escape artists… how to contain them???

[Magnum Man]

1st off, I’m wondering if most of the time, if an aquarium community member tries to escape, if there is something I can do to help them want to stay put ( for example, my riparian vegetation on my open topped tetra tank, seem to make my hatchet fish ( well known jumpers ) stay in my aquarium )… however I’m sure there are aquatic nomads, that would continually try to find new territory, even if in a perfect environment…

a newer foray into the hobby for me , are cray fish… the dwarf cray fish seem to stay in their tanks, but the bigger sizes all are listed by the sellers, that they are escape artists… so the few I have currently are in one of my few covered tanks… I’d like to add one to one of my open topped tanks, as I expect the tank would benefit, and the environment would be perfect for one… however, because of the amount of plants growing out of that tank, a full cover would be a challenge… I know from witnessing wild crays in my area, they like to go on “walk abouts” as I see them regularly in our church parking lot, that is about a 1/4 mile from a local lake… so I suspect anything but a full cover will not hold a larger cray, in a tank…
I have added a few dwarf crays to this tank, but it contains adult silver dollars, that I suspect will not actively hunt them, but may enjoy the crunch, if they stumble across them
… in the weird fish world, there are walking perch, and walking catfish, that will move between body’s of water, so I suspect not every fish can have it’s wanderlust pacified by overhead plants, such as has worked for the hatchets…

any comments on out of the box fixes any of you have found, with your aquatic friends???

 

[GaryE]

I can control the leaping of my killies with lids and overhanging, broad leafed terrestrial plants. But frankly, there are some fish and creatures that just aren't suitable for aquariums because of their wish to leave the safety of the tank. I save them from death by drying out slowly by never getting them in the first place.

I knew a woman whose boyfriend got a walking catfish. It got out and she wandered into the bathroom in the morning and found it sitting at the base of the toilet. It wanted back into water. She was unhappy.

I have some tanks that are only half full to discourage manageable travelers. They can't scale the glass or jump that high.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

I know from witnessing wild crays in my area, they like to go on “walk abouts” as I see them regularly in our church parking lot, that is about a 1/4 mile from a local lake…

There are terrestrial crayfish that never enter a body of water in their life.

 

[Back in the fold]

@GaryE help me out here . There’s a Killifish that travels overland and I should know the name but it isn’t coming to me right now . Rivulus ?

 

[Magnum Man]

I’m not Gary… but this came up pretty easy on a search

 

[Back in the fold]

That’s them ! There was an article in the JAKA a few years ago describing them as being collected in mud and not in the water !

 

[GaryE]

The Rivulus group is huge, and they are known to go overland from pool to pool. I know people who've collected them in streamside leaf litter. They start in southern North America and go into South America.

I didn't know mummichogs did that too, but it makes sense. None of the UFC fighters even approach that fish for sheer toughness. I have Fundulus heteroclitus habitat all around me, but I've never taken a net out and collected them.

The big thing is they have to stay wet, and keep their gills wet.

It Rains Fishes

Itrainsfishes is all about the Killi fishes from South- and Middle America and was created by Frans Vermeulen, Aruba. It is made for breeders and scientist as well. Not only the annual families are presented but also the non-annual Rivulus family. Access is free.

www.itrainsfishes.net

 

[FattyFish]

I had a few guppies jump out of the tank, but only when the lights went out. I later found out that my beautiful Galaxy Betta was on the hunt. So the Betta went back to the shop for credit, and just to be sure, I made a lid for when the lights go out at night, just in case. I've had no more jumpers.
I also have plants and wood coming out of the top of my open-top tank, so I used "Poly Acrylic" and scribed it to fit most of the top of my tank; the plants and wood create the rest of the barrier.