Fish that are jumpers

[JuiceBox5215 5]

As I’m sure you’re aware, bettas of all species are big jumpers and often need well fitted lids

I keep betta antuta. I just had a major surgery and my mother has been feeding them for me while i recover. I feed every other day, she fed them last on Friday, took the lid off, looked around at some of the fry in there, and she didn’t see the male (currently a contestant in fish of the month )

It’s heavily planted with lots of driftwood, and when the male is holding eggs— antuta are mouthbrooders) he hides and doesn’t come out until they hatch, so she didn’t think anything of it.

I went to go feed them tonight (Sunday) and also went to water my houseplants. I went to go fill up a jar of water for my plants, and to my surprise HE WAS IN THE SINK!!!

He was in a shallow plate that had water in it, for TWO DAYS! He must have jumped out when she took the lid off and she didn’t notice. I know it wasn’t tonight that he jumped because I saw him in the sink before the lid came off tonight.

Thank goodness for bettas having a labyrinth organ to breathe surface air, he was in enough water to stay wet especially with flopping but definitely not submerged. He had plenty of strength when I picked him up, enough to escape my hands a couple times, he wasn’t dry at all, and is happily swimming around now and isn’t too lethargic so I think he will do fine.

But man, you think a tight fitting lid will keep them safe and they jump the moment it’s off! I have a solid piece of glass with no gaps so I know he couldn’t have escaped between feedings.

I also tested the water to be extra sure he wasn’t jumping due to poor parameters, but no, he’s just a jumper.

Anyone got any crazy jumper stories?

 

[JuiceBox5215 5]

I’m just glad I went to water my plants, I likely wouldn’t have seen him in time otherwise

 

[GaryE]

I'm a killifish keeper, and ecologically, they share the same habitat preferences as the Betta family, on different continents. When they sense danger or opportunity, they go up.

One of my first killies was Chromaphyosemion biteniatum. It's a species I've kept since then, in a couple of localized forms, and that I've grown to love so much that I went to Benin with great hopes of finding them (I did). But that first pair were rare, precious and as far as I knew irreplaceable. I came home from work and the male wasn't there. He had jumped, landed on the carpet and flipped his way under a radiator. He was a ball of dust and fibres, almost dry. I threw him back into the tank, and he revived. The next day, I scooped out his sweater, which had probably saved him, thankful the vacuum cleaner didn't fit under that old radiator.

A few weeks later, I had fry from that pair, and the rest is an obsession with killies.

I had some larger, 3-4 inch Epiplatys killies once, and they bred like rumours Their tank was at a lower level, and there were a lot of them. I had a friend over and as we walked along, he said I casually caught a flying killie, put it back into the water and fixed the lid without breaking stride.

I had South American Rivulus group killies that not only jumped, but liked to sit out of the water stuck to the tank silicone in their shallow tank. I could have 3 or 4 swimming around and dozens hanging like Christmas tree ornaments above the water.

They're the odd stories, but I have lost a lot of wonderful fish to jumps while I as distracted during feeding, or moments when I left the lid ajar. When is a tank lid not a cover? When it's ajar.

Betta species, killie species, some tetras, hatchet fish, Cichlids - they've all managed to drown by jumping into the air. They can live for years in a tank with no problem, but one thing inspires them and up they go. I've seen Epiplatys launch at fruit flies, and they drift down, curl their tails and the back of their trunks and release like a spring. I keep them in either shallow tanks, partially filled so it takes a gargantuan jump to get out, with tight lids or with large leaves from monstera or philodendrons hanging over the tank. They jump much less when there's shade like that. I think a lot goes wrong when they interpret us appearing over the tank as we lean to feed them as the shadows of birds hunting them. I blame those dastardly kingfishers.

 

[connorlindeman37 37]

Not a jumper, but I once had an amano shrimp escape one of my tanks and crawl 8ft across the room. He was dead when I found him.

 

[MattW40 156]

Amano shrimp were little buggers in my fluval flex. They always climbed into the heater and filtration compartments.

 

[MuddyWaters1]

Not a jumper, but I once had an amano shrimp escape one of my tanks and crawl 8ft across the room. He was dead when I found him.

same thing happened to me with a bamboo shrimp. Later I found out my water was all wrong for him. He was like, "anything is better than this!"

 

[emeraldking19 70]

Botias are also potential jumpers. I had a couple of them which have jumped out of a tank. I've been too late twice. But all the others were found in time.
I do have to admit that I have never found a betta as a jumper. I was raised with bettas (my parents as being mixed Asians just love bettas). And I've bred them myself for 15 years. But in fact, all fish are potential to jump. But fortunately for me, I actually don't have that problem with my livebearers despite of the fact that most of my tanks are open tanks.

 

[WhistlingBadger36 18]

I lost a whole group of beautiful pearl gouramis one time. I had put them in a 10g tank just overnight while I rescaped their home tank. During the night, they all decided to take a walk.

Then there was my Betta splendens, Redcloud. He lived in my music room in an uncovered, heavily planted, 2 gallon bowl. (I know, I know, don't hassle me) I came in Monday morning and found a little piece of red fish jerky next to my desk. When the kindergarteners arrived, they immediately wanted to know what had happened to him. "Well, kids, you know our rule about staying on your spot? Redcloud didn't stay on his spot."

Hopefully all of them are making good progress in therapy.

 

[sharkweek1781]

Amano shrimp were little buggers in my fluval flex. They always climbed into the heater and filtration compartments.

The only time I ever had aquarium fauna go into the gravel vac was an amano shrimp. I pulled the hose connection off before it got to the bulb pump and aimed it right into the bucket. Then i just netted it back into the tank.

 

[Back in the fold]

I never ever considered that Bettas might be jumpers . Never have seen one do it in over sixty years . I figured they were real mellow and weren’t interested in jumping .
Killifish . Gary’s right . I’ve seen aerial acrobatics that have impressed the snot out of me . I’ve seen Aplocheilus lineatus jump straight up above my head to get fruit flies and I once watched a Fundulopanchax gardneri leap five feet from the aquarium to a bucket once . I don’t know if he was going for the bucket or if it was his lucky day but he did it .
My oldest and best friend ever from childhood had a foot long Osphronemus gourami jump on him during the night and perish . It had been in its uncovered aquarium for years with no incidents of being inclined to leap but when the day came he jumped like Hogan’s goat .
Bottom line here is . . . . you never know .

 

[Jennet20 77]

I have been watching this thread with interest. I recently got a small 24 litre initially for a quarantine tank, also having thoughts about keeping a few shrimp with maybe a small school of neon green rasboras, as they seem an interesting fish, and one which I also want in my 80 litre tank.

The lid has handhold areas etc. around the lid that I will have to cover somehow if I get shrimp from what I have read on here. Not sure how I will do it, but I'm sure I'll find a way.

Maybe I should stop reading on here and doing research... this hobby always was very interesting to me and still draws me in today the same as it ever did.

 

[Back in the fold]

@Jennet I learned that most factory tops aren’t so safe when it comes to jumping fish . Some fish seem to have the uncanny ability to launch themselves through the tiniest opening . I go to a glass shop now and have my top glass cut to my specifications .

 

[connorlindeman37 37]

@Jennet I learned that most factory tops aren’t so safe when it comes to jumping fish . Some fish seem to have the uncanny ability to launch themselves through the tiniest opening . I go to a glass shop now and have my top glass cut to my specifications .

How much does that usually cost you?

 

[Uberhoust]

I did not know bettas were jumpers! Kept a number in an open 10 gallon tank over the years. Guess I was lucky. I found it kind of interesting that a 10 gallon tank took almost as much time to maintain as the 55 I had running at the same time.

 

[Back in the fold]

How much does that usually cost you?

Ten bucks give or take and that’s having them sand the edges smooth too . A while back I had three pieces cut and it was $ 18 bucks .