u/Rhiyaya

I have lost several Medaka over the last week or so.

But now I am noticing one of my two oldest (still only a few months) fish has gotten clear stripes on her back basically overnight. And she has a tiny red dot on her side. I had a toddler Medaka with a similar spot.

Of the 6 toddlers and 6 teenager Medaka I had, I can now only find twoish toddlers, and 3-4 teens.

I was assuming some sort of predator. But now with the discoloration (which I guess could just be adult colors coming in, but it was sudden) and the red dots, I’m concerned for the rest.

I can’t get a good photo of the one today. But here is one of the toddlers from the other day with a red dot.

I did water test strips a couple of days ago and everything was fine.

ETA: there are also a few newborn fry in there

I have a 40 gallon container with tons of hiding spots and plants. The area under the fairy house and the area under the carnivorous plants are both mini milk crates. There is an overturned plant pot with its edges lifted up under the rice.

But in the last couple of weeks I have definitely lost one of my dark blue fish. And I think another dark blue one is gone now. And of the six toddler fish I ordered recently, I can now only find two of them.

But you’d think if something was eating them that it would be the bright orange ones that would disappear. Especially because they’re my original two fish and pretty outgoing.

I did see a dead bug in there recently that was maaaaaaybe a dragonfly larva. But I lost it before I could inspect. But I’ve dug around through the plants and looked all around and don’t see any others. Nor do I see the missing fish.

What’s the longest you’ve had a Medaka disappear only to randomly show back up?

Had a container pond at my last house, but didn’t bring it with me. So I’m setting up a new one.

It all started when I bought a Venus fly trap and someone said “you could make it a little bog!” And obviously from there I went to container pond. (And now of course I think I’ve killed the Venus fly trap).

Happy for any suggestions - practical or imaginative. Budget is “I used an $8 tote from Home Depot because that’s all I could afford.”

The plants (other than the carnivorous ones) are all donations from various neighbors.

I feel bad trying to raise fish because I’m super adhd and don’t want to kill them.

I am hoping to raise tadpoles this summer (that feels different because I can rescue them from kiddie pools people are about to dump out).

I’ve got a small aerator in there.

It gets full afternoon sun. I’m in central NC where temps over the year range from 5-105.

There is some space underneath the stones and platforms that you can’t see.