Anyone keep tank with male guppies and fish not jumping out ?

[Salamandra]

Hello
I know an unusual question but added 6 male guppies to a heavy planted twenty gallon long and after 2 months only 1 remains .

The irony is keep males / females outside in stock tank and no problems but indoors they jump .

Anyone have any suggestions or just forget it ?

Tank is bottom tank and has only cherry shrimp and now 1 guppy .

Thank you

 

[Ellie11]

My tanks all have lids, so no jumpers. You can buy acrylic/plexiglass etc cut to fit & it’s barely visible

 

[Salamandra]

My tanks all have lids, so no jumpers. You can buy acrylic/plexiglass etc cut to fit & it’s barely visible

Thank you , I actually have polycarbonate which had cut 1/8 thick as to allow light , strong enough to hold lights which ordered online on other tanks and yes that works but that bottom tank will now just keep shrimp and might add cory cats .

Strange thing is outside of all places the guppies stay in the open stock tanks but inside they jump.

 

[Colin_T]

A coverglass is always recommended for fish tanks for several reasons including to stop fish jumping out, reduce evaporation, trap heat, stop dust and other foreign items landing in the tank, stop pets and children playing in the tank. You have a cover coming so that will make a huge difference.

If the fish living indoors jump out of tanks but the ones outdoors don't, then something indoors is stressing them. It could be you turning the light on or just walking into the room. If other people of animals go near the tank it could stress the fish.

Fish in bottom tanks are always more nervous than fish in tanks that are waist height or slightly higher.

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TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.

If the light unit is programmable, have it on a low setting for the first 30-60 minutes and increase the brightness over time. Do the opposite in the evening and gradually reduce the light for the last 30-60 minutes before lights out.

If you don't have live plants in the tank, you only need the light on for a few hours in the evening. You might turn them on at 4 or 5pm and off at 9pm.

If you do have live plants in the tank, you can have the lights on for 8-16 hours a day but the fish and plants need 8 hours of darkness to rest. Most people with live plants in their aquarium will have the lights on for 8-12 hours a day.

 

[Salamandra]

'' Fish in bottom tanks are always more nervous than fish in tanks that are waist height or slightly higher. ''

I had no idea .

 

[GaryE]

The great predators are birds, so tanks that are low and have human shadows passing over them have jumpy fish. I keep killies, notorious jumpers. They rarely jump if I have large plants above the tank - Monstera, Philodendron etc. I just returned from a fish catching adventure in Central Africa, and small fish were never in the open. Their world was under overhanging shoreline plants, which goes well with what I've seen with my large leaf plants.

If I have a low tank where I can't sit plants around, I am triply careful to keep the lid on.

Oddly, we caught invasive guppies in central Africa, in a drainage system at a coastal gas station. They were in the grasses hanging over the narrow (foot wide) cement ditch. The thing was around 8 inches deep, and laid into asphalt. Grass had broken through the pavement. Where it hung over the grating (it was a guppy fort) the fish had gathered. A friend caught some and let them go, just to have seen what they were. They were large enough healthy wild type guppies, descended from fish used as mosquito control in the 1970s, most likely. Even as urban fish with cars passing over their ditch, they still went for the overhanging cover. Fishing birds couldn't get at them, but the instinct was there. I'll wager they had given up on jumping though. What a habitat.

 

[Salamandra]

The great predators are birds, so tanks that are low and have human shadows passing over them have jumpy fish. I keep killies, notorious jumpers. They rarely jump if I have large plants above the tank - Monstera, Philodendron etc. I just returned from a fish catching adventure in Central Africa, and small fish were never in the open. Their world was under overhanging shoreline plants, which goes well with what I've seen with my large leaf plants.

If I have a low tank where I can't sit plants around, I am triply careful to keep the lid on.

Oddly, we caught invasive guppies in central Africa, in a drainage system at a coastal gas station. They were in the grasses hanging over the narrow (foot wide) cement ditch. The thing was around 8 inches deep, and laid into asphalt. Grass had broken through the pavement. Where it hung over the grating (it was a guppy fort) the fish had gathered. A friend caught some and let them go, just to have seen what they were. They were large enough healthy wild type guppies, descended from fish used as mosquito control in the 1970s, most likely. Even as urban fish with cars passing over their ditch, they still went for the overhanging cover. Fishing birds couldn't get at them, but the instinct was there. I'll wager they had given up on jumping though. What a habitat.

Very informative , since you collect imagine you heard of Jack Wattley , He passed away so never met him but have gone to his fish store in Miami Florida .

A friend picked up Discus , I got Colombian zebra plecos .

We have jewel cichlids in he area which are stunning but to aggressive for my tanks .

 

[GaryE]

We caught jewels- tough rough fish.They eat my killies...

Wattley was a big name years ago. I never met him either, but his ads were in every old print magazine, and he was very respected in fancy Discus circles.

 

[emeraldking]

Most of my tanks are open and hardly a jumper.

 

[Salamandra]

Most of my tanks are open and hardly a jumper.

What do you keep and if guppies do you use floating plants ?

I will not risk it again as do not want them dying but noticed my outside tubs have floating plants while the tank though well planted has no floating plants

 

[emeraldking]

What do you keep and if guppies do you use floating plants ?

I will not risk it again as do not want them dying but noticed my outside tubs have floating plants while the tank though well planted has no floating plants

I have hardly some floating plants either. My fish are so used to open tanks. Most of my guppy strains will leave their fry alone and so I don't need floating plants for those fry to hide. But this goes also for most (for just some species of mine chase their fry) of my livebearer species I keep.

 

[Salamandra]

I have hardly some floating plants either. My fish are so used to open tanks. Most of my guppy strains will leave their fry alone and so I don't need floating plants for those fry to hide. But this goes also for most (for just some species of mine chase their fry) of my livebearer species I keep.

Oh nice that you breed guppies .

I keep them outside but nothing fancy like breeders have .

A hodge podge of different colors , pet store types .

 

[emeraldking]

Oh nice that you breed guppies .

I keep them outside but nothing fancy like breeders have .

A hodge podge of different colors , pet store types .

I also keep and breed other kinds of livebearers.

 

[Salamandra]

I also keep and breed other kinds of livebearers.

By any chance do you also breed mollies , if so what temps do you find ideal and do you find the balloon mollies unhealthy ?

Saw some recently dalmatian types which caught my eye .

Thank you

 

[emeraldking]

By any chance do you also breed mollies , if so what temps do you find ideal and do you find the balloon mollies unhealthy ?

Saw some recently dalmatian types which caught my eye .

Thank you

I certainly do keep and breed mollies (both breeding and wild form). Temps differ when it comes to molly species. I keep mine at room temperature. A lot of people would recommend 23°C-28°C. But they do well at room temperature (20°C-21°C) and reproduce normal. Despite of the fact that I do have some balloon mollies overhere, I actually don't like them. I only have them because of the color they have. And to breed them to another kind of molly species. The reason why I don't like the balloon mollies (and also the balloon guppies and balloon platies) is because their organs are cramped in their bodies which will lead to a shorter lifespan and they can also have swimbladder issues. And I just don't like the cramped body look either. That's also one of the reasons why they're not the best swimmers.

So, to answer your question if I think that balloon mollies are unhealthy, the answer will be yes at some point. By this answer, I mean that when they get older, they'll get some issues for sure. The bigger the belly, the shorter their lifespan.