Predators

[reefnut]

Hi

Well I have some sad news, I lost one of my clowns sometime last night, not sure when, I got up this morning went looking for him and couldn't find him so I took the backing off the back of the tank for a better look and found the body and a brissle worm near by munching down:(

Brian you were right there must be a predator hiding in there some where and the algae is the least of my worries right now.

I have seen some monster sized brissle worms in there but they are not suppose to attack anything are they?

and if it wasn't one of them then what ?

I am also having trouble locating 2 of my pep shrimp and my cleaner shrimp as well:(

Here is what I have in the tank

1 coral banded shrimp
1 clown ( poor little bugger)
1 bi colour blennie
1 emerald crab haven't seen him in a while either:(
1 very small decorator crab ( about the size of a dime)

Any ideas are welcome :help:
Reefnut

[Brian L]

The Bristle worm is certainly the beneficiary of a nice meal from your clown's demise. Sorry to hear that. They will eat but not be the aggressor. Maybe that's why they have the bad rep.

Assuming the water and other params are good, and that the fish did not die of natural causes, you may have an unwanted Mantis Shrimp in your rock. They make a distinctive "clicking" noise so you can check for that.

That said, I'm not convinced that the CB shrimp isn't taking care of business on his side. I don't know if he got the clown, but they do tend to stay low during the night hours.

HTH,

Brian

[reefnut]

Hi Brian,

I found one mantis already and I have not heard any clicking just happen to catch him in open waters, and found his rock, he was small, the size of a dime to a nickel.

I think it may be the CB, I just fliped on the actinics and caught him on the other side of the reef in a hunting posture, marching through the caves.

My thought is he waited for him or found his hide out, nipped at him and stressed him out:(

Anybody else keep CBs?
Reefnut

[Mitchell]

Anybody else keep CBs

I had one but have since gotten rid of it. Same situation, I caught it trying to grab a fish, so instead of taking any chances I pulled it out.

[reefnut]

HI REEFIN GEEK,

Ya, I think it is the CB the more I look at the way he stalks the tank the more I think he is the one that did in the clown:(

Well once I catch the CB than that will be it never again!!!

The brissle worms are doing the clean up but I have to say they are huge buggers and there are great big chunks missing out of the clowns flank and his head is gone:eek2:

also

There is a worm( at least thats what I think he is) in one of the rocks that sends out tentacles the critter must be big at least judging from the lenght of his reach, I know most worms are a good thing but this guy must be huge, the stuff (what ever he grabs) sticks to his tentacles.

Any idea what he may be?
Reefnut

[Greg Moore]

Slightly off this topic, but just a caution to those that think they have a Mantis Shrimp.

They are not uncommon, however don't assume that tapping on the glass is in deed one of them. I have tapping almost every night, but a quick search with a flash light will show it to be harmless. Larger Hermit Crabs (any type) can produce the same sound with their shells/homes when they are working near the glass too..

Don't drop a fortune on traps until you confirm the noise, better yet use the Coke Bottle method I detailed some time ago for a trap!

Greg Moore