Long-fin fairy wrasse MIA

I bought this guy 2 months ago, he's been eating well and acting fine ever since i got him! But since yesterday morning i haven't seen him at all! i know that wrasses hide in

the sand when they are scared , my new wrasses do that too. but this is an established wrasse he didn't go carpet surfing, i have checked like 5 metres away , didn't

end up in the overflow. there are some pest crabs in my tank, could they have gotten him while he was sleeping? that's my worst fear! sigh

 

bump

should i be worried? is it possible he died of old age or something?? :-/

 

It's possible a crab got him, or he died of old age. There are lots of potential reasons why you can't find him. Unfortunately I don't think there's much anyone can tell you to do except wait and see if he surfaces, or tear the tank apart to look for him. Unfortunately tearing the tank apart isn't a guarantee you'll find anything as well since a dead fish will usually get consumed rather quickly if you have a decent cleanup crew, also he might be hiding in a hole in a rock somewhere and you won't see him even if you tear the rock apart either.

Good luck, hope he comes back!