Daredevil Clownfish!😳

[tviquez10]

  After almost a year in the same tank, my pair of Clownfish decided they were going to try to escape 🤦 I've always loved the look of a tank without a top. I know it was a risky move but I didn't really have known jumpy fish, so I thought.... Here's a lesson for those starting out, just keep the lid on to save you from having a heart attack! 

   My male jumped in the back of my AIO where the return pump is. Thankfully he survived until I discovered him back there the next morning. About a few weeks after that, my female jumped completely out and onto my hardwood floor😱Kiddos to my son who saw her do it and ran upstairs screaming, "The fish jumped out of the tank mommy!!!" Minutes after putting her back, I submitted my order for a custom mesh lid from Kraken Reef. My Aquatop came with glass pieces but had a space in the middle for the stock light. I upgraded my light so just had that space and then during cleaning, my husband accidentally knocked over one piece and broke it. So I only had the front piece and the rest was open. Well, I'm extremely pleased with my Kraken Reef lid! You can add a feeding hole with cover so you don't have to take the lid off to feed.

 

[mcarroll]

Guessing this was caused by the selection of fish you have combined with the smallness of the tank.  Fish only jump like this if they want to escape the tank ("tide pool" to them) for a good reason.   No reason to escape = no jumping.  Until fish start breathing air and walking on land, that equation holds true.  🙂 

 

So a lid is a good idea (approaching mandatory) if you're keeping a volatile mix of fish in a relatively small tank.  

 

But I'd also consider that combination (small tank w/volatile fish) a sign to get a bigger tank or a different selection of fish.  (Perhaps just fewer fish.)  

 

Conditions that make fish jump probably ought to be changed in more ways that just keeping them in the tank with a lid.  👍

 

(Clowns aren't very volatile...they tend to be sedentary.  Dottybacks are always volatile.  Coral Beauties are always volatile.  Etc.)

[tviquez10]

1 hour ago, mcarroll said:

Guessing this was caused by the selection of fish you have combined with the smallness of the tank.  Fish only jump like this if they want to escape the tank ("tide pool" to them) for a good reason.   No reason to escape = no jumping.  Until fish start breathing air and walking on land, that equation holds true.  🙂 

 

So a lid is a good idea (approaching mandatory) if you're keeping a volatile mix of fish in a relatively small tank.  

 

But I'd also consider that combination (small tank w/volatile fish) a sign to get a bigger tank or a different selection of fish.  (Perhaps just fewer fish.)  

 

Conditions that make fish jump probably ought to be changed in more ways that just keeping them in the tank with a lid.  👍

 

(Clowns aren't very volatile...they tend to be sedentary.  Dottybacks are always volatile.  Coral Beauties are always volatile.  Etc.)

I was referring to my 40g tank where the clowns jumped, not my 20g where the Dotty and Beauty are. There are no aggressive fish in this 40g. There are the two Clowns, a Pajama Cardinal and Mandarin. 

However, I have realized that there are numerous small brittle starfish in my tank. Upon cleaning my power head one day, I noticed a brittle starfish is living behind it. The power head is close to the Clownfish's favorite spot so I'm pretty sure they were spooked by him or another venturing around the sides. I caught another early one morning climbing on the front of the tank. I got that one in the power head out and put him in there other tank but there's another back in that spot😐

Not sure how I'm going to get them out, I've tried pulling them out of the LR but only really pull off legs. I don't necessarily think this species will get huge and eat my fish and they serve as good scavengers but there's A TON of them. 

[RaymondNoodles]

I doubt the brittle starfish are startling the fish. No intentions for the confusing sentence lol. I have tons of them and none of my fish have exhibited this behavior. They’re generally too small and slow moving to pose any danger to fish. Not sure why your fish started jumping but glad to see you got the lid. I’m a big fan of Kraken Reef. The owner started Nano Reef Owners Group on Facebook and recruited me to be an admin which I’ve been doing for the last year or so. Very nice guy. 

[Tired]

Any fish can jump if startled, and they can be startled by all sorts of benign things; a sudden movement from a tankmate, someone dropping something outside the tank, a person stomping nearby. Many fish are unlikely to jump under normal circumstances, but it's never impossible. Given that a fish that jumps out is likely to die horribly (glad yours didn't!) and there are no downsides beyond the aesthetic to a decent mesh lid, they really should be far more common than they are. 

[tviquez10]

5 hours ago, RaymondNoodles said:

I doubt the brittle starfish are startling the fish. No intentions for the confusing sentence lol. I have tons of them and none of my fish have exhibited this behavior. They’re generally too small and slow moving to pose any danger to fish. Not sure why your fish started jumping but glad to see you got the lid. I’m a big fan of Kraken Reef. The owner started Nano Reef Owners Group on Facebook and recruited me to be an admin which I’ve been doing for the last year or so. Very nice guy. 

That's so cool that he had you help out with the page. It's really a very nice lid and I'm glad to have it now. 

[tviquez10]

5 hours ago, Tired said:

Any fish can jump if startled, and they can be startled by all sorts of benign things; a sudden movement from a tankmate, someone dropping something outside the tank, a person stomping nearby. Many fish are unlikely to jump under normal circumstances, but it's never impossible. Given that a fish that jumps out is likely to die horribly (glad yours didn't!) and there are no downsides beyond the aesthetic to a decent mesh lid, they really should be far more common than they are. 

It's just so odd that they did it all of a sudden. I checked my parameters after it happened with each of them and everything was fine. None of my other fish in the tank are aggressive either so maybe they were just aggravating each other like a married couple does😂

[Tired]

That's possible, or it could be something like a snail falling near one of them and making a loud noise. Who knows. 

[tviquez10]

2 minutes ago, Tired said:

That's possible, or it could be something like a snail falling near one of them and making a loud noise. Who knows. 

Having a reef tank is very entertaining.lol