Valentini Disappearing Act

[Pufferpunk]

I don't know what's up with my Valentini for the past week. She is gone all the time. She used to be right out in front, nice & fat--one of the 1st to go after the food. Even competed with the babyburr for a hunk of shrimp hanging off the side of the tank. Now I never see her at all, even at feeding time. I was starting to think she was a gonner (eaten by the giant black brittle starfish, who eats all dead bodies) but checked in there just now with the flashlight & there she is! She is slightly curled & pale but it was dark for a while in there so I can't tell if she's behaving normally or just sleepy. She was a little too fat before & she is definately thinner now (but not too thin). No chewed up tail or signs that anyone is picking on her. She actually seems fine, swimming around the tank now. Did she go nocturnal? What's wrong with her???

[bonnie3188]

Diddy has started disappearing too! We used a milk crate to create an opening underneath our live rock, and he spends a lot of time in there. I can see him in there, he just floats around looking curious. He comes out, but he isnt out 24/7 like he used to be. When he realises we are in front of the tank he will come out.

Does yours come out at night time? Ive heard some are noctural.

[manutius]

thats odd, I take it you haven't introduced any new tankmates? Maybe something has spooked herr and she's avoiding it as best she can. What about a stinger?

[yunachin]

My GSP does that now. The first couple of days he was swimming about like normal then all of a sudden he was gone. I too, thought he was a goner. But I looked under a rock and there he was. He has great color, good round belly, just hiding.
Maybe it's some weird time of the year for puffers.? Like a full moon or something.

[CoreyK]

One of my Figure 8's has actually been acting different too. He is out and about most of the day, completely healthy.
But when I go to feed them, my being at the tank spooks him and he will hide until I leave. It's difficult to get him to eat, I have to move really slowly and smoothly.
He has NEVER been like this before; I mean it's food, and he's a puffer!
Weird.

[Pufferpunk]

This is getting really weird! What's going on with our fish???

[Agnate]

It must be some form of subconscious telepathic connection between the puffers, and they're strategically hiding to get all of you confused. Clearly, this is the only feasible solution.

I can't find one of my BBGs. He was out yesterday when I fed them (which is the only time I've actually seen him), but he's been hiding in some nook that I've yet to find. Tricky little bugger, he is.

[yunachin]

It must be some form of subconscious telepathic connection between the puffers, and they're strategically hiding to get all of you confused. Clearly, this is the only feasible solution.

This made me laugh so hard. I love it!

[Pufferpunk]

After almost 2 weeks of not coming out at all during the day, he has finally started coming out. I've been watching him at night, swimming--very pale, looking for scraps of food. He finally started sleeping in his corner again. Then, the other day, he came out duringthe day for food. Today he is swimming out in the open & hanging out with the bluespot. He's not out all the time but enough to say, it's nice to see my friend again!

[yunachin]

Good to hear it!

[spoot]

I wonder what he was sulking about? Can't be the water, because knowing you PP, the nitrates are probably below zero

[Pufferpunk]

Not exately... the nitrates get fairly high, since the addition of the burrfish (& the fact that he's such a pig & growing so fast). Still doing 50% weekly WC on there. I've been trying to catch a snowflake eel out of there for weeks, to help with that. After Devlin is gone, I'm hoping to be able to add a frogfish to the tank & be done stocking.

[Pufferpunk]

Not exatly... the nitrates get fairly high since the addition of the burrfish & the fact that he's such a pig & growing so fast. Still doing 50% weekly WC on there. I've been trying to catch a snowflake eel out of there for weeks, to help with that. After Devlin is gone, I'm hoping to be able to add a frogfish to the tank & be done stocking.

[crazedpuffer]

I want a Frogfish, they're pretty cool. I want to reset up my 24 gallon nano cube as a reef for one.