Help! Fish Disappearing!

[garden_frog]

Please help!!!

I have a two relatively new tanks (2-3 months old). In my 30-gallon tank, I am having fish disappear left and right. I thought at first that it was an algae eater I had so I took him back to the pet store but then last night another fish disappeared. No trace of him at all.

Here's what I have in the tank currently:

1 Pleco
2 Berry Tetras (had 3 but 1 disappeared)
1 Glass fish
2 Danios (had 5 but 3 disappeared)
4 neon tetras
3 Tiger Barbs (the orange and white ones, not the ones with the black) (one of these had his tail eaten, but he is still alive so I am guessing these guys aren't the culprits)
2 Large silvery fish (maybe some kind of shark? can't remember...see enclosed picture)
1 small clear fish with yellow tip on tail (again, see picture)

I'd like to find out what is causing my fish to disappear without a trace!!

I have a smaller 10-gallon tank upstairs with 3 angel fish, a small bottom feeder and another pleco. I think I need to move the angel fish downstairs though as they are getting huge and I think they've outgrown the small tank. I assume then I will also need to move the Tiger Barbs upstairs since they'll go after the angels, right?

Any help with this would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Thanks!

Tara

P.S. Sorry the pic is so large and fuzzy...I couldn't figure out how to resize it. I tried the BB Code for resize but it didn't seem to work!

 

[sylvia]

Welcome to the forum!

Unfortunately, both your 30 and 10 gallon tanks are severely over-stocked.

You are right - the angels do need to be moved to a larger tank but the 3 won't do well even in teh 30 gallon because 2 will eventualy pair up and turn on the third. Also, a lot of your fish are schooling fish which need to be in groups of 6 minnimum.

What I suggest you do is return one angelfish to your local fish store and move the other 2 to the 30 gallon. Also return the plecos (both of them) because this'll eventualy grow to over a foot long and produce HUGE amounts of waste.
The neons need to be moved to the 10 gallon then - because the angels can and willl eat them otherwise (small tetras are what they eat in the wild). With them, take the yellow-tailed ttera (that's in your picture). It's called an x-ray tetra or pristella tetra and should be in a group so add 3 more. With 4 neons and 4 pristellas, that 10 gallon is full! What's the 'small bottom-feeder' exactly? If it's a corydoras catfish such as this: http/www.planetcatfish.com/images/full/c...as/aeneus/1.jpg , you need to add just one more of exactly the same type. Don't add anything else to this 10 gallon tank.
Back in the 30, you'll have to return the tiger barbs (BTW, the color of the barbs is irrelevant - they are simply a lutino form of the 'wild' color tigers and are exactly the same in every other way) to your fish store as they are nippy and will stress your angels.
The rest of the fish left in the 30 after this can stay but add 3 or so more glass fish and danios as these are both schooling fish. The berry tetras are also schooling fish but don't add any more because they are dyed (you can read up a bit on that if you look at the pinned articles in the hybrids section).
BTW, your other two unknown fish appear to be brilliant rasboras: http/www.geocities.com/Heartland/Farm/26...k/rasbsick1.JPG
These are also schooling fish but, because they grow to 3.5", you don't have room for a group at the moment.

As for the vanishing fish - is your tank covered? If not, search the floor around it - fish jump! Also, check inside your filter, under ornaments, behind the heater, etc I assure you fish don't just 'dissappear' so you'll find them somewhere eventualy.

 

[garden_frog]

Thank you SO MUCH for all that information! I have tried to get that sort of information from pet stores (as to how many and with what fish) but have found them as a whole very unhelpful.

I have some more questions for you.

1) As to the disappearing fish. I have already checked everywhere in the tank. I noticed that some fish were missing when I cleaned the tank last. At that time I removed all the ornaments and checked the filter. No fish. I left everything out of the tank for other reasons and the next day noticed that another danio was completely gone. Checked the filter again. Nothing. So they are just disappearing and I can't figure out why. The tank is covered and there are no fish on the floor around the tank so I am completely puzzled on this. Any ideas?

2) The tiger barbs: for some reason I really find these guys attractrive and would like to keep them if at all possible. Would they be ok in the 10 gallon with the neon tetras and the corydoras catfish (yes, you got that one exactly right) if I gave away the yellow tailed tetra (especially since I only have 1 of him)? If so, do I need a few more of the tiger barbs?

3) For the angels, I read somewhere today that you should have 1 or 2 or more than 6. Is that the case? If so, would it be possible to add more to the 30 gallon and perhaps give away some of the other fish? Perhaps if I gave away the dasmoras (yes, that's exactly what they must be!) and the glass fish, kept the current number of tetras (saw that article today about how they are dyed, wish I'd have known that), and added some danios? So it would be 6-7 angels, 6-7 danios and 2 tetras?

4) Both tanks have SERIOUS problems with algae. They are not right in a window, but do get some sun everyday so I am sure that's the cause but unfortunately with the number of windows in our house, there really isn't a location that doesn't get sun aside from a closet. So, I have to deal with the algae issue. The plecos are barely touching the algae as it is, but I figure they must be helping some, right? Any other suggestions on how to deal with the algae if I get rid of the plecos? And for what it's worth, I've tried both the fizzy kind of algae removers and the liquid kinds. Neither has helped much, although I am currently trying the liquid and following the instructions "apply every 3 days until the algae is gone". I'm on my second dose and still have a raging algae problem. As far as the plecos, I know they get really big, but I had planned to let them eat algae until they got really big then give them away to someone else who might be able to use them.

Thanks again for your quick response and your great suggestions! I wish I had someone this knowlegeable to help me when I started the tanks.

Tara