, a black saddled toby/Valentinni's sharpnosed puffer with overgrown, algae covered teeth, a Pacific cleaner shrimp, and another shrimp that was like a Pacific cleaner shrimp but all red. If they are being sold, they may not have been sold at the same time, since they disappeared at different times. They could also be being sold online, although when I did a quick search for the puffer on Ebay and the Minneapolis/St. Paul section of Craigslist, I didn't find anything. Please especially keep on the lookout if you are in Minnesota!

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated! More than punishing someone and clearing my name, I want to know what happened to these creatures.


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## Bacon Is Good (Jun 30, 2012)

Set up a video camera on the tank and let it go over night and than reveiw it. Post that video


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## landcfan (Jun 25, 2012)

Ah! Found the all red shrimp I was told was missing. He was deep in the live rock. Still 3 missing though, 2 of which have been gone a while. Also, I think there used to be a blue hermit crab, and I don't think I've seen one in a while...


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Is it possible the fish did die? The CUC will take care of a dead fish in very short order.


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## landcfan (Jun 25, 2012)

What is a CUC?
Also, I have seen absolutely no remains.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Clean up Crew. Sails, hermits, brislte worms, sea stars. And you won't see anything left of them once the CUC gets them.


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## landcfan (Jun 25, 2012)

There are no snails. I have counted 3 hermit crabs today (I think there was another one). There is a starfish, and I think I have seen the arms of some brittle stars under the rocks. Would these even eat things like the vertabrae? Or the shrimp's exoskeleton? And three disappearances in 2-3 weeks, when there were none before, seems odd. Also, the puffer was highly poisonous. Do you really think it's possible?


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## landcfan (Jun 25, 2012)

Do sea urchins count as clean up crew? There's two of those as well.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Yup, its possible. If something is in the tank that killed the fish, bacteria, virus, anything of that nature, there will be no trace of those fish within in a fews days of death. Only way to find out If they died and started to decay is check the ammo levels, If they have been 0 you should see something showing.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Most critters in the tank will take their fill. Even the crabs and such that they say are herbivorous. They are basically all scavengers.


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## landcfan (Jun 25, 2012)

What about the puffer's poison? Would that hurt the scavengers? What if it was eaten, and the poison was released into the water?


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## landcfan (Jun 25, 2012)

I located the blue hermit crab as well. So it is only the shrimp and the two fish that are gone.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

landcfan said:


> What about the puffer's poison? Would that hurt the scavengers? What if it was eaten, and the poison was released into the water?


 Good point there. Ya got me there.


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

I keep lurking on this thread because I want to know what is going on. O_O Good luck finding out where the mysterious Puffer fish went!


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## landcfan (Jun 25, 2012)

Just thought of something today. Could any of the fish or the other creatures eaten the puffer's teeth? They have a beak-like structure for cracking shells. If nothing ate them, maybe someone could try to find them in the tank?


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## SeaHorse (Dec 27, 2010)

What about adding a fish or two to the tank and setting up a camera? I'm intrigued too so I'm stalking this thread too!! LOL.


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## landcfan (Jun 25, 2012)

They did add more fish. I first saw them the day I noticed the puffer was gone, which was either 1 or 4 days after I had last looked (I didn't look over the weekend, and I can't remember if I did the day before.) I suggested getting a camera, and offered to pay, but the stock manager didn't seem interested. I'm leaning towards them being dead, and if there are any leftover bones or such, there's a lot of white substrate for them to settle into.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Only other thing is, if the tank doesn't have a lid on it, and the fishies got to chasing, they coulda jumped outta the tank. I've had this happen a time or 2. ( stupid chromis )


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## landcfan (Jun 25, 2012)

The tank has a lid. Thanks for the idea, though.


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

Any leads yet?


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## landcfan (Jun 25, 2012)

I haven't really gone back to the building since. I really only went for the puffer, and since he's gone, I'd rather not have to deal with the stock manager, who I'm fairly certain likes me even less than before, since a professor saw me crying and suggested I send an email to the department chair. I got a nice email for the department chair saying she'd talk to the stock manager and try to get the ammonia checked, but I haven't heard anything since then. I'll probably check back with her in a few days if I don't hear anything.


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