jawfish under attack

[flameonix]

I'm stumped here. We've got a jawfish in the same tank where the angels met their demise, so I'm wondering if there's a connection. The jawfish is the largest at 2.5 inches, with the rest being significantly smaller - chromis, dartfish, clown goby, maroon clown, fuzzy dwarf lion, and embera hawk. The dartfish might be half the jawfish's length, but that's about it.

This morning, we noticed the jawfish had both side fins chewed off, almost to the body. I'm guessing the maroon clown and the hawkfish are the likely culprits, given their aggressive nature. But can they really inflict this kind of damage? If not, what else should I be looking for in the live rock?

We never saw any marks on the angels or the other fish, which is weird. Just noticed the jawfish has a chunk missing from his side too - the poor guy's been through a war. Treating him with melafix to help him recover.

[zenoxa]

It's possible that there's an invert hiding in the rocks that's responsible for the damage. I'm thinking along the lines of a predator like a crab, but I need a bit more information about the tank's history - how long has it been set up? If it's relatively new with new rock, it's possible that something unwanted might have been introduced.

For skittish fish, collisions with rocks are not uncommon, but that would only explain the chunk missing from the jawfish's side - the fin damage is still a mystery.

[flameonix]

Thanks zenoxa, I appreciate the input. The jawfish wasn't a nervous wreck, he rarely ventured out of his burrow unless food was involved, so I'm not buying the rock collision theory. The tank's been up for around 10 weeks now, and he's been a resident since the early days. My thinking was that whatever did this had to be fairly sizeable, capable of inflicting significant damage in one go - anything smaller would've taken time, and surely he'd have noticed and swum off. That's why I'm still suspecting one of the other fish, like the clown or hawkfish.

I've been keeping an eye out with a torch after lights out, but so far all I've spotted is some sort of slug-like creature with a tiny shiny shell - I'm clearly no expert on inverts. The jawfish is still refusing to return to his burrow, which tells me he's definitely spooked. Guess I'll just have to keep watching and see if anything else turns up. Thanks again for the suggestion.

[fleeton]

Thanks zenoxa, I appreciate your input. The jawfish wasn't one to dart around, he mostly stuck to his burrow, only coming out to snag food. I figured whatever did this would have to be pretty sizeable, or he would've had time to react. I mean, if it was something small, it would've taken a while to do that kind of damage, and he would've likely noticed, right? That's what made me wonder about one of the other fish.

I've been keeping an eye out with a torch after lights out, but so far, all I've seen is this weird slug-like thing with a tiny shiny shell - I'm clearly a master of marine life names, as you can tell. I'll just have to keep watching, but it's clear something's spooked him, since he won't go back to his burrow.

[flameonix]

I'm stumped here. We've got a jawfish in the same tank where the angels met their demise, so I'm wondering if there's a connection. The jawfish is the largest at 2.5 inches, with the rest being significantly smaller - chromis, dartfish, clown goby, maroon clown, fuzzy dwarf lion, and embera hawk. The dartfish might be half the jawfish's length, but that's about it.

This morning, we noticed the jawfish had both side fins chewed off, almost to the body. I'm guessing the maroon clown and the hawkfish are the likely culprits, given their aggressive nature. But can they really inflict this kind of damage? If not, what else should I be looking for in the live rock?

We never saw any marks on the angels or the other fish, which is weird. Just noticed the jawfish has a chunk missing from his side too - the poor guy's been through a war. Treating him with melafix to help him recover.

I'm with you on that, things can just appear out of nowhere. I mean, I've got a glass anemone that just showed up in my tank after 8 or 9 months - no idea where it came from. It's just one of those things that's bound to happen eventually. Looking at the damage to the jawfish's fins, though, it's clear that whatever is doing this has a pretty big mouth. So, I'm guessing it'll have to make an appearance soon, if only because it's got to be getting hungry. Thanks again for the input, guys, really appreciate it.

[flameonix]

Got home to find the jawfish had met a pretty gruesome end - both fins were completely gone, and the skin was badly damaged where they attach to the body. He had two patches of skin missing down his sides and a chunk taken out of his head. I'm at a loss as to what could've done this, and to be honest, I'm not exactly eager to catch the culprit. Guess I'll just have to keep searching and hope it turns up soon.

[flameonix]

No sign of the culprit, but this morning I woke up to a badly damaged dartfish - it's been shredded, basically. Patches of damage all along one side, and the mucus is hanging off in tatters. I'm at a loss, to be honest. Any ideas on tracking down whatever is doing this, and then how to safely remove it? It's clearly something lurking in the sandbed, as the only ones affected are the burrowing fish - jawfish, now the dartfish.

[fleeton]

Try using a red-bulb flashlight, then go poking around the tank at night, see if that reveals anything.

[lumenox]

You could try removing the sand until nighttime, then shine a torch to see if anything's on the glass. If that doesn't work, take out the live rock and use a small cup to slowly add the sand back in - this might help you spot something like a crab or bristle worm.