Dead Cardinal below rock

[tc2007]

So I noticed that the Banggai Cardinal I added 2 weeks ago is nowhere to be found on the surface. After a bit of searching he appears to be dead under a rock (wedged tightly horizontally flat under a rock). It wasn't eating my food but it did appear to be active at night trying to eat pods etc. Also didn't look sick. Tank parameters are OK and other fish are thriving. I have a Fiji Devil, Yellow Hogfish, 2 Oc. Clowns (one female / 1 juv). I did see them going near the cardinal but not harrass it. Also the Cardinal would be at the nearest corner at day where it was found dead.

My tank is too small for a Mantis Shrimp. I did not see any Crabs in my rocks. What could it be? Do brittle stars or any other critter capable of killing the cardinal or any other fish? Given the position the fish is in, it seems that someone has pulled it below the rock.

[lhm nole]

Imo wild caught Bangaiis just have a poor survival rate try a tank raised one hardier and will eat prepared or frozen foods...

[tc2007]

Imo wild caught Bangaiis just have a poor survival rate try a tank raised one hardier and will eat prepared or frozen foods...

Yeah, got it from a LFS where he had 3-4 of them in the same tank. Some of them were eating though. This time I will get one which I see is eating first.

[Flippers4pups]

Damsel would be my guess that did it in. Did the damsel chase them when you put them in?

[tc2007]

Damsel would be my guess that did it in. Did the damsel chase them when you put them in?

No surprisingly the Damsel doesn't bother anyone. Just raises it's fins every now and then. The Hogfish on the other hand, did go after my newly added clowns for some time. One theory is that the cardinal was stressed out as other fish were spending a lot of time in the same corner.

[AuburnTiger1]

I agree if you can get a tank raised get one raththee old caughtand sometimes fish don't adapt well to a new environment I had an Auriga butterfly for about a week when he died no one harassed him didn't seem sick or anything he just all of the sudden died. Sometimes things like that happen.

[J2T]

How big is this tank? You say its too small for a mantis, could be stressful in a small tank especially down the road when those two clowns mature and start breeding.

[tc2007]

How big is this tank? You say its too small for a mantis, could be stressful in a small tank especially down the road when those two clowns mature and start breeding.

it's 36G. I have 4 fish. I probably will be upgrading to 100+ before that :)

This is my first attempt at reefing with a conversion from FW tank.

[SoloChromis]

Hard to say, but like someone else said, it could have been the damsel (Im profiling, I know :twitch:), which would probably inhabit similar areas of the tank. However, without much to go off of, I would guess he just didnt acclimate properly and the body was dragged under the rock by brittle/serpent stars or crabs in the tank.

[tc2007]

Hard to say, but like someone else said, it could have been the damsel (Im profiling, I know :twitch:), which would probably inhabit similar areas of the tank. However, without much to go off of, I would guess he just didnt acclimate properly and the body was dragged under the rock by brittle/serpent stars or crabs in the tank.

I did see the brittle star tentacles nearby. So it must have been him at night.

[Shaummy]

I lost 3 new Banggai's within 1.5 weeks. I had been told they were tank raised but I suspect that they were wild caught. Two never ate at all and 1 ate but just didn't make it.

[tc2007]

I lost 3 new Banggai's within 1.5 weeks. I had been told they were tank raised but I suspect that they were wild caught. Two never ate at all and 1 ate but just didn't make it.

That sucks. Beautiful fish. Did you see them eating at the store?

[Shaummy]

Yeah...they seemed to be...but to be honest..there was a tank with about 20 of them...it's possible the ones he snagged didn't eat what he fed them.

Two of them didn't even make the 3rd day! I love their colors and unique look, but I can't take a hit like that...so I'll probably never get them again.

[tc2007]

Yeah...they seemed to be...but to be honest..there was a tank with about 20 of them...it's possible the ones he snagged didn't eat what he fed them.

Two of them didn't even make the 3rd day! I love their colors and unique look, but I can't take a hit like that...so I'll probably never get them again.

Same thing happened to me. But this time I will see the exact specimen eating before I get it. Probably will get something from the LFS display tank.