Mysterious Disappearances

[ARXC08]

Today I noticed that one of my black neons has completely disappeared. I couldn't find a body anywhere so I assumed he was eaten. But my question was by what? Also something took of my cardinals too awhile back. Most people would think my angel did it but my angels are a little bigger than quarter sized and there mouths don't even look like them could fit it in there, also considering this was a full grown black neon. So here are my main suspects RTBS, Golden Wonder Killi, Rams, or Angels. Last idea is there is a small opening in the back of my tank so if it jumped out my cat could of eaten it?

 

[phoenixfire]

angels are known to be aggresive...they probably didnt eat it...but possibly killed it...my main suspect would be the angels...either that or the fish jumped out which happens a lot...u have to cover up all holes...my tank is in my room...and every now and then i hear a thump...look around u might find a dry fish somewhere...if not...then i would think the angels caused deaths and the rest of the fish became cannibals...which there known for...

how long have u had the fish?

 

[CFC]

The main suspect in there is the golden wonder killie which are avid predators of small fish and have a very large mouth in relation to their body size, a 2-3" golden wonder is more than capable of taking black neon tetras. They are not the peacefull community fish many people believe them to be and suit a species tank or a community of medium sized peacefull fish.

 

[BigC]

Again and again I read posts on this forum regarding fish dissapearances and 99 times out of 100 the fishkeeper in question is keeping Aplocheilus lineatus gold. (Golden Wonder Killifish) I will reiterate what CFC has already said. They are large predatory surface dwelling killi's which can attain a length of 100mm under aquarium conditions. Their biggest asset is their large mouth which can open very wide so the neons and cardinals are easy prey. They look lovely when you see them in dealers tanks at around the 50mm size but believe me they are best kept in their own species tank (a trio in a 18"x10"x10").
Again it's not the fishes fault, it's their nature, the fish dissapearences were down to the fishkeeper themselves. Rule number 1, Don't buy fish on impulse (because they look lovely). Walk away and do a little homework first either via the internet or books, then and only then make a decision. The LFS owner should have conversed with you a little more I feel (if he knew the nature of these fish).
Regards
BigC

 

[death]

i dont know much about the fish situation but have u a internal filter as i have and for some reason or other i have found my neons dead inside when i couldnt see my fish just a thought

 

[andywg]

The main reason to find fish dead in a filter is they have died and then got sucked there, not that the filter has killed them by sucking them in.

 

[ARXC08]

It probably was my male golden wonder killi. He's huge i think cuz he extremely greedy during feeding time and his stomach is gigantic. My cardinals are bigger than my black neons so hopefully they'll do better. But I didn't exactly want the black neons. My aunt during christimas gave them to me cuz she was emptying her tank. I took them because if i didn't they would to some LFS chain store. Do you think I should take them back?

 

[EliteFishy]

It probally jumped out of the tank. That what happened to two of the Zebra Danios. I foun them two weeks later on the ground behind the tank all dried up.

 

[Dwarfs]

Golden wonder killis are just pretty african butterfly fish
I have no doubt that your killi did it, these fish are ten times more predatory than they look

 

[ARXC08]

Well what should I do? The one he picked off was sort of a runt compared to the others but do you think I should give the black neons to a LFS? (They probably safer here lol) But what should I do? Also my when i bought them the people at the LFS just asked tank size and then said they'll be fine. (Chain LFS store)

 

[BigC]

Also my when i bought them the people at the LFS just asked tank size and then said they'll be fine. (Chain LFS store)

Those chain store operators know only the basics about fishkeeping (like, fish need water) and it shows.
There are two options open to you here
1. Keep the Aplo. lineatus in your tank and keep him very well fed( twice daily) on frozen bloodworm and the likes. This might reduce the risk somewhat but I cannot give you a 100% assurance.
2. Do as I said in my previous reply. Species tank with dims. 18"x10"x10" for a trio (1 male : 2 females). Which is the much safer option.
Regards
BigC

 

[ARXC08]

I think I'll go with your first option, cuz i really love that fish. I already feed them bloodworms once a day so that shouldn't be a problem feeding them twice a day. Thanks for everyones help