Sad lost fish: when will ammo spike?

[PineSong]

One of my blue moscow males was missing this morning when I counted fish at breakfast. I moved plants, filters and driftwood and could not find any trace of him. The tank has a very tight lid that leads to the kitchen counter if he did somehow levitate out vertically up the HOB flow, and I did not find him there.

I know for a fact he was here and swimming normally yesterday AM, because a guest asked about his tail. 

Hard for me to believe that he could totally disappear in that amount of time, but I am not experienced with fish carcass happenings. You can see the tank photo--there is lots of open space and nothing so dense it would hide a corpse.

There are 18 livebearers (endlers, guppies, platies, mollies) an oto, a mystery snail and maybe 3 ramshorn snails in this tank. Could they have actually eaten him up?

My main question is this: if he is dead and his body is in this tank somewhere I can't see it, when will ammonia spike? I tested this AM and there was none, still none right now. 

.

[eatyourpeas]

Your tank may be able to weather the ammonia if it is well established and you have quite a healthy amount of plants. The fish may not be big enough to cause a spike, especially if it was eaten.

Edited November 16, 2021 by eatyourpeas

[HH Morant]

[lefty o]

1 small fish may not be much of a spike.

[JettsPapa]

It shouldn't be a problem.  By the way, I've also had guppies vanish.  I'm convinced they can teleport.

[PineSong]

On 11/16/2021 at 7:20 PM, JettsPapa said:

It shouldn't be a problem.  By the way, I've also had guppies vanish.  I'm convinced they can teleport.

Right? I was thinking he found a portal to another dimension. I hate not knowing. But I really do not see how he could have escaped the tank.

[Flumpweesel]

A healthy tank can deal with a body surprisingly fast and completely. 

I had this with my first krib she just disappeared thought for a day or two she'd found a cave then when she hadn't reappeared a week later striped the tank and nothing.  No noticeable spike in parameters either.

[Minanora]

I've had one or two guppies go MIA over the years. After I watched Stargate, I realized.... Guppies can Ascend! Just like Daniel Jackson!

Sorry to hear that one of your guppies is MIA.

[Stef]

Do you have a cat or a counter surfing dog?  Any inner area of the lid/light where he may have jumped and gotten stuck?

I’m jealous of your sword. 

[PineSong]

On 11/17/2021 at 12:02 AM, Stef said:

Do you have a cat or a counter surfing dog?  Any inner area of the lid/light where he may have jumped and gotten stuck?

I’m jealous of your sword. 

As hard as it is to imagine him being totally consumed by his tankmates, it's actually easier to believe than that he hopped out. It's a plain glass top so there is no way he is stuck in it.

There is a tiny gap where the airline goes out and there is the space around the HOB, but if he went out either of those holes he'd land on the counter between two tanks and surrounded by potted plants--hopping off the counter would be the equivalent of running a maze. Before I put the plastic strip on my glass top, I did have a guppy jump to his death and he was found dried out right between the tanks 😞 

My sword does look good...from a distance! It has been back and forth with black beard algae so the fact that my camera won't focus well is a blessing in disguise.

 

[Ken]

Did the ammonia ever spike?

[PineSong]

On 11/17/2021 at 8:19 PM, Ken said:

Did the ammonia ever spike?

Nope as of tonight, still no ammo readings, no changes to water parameters at all.