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I had a platy, well over 2 years old, who's been slowing down for awhile now; recently she's been spending lots of time resting quietly in the plants.

Two nights ago, she came out to eat.

By the next day, when I went to do a gravel vac, she was nowhere to be found even though I tore the tank apart. I feel fairly certain she died and became a part of the food chain in my tank.

But shouldn't I find some sign of her? I mean, what happens to the bones??????? Are the other fish (rosy barbs, zebra danios, a few more platies,some rainbowfish and a pleco) so gluttonous that they'd pick her clean and then swallow her skeleton piece by piece?

i have seen other platys and plecos eat platy corpses in pet stores

Same here, but fish are usually starving at the lfs. I've had that happen more than once though... was looking for a small bn pleco once, got out the flashlight, moved everything in tank looking for it. Dangit, it must have jumped out somehow but no trace on the floor or surrounding area..not in the filter either. It must have jumped out and the dogs got it or something.

Three days later I saw it attached to the tank wall, sucking away. This is after two people spent 20 minutes with a flashlight moving around stuff and looking for it, in a small tank.

The other fish ate her after she died. Are you sure she didn't jump out?.



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Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
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I'd be shocked if she jumped out. The tank is tightly covered, and she's been moving very slowly in recent months -- I don't think she could get up the speed!

(Plus I looked, and she's not on the floor.)

How big is your pleco? The other fish will certainly have 'had second lunch' on your platy after it died and surprising as this may sound, if your pleco is 'putting on some size', it may well have moved in too and with its jaws, the skeleton could well have been broken up and swallowed or be mixed in with the gravel or filter.

Pleco is still pretty small -- maybe 3.5 inches from head to tail. But I don't begrudge him the meal, if he's one of the culprits -- he's a good little worker, keeping my tank algae free!