Jan October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 $60.00 worth of tile surfing in 2 weeks. All 3 have committed suicide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 Yeah, they tend to dart right out of the tank unless you have a screen or tight fitting hood. You should look into adding a screen mod over your tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan October 20, 2011 Author Share October 20, 2011 lil late for that. Yeah, they tend to dart right out of the tank unless you have a screen or tight fitting hood. You should look into adding a screen mod over your tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 Get the cover on, then give them another try. You basically bought the sharks before you had your pond built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan October 20, 2011 Author Share October 20, 2011 (edited) LOL!!! Good try, but not entirely true. Nothing I read said they jumped. I did read they do best in groups. If I knew that needed safety nets I would have never gotten them. Get the cover on, then give them another try. You basically bought the sharks before you had your pond built. Edited October 20, 2011 by Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 To keep mine from tile surfing I have my water level lower until I finish my tank setup and figure out a screen cover. No jumpers yet, though I do keep barnacles that they feel secure to dart to if they feel threatened instead of up and out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 how high can they jump? I have a home made box on top of my tank 8 inch walls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 how high can they jump? I have a home made box on top of my tank 8 inch walls I think they can jump 8.1/2" to 9" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 ok thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 Pretty high. One of mine got out of the bucket when I was acclimating to the new tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan October 20, 2011 Author Share October 20, 2011 How did I miss all of this? Some things are just not meant to be..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 Check LA, all their descriptions of fish under "dartfish" category mention jumping. Sorry for your losses. You can't seem to catch a break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 What other fish were in with them? They can be pretty paranoid about tangs and other fast moving fish I've read, though mine did fine with my kole as long as they had their barnacles to hide in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan October 20, 2011 Author Share October 20, 2011 These are the ebb and flows of reef keeping... Check LA, all their descriptions of fish under "dartfish" category mention jumping. Sorry for your losses. You can't seem to catch a break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan October 20, 2011 Author Share October 20, 2011 Yea, crowded little QT with some PVC pipe for shelter. What other fish were in with them? They can be pretty paranoid about tangs and other fast moving fish I've read, though mine did fine with my kole as long as they had their barnacles to hide in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 I had a flasher wrasse (known jumper) and a starry blenny (did not know they were jumpers) jump in the past two weeks. My cat now spends more time around the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 Ive lost numerous firefish and wrasses to jumping.. I even had a canopy with a 1" gap in the back, and the wrasse managed to get through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
encideought October 20, 2011 Share October 20, 2011 Nothing is worse than eels as far as jumping. It's pretty scary seeing a 2 ft long fish writhing around on the floor too...at least they're meaty enough to survive most falls. Sorry about your jumpers Jan, I had a red firefish for a long time that sure darted, but never actually jumped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite October 21, 2011 Share October 21, 2011 (edited) All dartfish get startled easily - that's what makes them jump. I never had one carpet surf until recently when I turned the lights all on at once instead of going through actinic first, at a moment when a firefish was in the upper part of the water column. Dart fish do not do well in QT, and are not very prone to get ich, so I don't keep them in a QT for more than a couple days... last time I did, they started to look really bad, but as soon as I put them in the tank, they were perky and healthy again. Same goes for gobies and dragonettes. Edited October 21, 2011 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan October 21, 2011 Author Share October 21, 2011 Zebra barred All dartfish get startled easily - that's what makes them jump. I never had one carpet surf until recently when I turned the lights all on at once instead of going through actinic first, at a moment when a firefish was in the upper part of the water column. Dart fish do not do well in QT, and are not very prone to get ich, so I don't keep them in a QT for more than a couple days... last time I did, they started to look really bad, but as soon as I put them in the tank, they were perky and healthy again. Same goes for gobies and dragonettes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimboy123 October 21, 2011 Share October 21, 2011 I lost my china wrasse a few weeks back. I wasn't sure if he jumped or was chased but either way I came home to a fish mummy after a long weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite October 21, 2011 Share October 21, 2011 If I had a bigger tank I would get about 5 or 7 blue gudgeons. I had a pair before, but they vanished into the rockwork after several weeks... they are supposed to do better in larger groups and be out of hiding more. I also like really like scissortails... was going to get a pair, but they get too big for my purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b October 22, 2011 Share October 22, 2011 (edited) Wrap lead weights around their tails. Well, it would work..........what! Edited October 22, 2011 by paul b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite October 22, 2011 Share October 22, 2011 Wrap lead weights around their tails. Well, it would work..........what! last thing we need is some snooty fish sticking their noses up at us as we look into the tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 October 22, 2011 Share October 22, 2011 I love the dartfish family and have had 4 of the different types that are normally available. All of them have been jumpers and in my current tank, I've lost all of them to jumping at some point in time. Typically when I go with this family I lose one within the first hour of being in the tank as I usually add 2 or more at a time knowing that they could coexist but that they probably won't pair up and bond unless I give them enough of a chance to find a mate. Usually there's one of the group that doesn't go to the bottom of the tank immediately and that's the one I usually peg for jumping. I don't have a cover on my tank and these guys are small enough to get through most openings. When they do adjust, it's typical in my experiences for them to eventually jump. I usually have them for 2 years or so and then something happens and one jumps and then the other one typically jumps after that. My thought is that when they get more comfortable in the tank they go further from their dens in search of food and then when they get startled, instead of darting into their den, they utilize another escape technique, jumping up... and onto the floor. This is why I've only had 4 types - I don't think it's worth the risk given my experiences with them to buy the really expensive ones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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