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  • #1

    Lost all the Guppies

    Fishlady has a nice 29 gallon tank in our living room, with 15 neon tetra's and a small rafael catfish, and 3 algae eaters, also very small, and a elephant nose. She also had a dozen fancy guppies in this tank for about 3 weeks. Well it seems almost  over night, most of the guppies have vanished. Did the cat eat them? I doubt it, he's only a baby, bout 1.5 inches. ??? The elephant nose perhaps?? He's about 4 inches long. There is nothing else in the tank except plants.

    They all seem to have gotten along fine until recently when she noticed the missing guppies.

    There was one body found whole, mixed in with some plants, but no other traces of the 12 guppies can be found????
    Anyone have a clue as to the answer to this mystery?

    CF
    Truth is the cement that holds the bricks and stones of a sane and civilized society together. Remove the former and the latter will crumble.
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  • #2
    Re: Lost all the Guppies

    What have you (or Fishlady) been feeding the tank? How big were the guppies? Have you noticed the elephant nose eating?

    ...Elephant noses are carnivores and eat a night...
    Scarecrow : I haven't got a brain... only straw.
    Dorothy : How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?
    Scarecrow: I don't know... But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they?
    Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

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    • #3
      Re: Lost all the Guppies

      We feed the guppie/neons flake food, and the cat & Elephant nose get blood worms.
      The guppies where about 1 to 1.5 inch's long.

      We never saw the Elephant nose or cat bother the guppies, but then we weren't watching 24/7 either....
      CF
      Truth is the cement that holds the bricks and stones of a sane and civilized society together. Remove the former and the latter will crumble.

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      • #4
        Re: Lost all the Guppies

        If you found a whole guppy, then I might tend to think they have just died, and since the tank is planted, they're almost impossible to find. How many are left? Was it really overnight? Does anyone look particularly fat? I'd try to search a bit more, if you can. The cat seems pretty small, and the elephant nose...yes, arm's right, but I'm not sure if he would eat something that large and fast.
        "Millennium hand and shrimp!"

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        • #5
          Re: Lost all the Guppies

          We're going to have to examine the tank more carefully this evening, she just pointed out to me last night that the guppies where missing. I fed the tank this morning as I always do, but only took a quick look as I was getting ready for work. I am not a big guppie fan and really don't pay too much attention to this tank. Fishlady or myself will add more details after our examination later tonight.

          CF
          Truth is the cement that holds the bricks and stones of a sane and civilized society together. Remove the former and the latter will crumble.

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          • #6
            Re: Lost all the Guppies

            After hearing that the weren't baby guppies, I would tend to go with Mzungu's theory that the others might be in there somewhere. You might want to check the filter as well.
            Scarecrow : I haven't got a brain... only straw.
            Dorothy : How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?
            Scarecrow: I don't know... But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they?
            Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Lost all the Guppies

              i had 10 guppies in there total.....one was found dead by cichlidfan about 2-3 weeks after i put them in there.....then i found one...that leaves 8....then when i got home today i looked and i see one in the back of the tank alive and well....but that leaves 6 unaccounted for...????....yes arm i have watched the elephant nose eat the blood worms...it's got a very small mouth...i highly doubt that he could eat those big guppies.....i also tested the water and found the paramiters well within what a planted tank should be....i was in fact very happy with that......we have very hard water over here and to see the results being soft tickled me to pieces....so i'm still dumbfounded about their where abouts....and none on the filter that i can see.....

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              • #8
                Re: Lost all the Guppies

                Just my opinion:

                I have kept both Elephantnoses and Raphael cats for many years.  The Raphael's common nickname is "Slashmouth cat".  Take a look at your cats mouth and you will be surprised at how big it really is.

                I would bet on the catfish as the culprit, elephantnoses won't pass up a nice snack of babies, but I have never had one hunt down any healthy adults.

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                • #9
                  Re: Lost all the Guppies

                  Have you been able to determin the the cause of death for the bodies you found ?  You may need to treat the entire tank.
                  'Dear Lord,' the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. 'Without you, we are but dust ...'
                  He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter who was listening leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four-year old girl voice, 'Mom, what is butt dust?'

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                  • #10
                    Re: Lost all the Guppies

                    there is no evidence of any sickness in the tank.....the only remaining guppy seems to be very healthy and happy....there is also a feeder rosie in there that we've had since we began to keep all the tanks approx 2 months old....we bought a dozen of those to test out one of cichlidfan's tanks back in april......so i really don't think it's sickness in the tank....at least there's no sign of anything of that nature.....now as for the raphael he hides most of the time i don't see him at all...i see the other 3 algae eaters alot more than him....he might be the one if i had to suspect anyone...but it's hard to imagine canabalism in there due to the fact they are all little guys......but the 16 tetra's that i put in there are very active and healthy looking.....they are still swimming around like nothing's amiss....we may have to chalk it up as just one of those things....but i won't replace them ....i will just leave the tetra's in there as is........

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                    • #11
                      Re: Lost all the Guppies

                      oh and phish the bodies that were found had no sign of being bitten or tagged by another fish...they were just dead.....

                      i would agree with you on that scenario trademan.....i don't think it's the elephant nose....and like i said i don't see the cat.....but if i had to suspect one of them i would have to go with "slashmouth"....i never knew that about them....so thanks for the heads up on that one...

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                      • #12
                        Re: Lost all the Guppies

                        True, raphaels have pretty big mouths...but he's only 1.5", right?

                        Fancy guppies can sometimes be difficult. What kind of algae eaters are they? Not that I'm suspicious of them, just curious as to what they are.  :)
                        "Millennium hand and shrimp!"

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                        • #13
                          Re: Lost all the Guppies

                          I looked at the tank last night and could not find the raphael cat. I did find the remains of another guppy, it looked like it had been dead for a few days, but did not show any signs of being fed on. I'm not sure what happened to the guppies but it is a possibility that the cat may have stressed the guppies or even attacked a few. Since I cannot find him, and get a look at how big he is now, it's just a guess at this point. 3 weeks ago when we brought him home, he was about 1.25 inches long at best.

                          On a side note, there is a significant amount of small snails that I have noticed recently. They are of the "horn" variety, and are rapidly growing in numbers. The largest one even has antenna on its head.

                          Anyway, thank you all for your input and concerns.

                          CF
                          Truth is the cement that holds the bricks and stones of a sane and civilized society together. Remove the former and the latter will crumble.

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