The Angelfish Did It???

[chestnutmarebeware]

(Bad, Bad) Leroy Brown, the angelfish, shares a tank with two cories, and what used to be a school of 10 neon tetras.

However, the tetras are slowly disappearing and this morning I’m down to six. No bodies in the tank, and the lid is pretty well-fitted (the tank sits on a high dresser and I can’t really see behind it.

So, is Big Leroy becoming the Hannibal Lechter of the aquatic world? He’s quite large, but his mouth seems a little too small to suck up neons. But I’m lacking additional suspects…

[caffeinated]

Quite possibly the angelfish, but it could also be neon disease or something of that nature - in a very well established tank dead bodies can disappear very fast. LOL.

[RacetrackReject]

[QUOTE=chestnutmarebeware;8039312]
(Bad, Bad) Leroy Brown, the angelfish, shares a tank with two cories, and what used to be a school of 10 neon tetras.

However, the tetras are slowly disappearing and this morning I’m down to six. No bodies in the tank, and the lid is pretty well-fitted (the tank sits on a high dresser and I can’t really see behind it.

So, is Big Leroy becoming the Hannibal Lechter of the aquatic world? He’s quite large, but his mouth seems a little too small to suck up neons. But I’m lacking additional suspects…[/QUOTE]

It’s possible. I had an angelfish eat half of my tank before I realized who was doing it.

[TheHotSensitiveType]

[QUOTE=caffeinated;8039322]
… in a very well established tank dead bodies can disappear very fast.[/QUOTE]
Isn’t that the truth, especially with small fish like tetras!

It is possible, but generally speaking would be surprising. Do you see the angel aggressively chasing the tetras? If so, do the tetras have places to get away?

Do you have hard water (ph > 7.8)? The reason I ask is we do, and this really limits the freshwater fish we can keep because most like PH 5.5-7.0. I tried to keep neon tetras, but they could not deal with the PH. I currently have glowlight tetras, but I have read that keeping them in harder water will shorten their lifespan. Is this a possibility with you?

Another interesting experience we had over the winter is that we were losing fish in our 40g planted tank. The fish looked immaculate in death, and we were stumped. We finally figured out that there was not enough water movement near the bottom and the decaying plant material was causing CO2 pockets that the fish were becoming trapped in and suffocating We added a power head and some airstones, and viola! No more fish have died.

Aquariums… remind me why I do this again?!?

[chestnutmarebeware]

[QUOTE=TheHotSensitiveType;8039368]
Aquariums… remind me why I do this again?!?[/QUOTE]

I ask myself this question on a daily basis!

Our water is actually a touch on the soft side, and I have a variety of tetras in various tanks that do very well. The tank is heavily planted, and the neons give the angel a wide berth. But he is on his own because he attacked the other angels…

[yaya]

When I had tanks as a kid, they always told me angelfish were mean and would kill other fish.

[shayaalliard]

neon tetras are the jelly beans of the fish world. And angels are notorious for swallowing them up- they are cichlids after all.

[kasjordan]

My nephew’s angel fish eats every other fish they put in the tank. Including Plecos. Many, many Plecos.

[Sannois]

Angel Fish can be very aggressive with small community types!
http://fish.mongabay.com/angelfish.htm
One of the first types they say not to combine with is Neons.
I have done it, but in 50 gallon tanks with lots of plants and rock formations.

[vtdobes]

Sorry for the loss of your tetras! I have a 40g tank. My angel fish died last year…had him for many years and he got really big! He lived with a handful of other small fish and they had plenty of hidey spots from him. Just the other day my Raphael catfish died…he was BIG! Had him for around 10 years?

All that’s left in my tank is one lone snail. I haven’t gotten any new fish as I’m planning on shutting the tank down because I don’t really have the time to put into it anymore. Poor little snail…

[halt]

[QUOTE=vtdobes;8042968]
Sorry for the loss of your tetras! I have a 40g tank. My angel fish died last year…had him for many years and he got really big! He lived with a handful of other small fish and they had plenty of hidey spots from him. Just the other day my Raphael catfish died…he was BIG! Had him for around 10 years?

All that’s left in my tank is one lone snail. I haven’t gotten any new fish as I’m planning on shutting the tank down because I don’t really have the time to put into it anymore. Poor little snail…[/QUOTE]

what will you do with the snail?!

[enjoytheride]

Angelfish are related to Cichlids and can eat other smaller fish, especially as they get bigger. Yummy tetras.

[TankDiveGirl]

They aren’t related to cichlids, they ARE cichlids.

[vtdobes]

[QUOTE=halt;8045126]
what will you do with the snail?![/QUOTE]

I don’t know! Guess keep up the tank until it’s gone… ???

[chestnutmarebeware]

Thanks for all the replies! I’ve rescued the survivors and relocated them to a tank with no angels. They’ve joined the existing school of black neons, and no more have gone MIA.

[GotGait]

Yes, most likely the Angel. I don’t keep them for that reason.
Of course, I do keep a 6" Red-tailed Black Shark with a bunch of Danios. It should look like the set of a Saw movie every morning, but he totally ignores them.
Every fish is different.

[Chall]

How and where did you get a snail? They are illegal to buy/sell in NY, according to pet smart. I’m talking freshwater snails.

[danceronice]

[QUOTE=enjoytheride;8045503]
Angelfish are related to Cichlids and can eat other smaller fish, especially as they get bigger. Yummy tetras.[/QUOTE]

I was going to say, cichlid family. That is almost certainly your culprit. Some you can keep with others, but some you just can’t. Another breed that can be surprisingly aggressive is Chinese algae eaters. They’re MEAN, and can harass other fish to death.

[halt]

[QUOTE=Chall;8056036]
How and where did you get a snail? They are illegal to buy/sell in NY, according to pet smart. I’m talking freshwater snails.[/QUOTE]

funny you say that. my SO’s tank is armed to the hilt with snails after we purchased some freshwater plants at a local petsmart in NY. guess it was a bonus package :lol:

[vtdobes]

[QUOTE=Chall;8056036]
How and where did you get a snail? They are illegal to buy/sell in NY, according to pet smart. I’m talking freshwater snails.[/QUOTE]

I bought it (well 3 originally) at the store that sells fresh and saltwater fish, etc. I’m pretty sure it’s a Nerite snail.