I have a troubling issue with my group of balas, which is smaller than it was two weeks ago. I had six, seen somewhat clearly in this photo from less than two weeks ago.
Starting roughly 5-7 days ago, and I'm ashamed to say I did not notice exactly when, 3 of these fish simply disappeared, the 3 largest seem to be the only that remain.
I've outlined several theories, wanted to get some feedback on what's plausible and what's not.
Theory 1: escape. The only opening to the tank is this 48"x2" hole covered mostly by the light strip. There is also a copious amount of tangled wood at the surface of the tank making jumping imo less likely.
I searched the area thoroughly. No bodies anywhere nor has there been any decaying fish smell. However, if the fish were to reach the floor it would almost certainly be carried off by my cat.
Theory 2: intraspecific aggression. I have not heard it a lot, but have heard stories of balas offing each other. It seems so unlikely to me, none of the fish ever exhibited any tattered fins and I've never seen any outright aggression except perhaps some light chasing.
Theory 3: this guy.
I just don't know. Again, ive heard scattered accounts of chalceus bullying fish that resemble them. He seems chill at all times, but I have witnessed him chasing the balas when I sit still in the fishroom awhile. It seems odd to me that the disappearances have occurred when the balas reached nearly the same size of this chalceus. Again, never saw any torn fins or damage though, and no remnants of them remain in the tank. However, I think it's worth noting that any fish carcass would be quickly ripped apart by my pictus pack. I did notice that my filter socks seemed to clog very quickly last weekend. This Theory could also work in conjunction with theory 1, chased and spooked into jumping.
Theory 4: unexplained disease. I'm not terribly experienced with balas, but have kept them before. They seemed very healthy to me last I saw them. Every other fish in the tank too. The remaining three are just as hungry and boisterous as ever.
Theory 5: very good hiders. Unlikely, I've never seen balas hide before, and they would have to be incredibly committed to stay hidden for so long.
Theory 6: teleportation/fish rapture. Also unlikely, but worth checking into imo. These fish could've decided to shed their mortal coil and simply dematerialized into the water column. This is really just a transcendental evolution of theory 1.
Thanks for reading, would appreciate any help.
Starting roughly 5-7 days ago, and I'm ashamed to say I did not notice exactly when, 3 of these fish simply disappeared, the 3 largest seem to be the only that remain.
I've outlined several theories, wanted to get some feedback on what's plausible and what's not.
Theory 1: escape. The only opening to the tank is this 48"x2" hole covered mostly by the light strip. There is also a copious amount of tangled wood at the surface of the tank making jumping imo less likely.
I searched the area thoroughly. No bodies anywhere nor has there been any decaying fish smell. However, if the fish were to reach the floor it would almost certainly be carried off by my cat.
Theory 2: intraspecific aggression. I have not heard it a lot, but have heard stories of balas offing each other. It seems so unlikely to me, none of the fish ever exhibited any tattered fins and I've never seen any outright aggression except perhaps some light chasing.
Theory 3: this guy.
I just don't know. Again, ive heard scattered accounts of chalceus bullying fish that resemble them. He seems chill at all times, but I have witnessed him chasing the balas when I sit still in the fishroom awhile. It seems odd to me that the disappearances have occurred when the balas reached nearly the same size of this chalceus. Again, never saw any torn fins or damage though, and no remnants of them remain in the tank. However, I think it's worth noting that any fish carcass would be quickly ripped apart by my pictus pack. I did notice that my filter socks seemed to clog very quickly last weekend. This Theory could also work in conjunction with theory 1, chased and spooked into jumping.
Theory 4: unexplained disease. I'm not terribly experienced with balas, but have kept them before. They seemed very healthy to me last I saw them. Every other fish in the tank too. The remaining three are just as hungry and boisterous as ever.
Theory 5: very good hiders. Unlikely, I've never seen balas hide before, and they would have to be incredibly committed to stay hidden for so long.
Theory 6: teleportation/fish rapture. Also unlikely, but worth checking into imo. These fish could've decided to shed their mortal coil and simply dematerialized into the water column. This is really just a transcendental evolution of theory 1.
Thanks for reading, would appreciate any help.
