# Can 1 fish just disappear?



## lovemycichlids805 (Apr 11, 2008)

Can a fish from your tank just disappear? I have a tank of 13 cichlids. We siphoned the tank and did our normal water change and counted all the fish to make sure they were there (because we moved the mountains and rocks and stuff) and today I noticed that one of our cobalt blue zebras is missing! I can't find her anywhere!Do you think she could be gone? Could they have eaten her? Or do you think somewhere along the line I missed her somewhere? I am sad  My question though, has anyone ever had that happen? Or could she have been eaten?


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## boostspike (Apr 3, 2007)

first thing first.. you have way too many fishes for a 29g.  Fishes don't just dissapear.. 

check the floor around the tank, might of jumped out.

check the filter, its possible for a fish to end up there..

remove the rocks, tank a still pic of the tank and then count the fishes in the pic. (might of miss counted)

get a larger tank..


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## Joea (May 25, 2004)

boostspike said:


> Fishes don't just dissapear..


If you own a dog or cat, they disappear quite easily.

Fish jump, and they can manage to fit themselves through the smallest of openings at the top of any tank. It's usually more common in smaller tanks too.

If you have a dog or cat, it's possible that the fish jumped, flopped around on the floor for a while and then became a snack.

I'd have to agree that your tank is completely unsuitable for the fish you have, particularly ones like the Frontosa which grow to 15 inches and require a 6 foot 125 gallon at the very least. The _Cy. moorii_ can reach 9".

You're likely to lose a lot more fish soon if you don't relocate these fish to a much larger tank.


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## Cook.MN (Mar 11, 2008)

But the trick I have found to keep my mbunas from becoming a snack is to get a community tank going. My cat now spends all her time focused on the schools of fish she stopped eyeing up my Acei!


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## lovemycichlids805 (Apr 11, 2008)

The good thing is I found my fish. I know that a 29gallon is unsuitable for these fish. I am working on a bigger one at the moment. I don't think when I first started this adventure that I actually realized they would need that big of a tank. But I totally understand why you would say that. Right now they are all pretty small, but I know they will get big and I am prepared for that. As this is my first tank ever, I am starting to learn and understand these wonderful creatures. I know my tank is small, but I also know that these fish are well taken care of. As my husband puts it, I am now a fish dork! :lol: I've already had 2 of them mate in this tank. I currently have 18 fry in a 10 gallon that will get upgraded also. Thanks for your thoughts on this subject though. :thumb: I will continue to upgrade. As I heard before, Betcha can't have just one (fish tank)!


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