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OK, Stupid post, but ? My Pleco is GONE. I cannot find it anywhere. I thought I may have a jumper, but I searched everything around the tank for hours and it is nowhere to be found. I've caught him "Swimming upstream" in the biowheel filter before... I have a planted/decorated tank, but unless he burrowed under the gravel, he's not in there (no hollow decor or anything). While searching for him I did find a half dried neon tetra though... i wonder if my discus or clown loaches are getting territorial. There is only a small opening btw the filter inlet and the cover.

Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia 0ppm.

The ONLY working theory I have is that he hopped out and the cat ate him.

Any other thoughts?

was your pleco small? i had a bn disappear and i never did find out what happened to him.. my theory was he must have been someones snack.... have you removed every single possible item from the tank that it could be hiding in? have you checked the filter thoroughly?
if you have chances is he probably was eaten by another fish.. i doubt it was your cat.. i couldnt imagine a pleco being tasty enough... correct me if im wrong anyone

sorry .. but i hope he pops up eventually!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

Thanks fo rthe response! Sorry to hear about your mystery. My guy was 6 or 7 inches, so I doubt he just vanished. I know they have a tendency to jump sometimes, or gulp air at night, and I have a horrible feeling he became a cat toy I just posted that he has been developing an affinity for bloodworms, so maybe his carnivorous side was coming out. Given that I found a tetra that was not 100% dry behind the tank, perhaps he was chasing a terta out. I also just noticed I'm 8 short on my tetra count, so there's likely a murderer somewhere in there. OH HOW THE PLOT THICKENS!

It has nothing to do with territory.
Discus sometimes view neon tetras as Rocket Pops, those red, white and blue popsicles. Seems they are just the right size for a snack when you get the urge for something sweet.

A secondary cause may be the temperature of your tank. Discus do best at 84F, neons do best at 78F. The higher temp accelerates the neon metabolism and shortens life span. (Of course, the discus may have shortened it even more.)

I vote to do a stomach pump on the cat in search of the pleco and I name the discus as the tetra killers.

Try fully grown cardinal tetras or rummy nose tetras in place of your neons. They are larger, (more difficult to swallow), and better adapted to discus temperatures.



__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

My cat has made some of my fish disappear too Make sure the tank is in a room the cat doesn't have access too.

Inky

I am going to gut the cat as bob suggests and solve this mystery. I just want to resolve this so everyone can stop worrying and go about their day to day lives.

Whilst I don't disagree with any of the comments above, in an effort to remain positive, I'd like to point out the fish's amazing ability to hide and remain hidden

IME I've thought that I've lost fish, only for them to turn up again weeks later (even remaining hidden throughout a water change).

Unless you've completely stripped your tank down, keep the faith that he/she may be hiding in there somewhere. I've never heard of a BN jumping for freedom.

I had one jump out before into the plant next to the tank. I caught him lounging in the current of the bio wheel return flow, completely out of the tank previously.

My tank is very clean and well maintained, with numerous hiding places. I really don't know what to think.

get a flashlight and search at night time , try not feeding at all for a couple of days and then put food in an open area and look with the torch after lights out

OH TOLEEDY!

Is it possible that he buried himself in the gravel? I have a small one that sometimes disapears for a day or two and that is my only explanation on where he could be.

I found him. Apparently he jumped out, and hitched a cab to the LFS, where I was able to repurchase him.

In all honesty, I'm 95% certain the cat got him. He is not in the tank, but has been replaced by a happy young fellow who is glad to take over tank cleaning duties.

Sorry to hear you didnt find him..its always sad to lose a pet...

congrats on your new purchase too.. make sure this one stays in the tank if you have any gaps you may want to think about covering them up with something like flyscreen or plastic so there wont be any more escapes!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them