Jumping Fish

[arthurk0722]

Soo far ive had 2 fish jump out of my tank and attempt suicide. First was my diamond watchman goby (which died) and now it was my firefish. Luckily i was home to see him on the floor and i quickly rushed to get him back in the tank. It seems like he is recovering but ill keep a close eye on him.

Now my question.. Is there a reason that this is happening? Should i get a mesh cover?

I did a little experiment and took my window screen cover off and put it on top of the tank. lol. Would that be a good thing to have but get a custom one for my tank rather than a screen mesh? ( just a thought)

Open to any suggestions/comments

 

[Tranquil201]

You can get screen like mesh and cover the tank. I left my screen off one night and lost a Bartlett anthias and never did it again.

 

[Tranquil201]

Gobys jump and a lot of times bullied when small and will dart to the top and unfortunately take flight.

 

[arthurk0722]

You can get screen like mesh and cover the tank. I left my screen off one night and lost a Bartlett anthias and never did it again.

Yeah its a shame. Thats probably what i might end up doing cause i dont wanna lose anymore fish due to them jumping. But i dont think the firefish will make it..

 

[Tranquil201]

If you got him back in the tank quickly he should be ok he might be a little stressed out but should be fine. Yea I was upset when I found my anthias.

 

[albano]

best off with 1/4" clear netting and DIY window frames...MOST fish will jump, sooner or later!

 

[arthurk0722]

best off with 1/4" clear netting and DIY window frames...MOST fish will jump, sooner or later!

i agree that most fish will jump whenever but atleast with the net it will make it a lot harder and hopefully impossible for them

 

[arthurk0722]

If you got him back in the tank quickly he should be ok he might be a little stressed out but should be fine. Yea I was upset when I found my anthias.

yeah hopefully the firefish will be fine .. i was pretty mad when my goby jumped out.

 

[Tranquil201]

I have a yellow watchman goby with a tiger pistol shrimp pair.

 

[SanmanReefer]

Soo far ive had 2 fish jump out of my tank and attempt suicide. First was my diamond watchman goby (which died) and now it was my firefish. Luckily i was home to see him on the floor and i quickly rushed to get him back in the tank. It seems like he is recovering but ill keep a close eye on him.

Now my question.. Is there a reason that this is happening? Should i get a mesh cover?

I did a little experiment and took my window screen cover off and put it on top of the tank. lol. Would that be a good thing to have but get a custom one for my tank rather than a screen mesh? ( just a thought)

Open to any suggestions/comments

You can try buying a sheet of eggcrate from Home Depot and cut it to whatever size and shape you need. It will also let the light go through, I think it's better than glass cover anyways. Hope this helps.

 

[Awibrandy]

Best to stick with window screen. Just be sure to get fiber type screen material, not metal.
Some fish can get through the egg crate.

FYI, KathyC has a DIY on MR. Do a search for it.

 

[44santababy]

every tank should have one...here is my DIY

You can see the two covers on each side of the center brace and the orange netting for both my overflows cause my eel got into one...

 

[albano]

Best to stick with window screen.

+1...eggcrate will NOT stop gobies or firefish, and it does block some light!

 

[arthurk0722]

every tank should have one...here is my DIY

You can see the two covers on each side of the center brace and the orange netting for both my overflows cause my eel got into one...

Does the cover affect the lighting at all? Thats my only concern is that some of the light wont be transmitted

 

[44santababy]

not at all with my leds...

 

[arthurk0722]

not at all with my leds...

Im running t5s so would it make a difference you think?

 

[44santababy]

with all due respect, you must cover your tank. Its your decision how. I showed you my setup. If your very worried about lighting just make it a coral only tank. My motto is "fish first" so my tank is completely sealed and setup for fish protection. Then i placed my corals accordingly to light and flow. GL...

 

[marrone]

It's not going to make a difference whatever lights that you maybe running, as the screen is very thin. So don't worry about losing light into the tank, put the screen in place before you lose anymore fish.