Missing Firefish Gobies

Almost three weeks ago I got a Male/Female pair of Firefish gobies. For the first week the male swam around the tank and the female sat in a cave that they both made. Around the second week they disappeared and rarely I would see them in the cave and I would normally just see one. Halfway through the second week and all the way through the third week I couldn't find them. Does anybody know what could have happened to them? One thing I think I should add is that two weeks before I got the Firefish, I got a cleaner goby and he is currently doing very well. Also I have a Bar Goby, Bluefin Damsel, the cleaner goby and the Firefish. My inverts are a serpent starfish and ten assorted hermit crabs that are not predatorial.

 

One thing I should add is that everything came from my local LFS (Live Fish Store?) Triad Reef Critters and I have had no problems with this store and every other aquarist I know trusts them.

 

Hmmm... plenty of options, there. The three most likely are: A) They have spawned deep in the cave and are watching over their eggs. B) The serpent Star got them while they were sleeping. C) They died from other causes and the hermits did their job of cleaning up.

BTW, Having a good or bad LFS should not be determined by the loss of life, unless it's a chronic problem. Most fish and inverts are still wild-caught, and are stressed from capture, shipping, etc.

 

A) Lets hope so. B) Serpent Stars have never been reported attacking fish but brital stars have. C) Lets hope not. I put my LFS up incase someone wanted to know who I buy from.

 

Here's an interesting read from another forum...

'All brittle stars and serpent stars are opportunistic eaters. Therefore theoretically they all will kill and eat whatever they can get ahold of. Most people have no issues with them when they are young; however as they grow and get larger they appear to become more aggressive towards other fish/inverts in the tank. This could be caused by two things. 1.) That brittle/serpent stars genuinely get more aggressive with age (many species of inverts and fish follow this pattern), or 2.) they require more frequent and larger feedings which many people don't provide. They stick the star on the same spot feeding diet and don't alter it as the invert grows and requires more food. This will result in the star looking elsewhere for that extra nutrition. A combination of both of these is also a definite possibility. Some people never have any issues with their brittle or serpent star; however from research its very evident that serpents are far more mis-behaved then most brittles are. If given the choice between the two I would almost always pick brittle; however I don't keep either anymore after a 12 incher I had ate 7 fish. Got 4 green chromis, 2 occelaris clowns, and a mandarin I sadly was forced to watch and attempted to save. Many of the species are listed as reef safe. Take this with a grain salt. I look at them as I look at a dwarf angel. May or may not be a problem now or later on. Completely up to chance. All you can do is your best. If you can find the stars lair and it did in fact eat your firefish, then you might find the bones down there. Mines lair looked like the lions den off of the "ghost and the darkness"'

http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/index.php?threads/serpent-star-question.384206/

 

Oh yes typical Serpent star/ Brittle star story.

Serpent stars will and do prey on sleeping fish, it's a lot easier to trap a fish in a cave right. Return to the same spot every night, it's a learned behavior.

 

Look behind your tank?

 

Here is some stuff I found
P.S. I have a marbled serpent starfish

 

I can not count the number of times I have run across this issue. Put the brittle star in the sump or remove it and your fish problems will probably resolve if your water chemistry is in line, you have no other predators and have a screen or lid on your tank.