Flying Fish?!

Pinkcadillac · 08-17-2007, 12:28 PM

(I included cliff notes for those who are busy but would still like to help)

Ok this thread is definitley not about flying fish, but rather about the disaster that occured sometime last night. A little background:

I just started a new 55 gallon tank, I bought a some lovely live plants, declorinated that water, and ran my new filters for 24 hours leading up to yesterday evening. Now i decided it was time to start my first biological cycle so i went down to the fish store and picked up 16 platys on the advise of the saleman. I took them home, set the bag in the water for a few hours to let the temp adjust, and then opened the bag and let the platys swim out on their own accord. They looked like they were doing great, exploring the tank, and swimming back a forth. About an hour later i turned off the lights and went to bed.

This morning i went to check on them before work, turned on the lights, and noticed there were only 9 platys in the tank. I checked the plants and the for floaters and couldnt find any, until i checked the ground behind the tank with a flashlight. Apparently 7 fish had jumped out of the small gap (4"x1") behind my lid next to my hang on filter. I got back there to clean them up, and by some fish miracle 4 of the 7 were still alive and seem to be doing ok (i hope they live) after being placed back in the tank.

Now these are 10 cent fish so its not the end of the world, and i covered the gap with a piece or cardboard and a small weight so i dont lose anymore while im at work, but am i going to have to watch this from now on? I mean i would hate for a $25 Gourami to go jumping out of my tank on some crazy escape mission?

I should also mention im having new lids specially made for my tank because i have the only 55 gallon in AZ that fits a 23" lid and not the standard 24". And currently I have some old plastic lids with the punch outs in the back.

Cliffs:
-Bought 16 platys to start biological cycle.
-Put them into the tank last night ~ 8PM
-Woke up this morning ~6AM and 7 had jumped out of the 4" gap in my lid
-Is this normal fish behavior?
-Should i expect this from now on?

P-Daddy · 08-17-2007, 01:28 PM

Alright, I will try and summarize my answers and concerns in the most concise way possible.

1. Fish jump, period. Certain species of fish are much more likely to jump than others. A tight-fitting lid is the surest way to prevent your fish from doing so.

2. Acclimation, there are several different methods and schools of thought on acclimating your new arrivals to your aquarium. Generally the longer the acclimation time the better, yet allowing the temperature to adjust for several hours is both needless (10 minutes should suffice) and may actually jeopardize your fish if you aren't opening the knotted bag. Equally important to temperature is slowly adding tank water in small doses at regular doses so these fish also become acclimated to your water conditions.

3. If your LFS is selling a gourami at $25 you're getting swindled.

4. With my latest tank I made the same mistake you did and trusted the advice of my LFS using feeder fish to cycle the tank. It does in fact work, and is probably the most common practice, yet people on this forum have opened my eyes to fishless cycling using pure ammonia. Forum members such as BJP are true experts on the subject and there is great information in the articles section about it. Your cycling method will work, don't get me wrong. Just expect to see some, sick, dead and suffering platy's in the future. Its a messy process.

Yea, but anyway you need a good lid. Glass lids are the way to go in my opinion, I hate those plastic punch-out deals. The only way I would advice against a lid is if you have temperature issues and want to run a fan across the surface of the water, or if you're really ambitious and want an open-air planted aquarium.

Pinkcadillac · 08-17-2007, 02:30 PM

Thanks very much for your response. I didnt know that the water temp only took a few minutes, and i will be sure to add small amounts of tank water to the bag from now on.

And honestly i had no idea that most fish jump. That just boggles my mind, but it is definitley nice to know. And i really cant wait for my custom lids to be completed, now for reasons other than cosmetically.

And my comment about $25 Gouramis was an random number, i really have no ideas what they sell them for, and probably would have been better off saying that i dont want $20 bills jumping out of my tank.

And thanks for the info on cycling, ill read those articles and possibly see if there is something that can speed my process along and maybe save my platys from suffering a bit.

Tbx · 08-17-2007, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-Daddy

3. If your LFS is selling a gourami at $25 you're getting swindled.

That is not true giant gouramis here go for about $80.00 2 1/2' though them selling 10 cent platies is weired they are $2.99 a piece here.

P-Daddy · 08-17-2007, 06:34 PM

While I am aware they exist, I've never actually seen a giant gourami, so I didn't figure it into my thinking.

Either way I would steer clear of the giant variety in a 55 gallon.

Tbx · 08-17-2007, 07:14 PM

yeah that is for sure I couldn't get one to fit in my 150 gallon having it is as wide as the fish is long it would barley be able to turn around in a 50 it would be stationary.

andy53 · 08-17-2007, 10:11 PM

Quote:

I took them home, set the bag in the water for a few hours to let the temp adjust, and then opened the bag and let the platys swim out on their own accord.

Just for the record I wouldn't add any of the lfs water to your home tank. It is an easy way for you to introduce a host of things you don't into your home tank. I usually net the fish from the bag and then let them swim into the tank from my net, leaving most if not all lfs water out of my tank.

Saikyo · 08-17-2007, 11:04 PM

I tell ya what. I just cleaned the tank of my newts and had to take everything out, including the glass shrimp. So I place the 4 shrimp I had in a plastic cup, come back from the cleaning, and lo-and-behold, theres ONE shrimp left. the other 3 jumped outta the cup. So far I've found 2, but somewhere in my room is a dying glass shrimp. O_o

Tbx · 08-18-2007, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saikyo

I tell ya what. I just cleaned the tank of my newts and had to take everything out, including the glass shrimp. So I place the 4 shrimp I had in a plastic cup, come back from the cleaning, and lo-and-behold, theres ONE shrimp left. the other 3 jumped outta the cup. So far I've found 2, but somewhere in my room is a dying glass shrimp. O_o

Always keep some kind of covering over any aquatic creatures container while cleaning or moving them. Next time be more careful even though they are 30cent shrimp that is still a waste but It is an honest mistake that most people go through I have had a fresh water moray jump out almost gave me a heart attack when I seen him on the floor but he had little to no harm done.