help i am missing fish

A tanks age can have a lot to do with it. It takes time for a tank to mature and for colonizing bacteria like nitrosonomas and nitrobacter to colonize properly where they can stand changes or additions and keep up. A young tank can't take big or quick changes and remain stable whereas an established or mature tank that has not had its substrate or live rock disturbed can. Exposing anaerobic bacteria to oxygen like stirring a sandbed or moving rock around can have a huge effect on water quality.

 

Copper would certainly kill coral before fish, and I don't know of any starfish that could catch a sailfin tang. On top of that many starfish are not predators, or at least might not be. People don't know the diet of many stars.

 

I would dispute all of that. Copper is extremly toxic to fish even at low levels. Ammonia even moreso. Fish even sailfins often nestle in the rockwork at night and brittle stars can be damn fast when they want to be, I've seen it. I have yet to see a star that wasn't an opportunistic feeder and a carnivore, chocolate chips are a perfect example as are so called sand sifters that really don't eat detritus but wipe out a sand bed in no time and starve.

 

original live rock and lace rock was from the lfs and and the new peice is from a local hobbiest that builds mounted rock "sculptures" and sells them to feed the addiction all fish with exception of the tang have been in tank at least 3 months tang entered when new tank took a crap and "uncycled" itself about a week ago after i goofed and topped off with tap water thinking such a little bit wouldnt hurt and i could get some more purifyed water the next day lesson learned better not to top off than to do so with tap

 

as for starfish i have a couple brittle stars but they are no bigger than an 1-1.5 inch so i am fairly certain not the culprit

as for water changes i buy "live water" in 5 gal boxes

 

Guess its time to spend all night next to the tank with a flashlight an magnifying glass! It can be fun discovering all the things you never see during the day like how long bristle worms can actually get.

 

wow i hope every thing works out if there is something living in there

saltwater what a ____ hobby, but u got to love it

 

lmao at illwill.... did you try looking behind the tank for fish. something little could be living in the live rock and just nipping at your fish to make them jump. unlikely, but a possibility.

 

still have no found cause but found the sailfin being carried around by the cat this morning as to how or why he is not in the tank is still a mistery but at least i know what ate him

 

I'm going to guess that it jumped out or that your cat has learned to fish.