Sexy Shrimp & Pistol Shrimp RIP...

[Reefd Up]

I was gone from work for 2 weeks for the wedding/honeymoon, and came back to find that my 4 sexy shrimp and my pistol shrimp were gone from my 8g tank.  I'm rather stumped.  They had been in the tank several weeks prior to my leaving.  Other inverts, like hermit crabs/snails/etc were all fine.  The corals all seemed fine as well.  Chemicals checked out as well. 

One of my coworkers was caring for the tank (he's a freshwater guy, but is still very very knowledgable).  He topped off with freshwater, turned the lights on and off, and fed the tank.  The tank might've been overfed a teeny bit (noticed a small tuft of algae), but nothing crazy. 

The other inhabitants include a Amblyeleotris diagonalis (Diagonal Shrimp Goby...was paired up with the pistol shrimp), corals, blue legged hermit crabs, nerites, asterina starfish, and narsarisus (sp?) snails.

Any idea what would kill sexy shrimp and the pistol shrimp...but nothing else?  (Other than my co-workers looking for a late snack). 

[Aquatic Specialists]

Are you sure the pistol is gone? They are very elusive! The pistols are also known to kill and eat small shrimp if there is not a good food supply or in self defense. I have also seen gobies turn on the pistol shrimp and eat them too! That would be my only thoughts unless of course they jumped out.

[Reefd Up]

Yeah, the pistol is gone.  The goby isn't living in the burrow anymore...looks all caved in.  There's no maintenance on the burrow.  Plus, it's only an 8g tank...only so many places to hide.  The sexy shrimp stayed usually in the upper 1/3 of the tank, and the pistol stayed in the burrow (bottom 1/3).  As far as I know, the tank was fed well while I was gone.  The goby turning on the shrimp was the only thing I could think of. 

Oh, there's a lid on the tank too...no jumpers. 

[~reefchik~]

Well, sorry about your shrimp - that's a bummer 

OTOH, congratulations on your wedding!

[Reefd Up]

Thanks and thanks!  Yeah...still no idea what happened.  Guess it's another one of those freakish things that happens to me.