Can u keep a dead fish in the tank?

[dlau20]

I bought 3 chromis last week and the small baby one has disappeared. He has been gone all day, and im almost certain he's dead. My tank is filled with rock, 69lbs in a 46 gallon tank. It will be a difficult task to find him.

My question is, do i absolutely need to remove him from the tank? Does anybody know what happens to the fish if just left there?

Thanks!

[pablodub01]

If you can find it remove it, if you can't find it and you have enough cleanning crew around leave it there. :p

Most likely the cleaning crew and the othe fish will make him dissappear (if you know what i mean ;)), the only problem is that this can cause a spike in ammonia that after treated by the rock will be converted in Nitrates... so keep an eye on it.

[Sk8r]

if you have bristleworms and/or nassarius snails or hermits, he's already gone, no threat to the tank.

[dlau20]

thanks for the reply!

not sure what constitutes a cleaning crew. in my 46 gallon tank i have:

-one blue damsel
-one royal gramma
-one clownfish
-one yellow wrasse
-two green chromis
-one cleaner fish (who by the way, does not clean a thing!)

will these guys do the job? i am watching for spikes in my nitrate levels and so far so good, the chromi was a tiny one.

[Sk8r]

Cleaner fish eat dead skin off other fish. They don't clean your tank.
You want 10 hermit [micro, never get larger than your little fingernail]. 2 nassarius snails. And about 10-50 bristleworms. Other fish and snails will help out, but those are the main tank undertakers.

BTW, don't replace the chromis. You may also lose another. That species will reduce its own numbers until they arrive at a number they consider comfortable given the stocking and size of the tank.

[everl0ng]

a cleaning crew is thngs like snails/hermits/cucumbers/bristle worms...basically anything that scavenges

[dlau20]

oh okay, so since i don't have a cleaning crew then i have to remove all the rock and look inside each one for this tiny chromis? that doesnt sound like fun..

[dlau20]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11237011#post11237011 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
Cleaner fish eat dead skin off other fish. They don't clean your tank.
You want 10 hermit [micro, never get larger than your little fingernail]. 2 nassarius snails. And about 10-50 bristleworms. Other fish and snails will help out, but those are the main tank undertakers.

BTW, don't replace the chromis. You may also lose another. That species will reduce its own numbers until they arrive at a number they consider comfortable given the stocking and size of the tank.

i think they have agreed that the proper number of chromis should be one, cause the two remaining chromis hate each other and are constantly fighting head to head

[Sk8r]

No. Just prepare some saltwater in case your nitrates spike and you need to do a 20% water change. You may not, if your tank biosystem is running 'hot' enough [meaning you have enough bacteria] to dispose of the dead fish. It will make a gloppy globe of slime somewhere in the rockwork, then disappear over the next day or so as it rots away. Test every 12 hours for ammonia and nitrate. If you start to get a reading that worries you, do the water change. That will drop the nitrates before you get into trouble. Don't do the water change UNTIL/unless you see nitrates come up, because you want to do it just before it's peak 'bad', to know it's being effective.
After 3 days you're in the clear.
And ask your lfs for some bristleworms: they really shouldn't charge you for them, but at best, a couple of dollars. They're nasty on your fingers [use gloves] but real good to have in your tank for exactly this sort of thing. Consider everything listed above in cleaning crews---except a cucumber: those are best not for novices or new tanks.

If you can net one of the chromis put it in quarantine until it heals up and then see if your lfs will trade you some micro hermits or nassarius snails for him.

[dlau20]

ok phew, thanks a lot for the help sk8r and everyone else!

[ROB2005]

If a proper sized fish dies in the tank and you have a brittle or serpent star in your tank, the star will actively go on the hunt and consume him, keeping your tank stable enough and a happy brittle star ;)

[uscharalph]

One fish in (How big's your tank?) shouldn't be a problem, but you you should look into getting a cleanup crew.