need lots of info....

2 days ago i noticed my potters angel was missing so i kinda waited it out to see if maybe he was hiding in the rock. well time went by and no fish so i stopped by my store where i do my fish shopping to talk to them.. the lady inside told me that its not like a potters angel to be missing that long that it is probably dead and i need to find it before it starts decomposing (i guess its not healthy on the tank or something i don't know). So anyways i got home from work and i didn't know whether to look now or wait until the morning when my lights where on and the fish were out swimming since they were sleeping at the time. I went ahead and moved a couple of rocks around to look in the hiding places in the rock to see if it was trapped underneath, i swept around in the sand a little bit but no fish. I'm very confused. I looked all around my tank on the ground thinking maybe it has found a way out or something but still no fish. I'm lost people please help if any one has any ideas on where else to look let me know. Oh i also i looked in the filter box. I'm also kinda mad at myself and the lady at the store because when i moved some of the rock i freaked out my hippo tang and yellow tang and they are stressed to the max right now! Questions i have.....can i take out my live rock for a few minutes to allow me to better look in the sand? do i really need to find the fish or can i just let it go? when is the best time do such searching? i'm very new at the hobby and every bit of info is appreciated.

Ben

 

Well...i would say that as long as there are non of ur fish hiding in the rock, the rock can be outa the tank for a while, just put some wet paper towels on it...depending on the size of the fish, i would try to get it out...did you check on the intakes of any pipes or power heads?

sorry for you loss

 

still looking can't find him not on pipes for filter or powerheads...he was a small potter about 2 inches long. i'm still searching a lil at a time might take all the rock out in a day or so and do a full search of everything....thanks

 

If you haven't found the fish by now... Chances are you're not going to.
Check around the tank where it could have jumped out, if not it has probably already been eaten. Monitor your ammonia levels!!

Jim

 

You can take out the rock, if it is going to be out for more than an hour, put wet newspaper (wet it with your water) or paper towels like Bruce suggested, although the paper towels may leave tiny stuff on the rock. Even if the rock dries, it will take a few more hours for all the bacteria and corraline to die off.

It's very likely that your fish is a goner. If you cannot find the carcass, you can assume something in your tank ate him. Anything in the tank that you suspect? Oversized hermits, giant brittle stars, etc. I really dont think you should move and stir the sand a lot as you are going to have quite an ammonia spike on your hands, just let it be, the hermits will devour the fish.