Another jumper....

[Dmitry]

Well, when I left for work last night the Puffer was all ok and eating. Today when I got up I found him on the floor. :headache: This is the second fish to jump in 4 days! (A Coral Beauty jumped on Sunday). I need egg-crate, pronto! Where can I get a couple of sheets?

The other issue is why are they suddenly jumping? There's no agression from anyone during the day. And I've observed them all at night almost every night, and again - all seemed peaceful. Perhaps the light startled them. Or who knows... RIP little Valentini.

 

[Falco]

What else do you have in the tank? Fish jump because something spooks them and jumping from the water acts as a defense (predator loses track of them and they enter the water at a different spot).


Also, you can get egg crate at Home Depot or Lowes.


-Chris

 

[Dmitry]

The only fish who could have startled them are a GSM Clown, who stays in his anemone. And doesn't even attack a PJ Cardinal - who's constantly next to it. And a Mumbasa Lion - who nobody is afraid of during the day. And he's not bothering anyone. If things change at night....I don't know. But I come home at odd hours of the night and observe the tank for a bit. And the Clown is in his anemone, and the the Lion generally hangs off some rock or other.

 

[House of Laughter]

any clicking noises?

House

 

[Deanos]

How large is the Mombassa? A hungry lionfish will chase a fish it thinks it can swallow causing that fish to jump for its life.

 

[Dmitry]

No, I've heard no clicking.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

How hot is your tank?

home depot has the eggcrate.

If you cannot find them I have them in my club.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Yup just get something to cover your tank up. SOrry to hear about your loss Dmitry.

 

[michael stern]

sorry man. He was a real cutie.

 

[Dmitry]

The Mombasa is probably about 4''. I haven't seen him chasing anything in the tank; he's kinda lazy. I fed him today and a piece of krill that floated away he didn't bother chasing. Just sat there on top of some zoos, watching it go. I don't know.....

The temp in my tank is between 82-83 degrees.

I gotta get egg-crate. I'll try to stop by at HD today. Any place in midtown that might have it?

:headache:

 

[inkblue]

sorry dmiTry...

 

[regal]

I got mine from Lowe's in Brooklyn last week. I've never been able to find them at HD.

 

[House of Laughter]

Putting eggcrate on top only stops the fish from getting out, and not from jumping - so, jumping into the eggcrate is better? I'd just as soon solve the jumping problem -

JMO - eggcrate is AKA light diffuser if you are looking for places in the city to get them.

House

 

[Deanos]

The Mombasa is probably about 4''. I haven't seen him chasing anything in the tank; he's kinda lazy. I fed him today and a piece of krill that floated away he didn't bother chasing. Just sat there on top of some zoos, watching it go. I don't know.....

I think I've mentioned it before in another thread, but you won't witness all the aggression that goes on in your tank. Whenever I'm watching my tank, my fish all act like food is about to drop from the heavens. I'm pretty sure that's not how they act when they don't see humans peeking in on their world.

With a non-territorial ambush eater like a Mombassa lionfish, there would be no need to chase your other fish, until they venture too close and he's hungry. As you mentioned, it doesn't even chase krill when it's not hungry. Imagine how your Puffer will react when this "lazy" lionfish attempts to swallow it out of the blue...

 

[Dmitry]

The Coral Beauty jumped right after I fed the Lion. And I see all the fish swimming right up to and past the Lion, including during feedings, and he doesn't react. What the fish do when we're not around...I guess we can only find out with a hidden camera!

I'd certainly rather find out what caused the jumping: whether it was something sinister or just a bizarre coincidence. Though egg-crate is a nice safety device.

 

[Dmitry]

Home Depot on 3rd Ave has no light diffusers. They're useless! I have no idea where there's a Lowe's. I guess I can try another HD in the city; or just order a sheet on-line. It'd probably be a lot simpler that way.

 

[jhale]

sorry for the loss, that was a cute little fish.

RIP Puffy

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Sorry about the valentini

 

[loismustdie]

I'm pretty sure you are running a reef and not a FO, right?
As you know, eggcrate is a light diffuser, which will reduce your lighting. It will spread it out pretty well, but less intensity. You may have to consider if your corals will pay the price for that.
I would bet your lion is the problem as deanos said and house brings up a good point with the clicking.
Either way, my 2 cents... eggcrate isn't going to solve the problem. If the fish jumps out of the water, something is stressing it. It doesn't matter if it jumps out of the tank or gets stressed to death in the tank he's now locked into, the fish is still dead. Find ways to solve the problem completely rather than adding more issues. You're fish selection is rather unconventional for a reef.

 

[Dmitry]

I have a T5 lighting set-up, so the fluorescent tubes should do better than MHs with egg-crate. Eventually I'll have a canopy, so the egg-crate won't be there always.

As far as a non-conventional reef - the Lion has shown no interest in corals, snails, hermits, or shrimp. At least not yet. The fish I have in there with the Lion are all semi-aggressive, so in theory temperamentally they match. And size-wise none would fit into his mouth. He might not realize it, of course. The Coral Beauty was about the same size as the Lion. Did he think he could swallow her and try? I don't know... The Valentini was smaller, but they're oddly shaped. Again, I don't know what actually happened. I understand why the suspicion falls on the Lion. He is the most recent addition and the freakiest of them all. But I'm still not entirely convinced... And what are the solutions, aside from removing the Lion altogether? Larger-size fish? The Coral Beauty was...