the secret lives of missing critters...

[Magnum Man]

so most of us, has had the disappearing fish thing... I have cherry shrimp in my Hillstream tank... I think several, but 2 in particular that are very large and brightly colored, and are normally super easy to spot in the tank ( a 55 gallon ) but it seems like they disappear every other month, then reappear just like normal... I could understand if they disappeared for a week or so, at shedding time... but these guys disappear for a month at a time, and just when I figure, that someone must have eaten them, they both so up, like they never left... I've not witnessed any attempted predation... I like seeing them in there, so I notice, when and how long they are invisible... thoughts???

 

[GaryE]

Much depends on decor, but the ability of some fish to hide is incredible, and I'd assume shrimp can do so as well.
2 days ago, I moved a tank. It has coarse black gravel, and is a 15 gallon/55 litre cube. I had four small Microctenopoma ansorgii growing out in it. I caught three, although to do so, I had to strip the tank to the gravel. All rocks, plants, wood and filtration was removed. I couldn't find the fourth fish. I had to drain the water to about 3 cm before the fish appeared.

In hide and seek, that fish is the champion. But I know the next time I try to move tanks, there will be another species with equally great skills.

Some dive into the gravel. I don't think this one did because it's coarse stuff, and there are no scuff injuries on its skin.

 

[gwand]

Trying to net fish without removing rocks and plants is the most frustrating part of the hobby for me.

 

[Abaddon]

Frankly, whenever a critter disappears for any meaningful length of time my first thought always jumps to secret death rather than secret life, but maybe that's just my anxiety lol. But yeah, shrimp are VERY good at hiding. I have a small 8gal tank that's quite heavily planted and I never see more than maybe 50% (max) of the shrimp population at any given time, and that's if I look really hard.

 

[MaloK]

I have 100 to 200 cherry shrimps in a 5 gallons jungle style tank... More than half of them are orange and red...

Some morning when the light comes up... Even if I search the place... I cant find more than 2-3. Other days the tank look like a Christmas tree...

Sometimes I see some that are peculiar and can take weeks before I see them again sometime I never see them again.

Since the start of summer, in addition, there's hundreds of babies. In the morning, around one hour after the light comes on... The tank becomes pixelated from baby shrimps all over the place.

Around 4:00-5:00 PM... The tank is back looking empty...

 

[jaylach]

LOL! I remember a tank I had when I lived in Ohio. Had a 'tamed' rope fish that would eat out of my hand and weave in and out of my fingers if spread. The thing was a total escape artist and several time I would find it half dried out on the floor. Being lung fish they can survive quite a while out of water and I'd just run him back and forth back in the tank to hydrate until next time.

One time that it was gone from the tank I couldn't find and figured the dog ate it. Several weeks later I'm watching the tank and here comes my rope working its way back up an air riser for my under gravel filtration. Don't know how the thing managed to get past the riser's air stone but it did. It lived for several weeks under the under gravel filter plates. LOL! I guess it was feeding on stuff that got through the plates. Needless to say I then started using slotted riser caps.

Sounds off the wall but is actually a true story.

 

[Innesfan]

Frankly, whenever a critter disappears for any meaningful length of time my first thought always jumps to secret death rather than secret life...

We don't officially have a 'line of the month' competition, but if we did, this one gets my vote.