my algae eaters gone!

[wuvmybetta]

I just noticed while doing some reading on catfish that my octocinclus (spell check) is GONE, I was reading about them and I thought " Hey, I haven't seen him today" so I went and looked and looked......and he's NOWHERE. and he usually just hangs out on the wall or a plant bothering no one, but my betta does sneak up on him now and then but he would always swim away quickly, so do you think my betta killed him and everybody else ate him? There's no evidence at all but I do have mystery snails & loaches so could they have eaten everything

 

[Jamnog]

i cant imagin fish would consume the catfish completely there would be fish bones at least. check the carpets around the tank just in case it might have made a jump for freedom.

 

[Pufferpack]

Check the plants again, I was looking at a couple of Ottos at the lfs the other day and one dissapeared, it took me 5 mins to find him hiding upside down on a plant leaf.

 

[wuvmybetta]

I keep looking and I thought the same thing about the bones but I don't know about those snails, I've read before about them & how fast they can consume stuff......
He was super tiny, maybe an inch long at the most, but I could always easily find him because he was usually in the same vacinity, on the back wall or a plant or on my huge wizard decor, I don't know, I'll keep peeking in there , poor little guy if my betta did get him, he was just a little workaholic, minding his own

 

[fishdude]

your loaches probably did it . They have quite an appetite.

 

[wuvmybetta]

That's who I think did it too,the devouring anyway,the loaches and the snails are always fighting over food so it was probably a tag team attack, but I'm sure my betta did the killing part, he was always chasing the little guy for no reason, just for kicks
He killed an algae eating shrimp a few weeks ago, I noticed him targeting it with his eyes and lurking around so I turned off the light but within minutes he was dead and the loaches were feasting on the kill

 

[fishdude]

why don't the loaches eat the snails. I thought they love snails. But the suspect was probably the betta cause the loaches are probably busy with the snails.

 

[wuvmybetta]

the snails are pretty big now & the loaches try now and then to get into one but they close up to tight
but it's funny watching the loaches and the snails roll around while the snails are wrapped around an algae tablet , the loaches get so frustrated, I think it blows their mind that what could be their food is taking away the food I just gave them