Stumped... CICHLIDS VANISHING.

[TroyMIfishkeeper]

Having some problems with my 40 gallon right now. Filtration is a Marineland penguin filter good for 70 gallons. Substrate is sand and the only decorations are a plastic tree type thing, a floating turtle dock, and a slate rock. I started off with just a baby slider/cooter type turtle and a baby Alligator Snapper (both around 2 1/2 inches shell length). A week ago I stocked the tank with some minnows and goldfish as feeders. On Friday I decided to get some tankmates so I picked up a medium-sized pleco, one adult electric blue acara, one small blood parrot cichlid, and a two and a half inch peacock cichlid. In the morning, I found that the acara had VANISHED. Not under the slate rock or inside the plastic tree decoration, not in the filter (the pipe has a piece on the end of it that stops fish from being sucked up), and he was far too large for the turtles to have eaten him and for there to be NOT A SINGLE TRACE LEFT. I assumed he had jumped out the space on the back of the tank overnight and he had flopped out onto the floor and my dog had eaten him, because I looked everywhere and there was no body. But TODAY, now the peacock cichlid is nowhere to be found!!! My dog has not been inside at all, and it's the same situation! I'm stumped and I'm scared to buy any more fish until I figure out what's going on. Can anyone help?

 

[pharmaecopia]

You're turtles are eating them is the most likely guess. Any leftovers the other fish and pleco will pick at.

 

[tlindsey]

Your turtles don't no how to differentiate feeders from cichlids, I will say the turtles are the culprits.

 

[duanes]

Agree with the others, to your turtles, the cichlids are feeders, and may be even easier to catch than the feeders.

 

[ehh]

 

[monkeybike]

View attachment 1163363

Same thing happened when I mixed my guinea pig collection with my giant python, what gives ?!?

 

[MN_Rebel]

Is this a troll thread?

 

[festaedan]

That snapping turtle did it. I really wouldnt keep any fish (or other turtles) with snappers that you dont mind losing. Snappers are really more of a solitary turtle. You cant even keep them with other snappers.
I'd get all those fish out or there ASAP. If the turtle eats too much protein it might get piramiding and a whole bunch of other diseases ascociated with too much protein and overfeeding.
Some of the smaller painted turtles and pink belly sidenecks do great with fish. My sidenecks dont bother any thing I put with them. I'd just get rid of the snapper if you want fish.
Make sure you do extensive reaserch when getting a new pet. Sometimes you gotta learn the hard way, but it's avoidable.

 

[TroyMIfishkeeper]

Ok, I'm not an idiot people. My first guess was that the turtles ate them. I just thought it was weird that both the fish that disappeared were as large or larger than the turtles, and that there were no remains left (although now it makes sense that the feeders and pleco probably just picked at the leftovers). Common snappers are typically bad for keeping with other turtles but as long as they are the same size alligator snappers do fine with other turtles of the same or different species. AST are actually pretty mellow compared to CST. Again, they have to be the same size, though. And yes, eventually the snapper is going to outgrow the other turtle.
Someone delete this thread, I shouldn't have asked. I'm not heartbroken over a $15 and $4 fish.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

turtles don't have to swallow their prey whole. I've had multiple species tear fish into pieces, then over a period of time, eat each piece individually. Size does not matter to a turtle lol especially a snapper.