ID shark jumped out!

[colin_finlay]

hi there

tonight i was going upstairs to get some stuff from my room when i looked in my tank and instantly noticed my id shark was missing!

i turn on my light and to my dismay i notice my id shark laying on the floor of my room(i dont have a complete lid.....i quickly was upset to see he was dead......but he was still breathing i quickly grabbed him and threw him in the tank and he started moving around!!!!!!!! slowly, like he was drunk though...

he isnt swimming as fast as he ususally does.....and he is moving really slow, is he going to die

 

[sylvia]

Wait and see... sometimes they make it, sometimes they never fully recover, sometimes they die. Just keep him calm. Dim the lights - switch them off altogether if you can and cover the tank with a towel. Leave it like this until tomorrow. Keep any disturbance to a minnimum and he may be ok. Just watch he doesn't get stressed and don't fuss over him too much as this'll stress him out.

 

[WILDER]

Put abit of stress zone in the tank, something that helps his slime coat, and leave him to settle down in a quiet room and turn tank lights off, good luck.

 

[NickT]

im shure he dose need somthing to help his slime coat and to help replenish electrolytes.

when hes better check your water. usualy fish jump out becuse of bad water conditions, but then agan sometimes they just get curious and decide to see what your side of the glass is like, but they soon find out you dont live in water......

good thing you found him and i hope he makes it.

 

[bigfish]

Hows ya shark doing? did he make it?

 

[colin_finlay]

I came to my tank this morning to my dismay that he didnt survive.....

really sucks when your favourite fish dies eh......oh well, i learned my lesson here!

my water condition is actually perfect i have really great clear water, just that the water level was down a inch or two and when i filled it up i filled it right to the top........the worst part about it was this ID shark was really outgoing and curious, he didnt hide alot like those fish usually do......lets see if i can find a good replacement!

 

[WILDER]

Or what a shame, sorry for loss.

 

[sylvia]

"i have really great clear water"

That doesn't mean your water is perfect - you need to test for ammonia, nitrItes, nitrAtes and pH.

 

[FishDan]

Another thing to consider is the size of your tank. Even if your water were perfect, a 15 gallon tank is far to small for an ID shark to comfortably live in for very long. Another reason fish my jump is due to a lack of livable space.

This is something else to think about if you want to replace your shark. As adults they get exceptionally large and need tanks that are hundreds of gallons in size. I made the mistake of buying an ID shark before I knew about them and had it in a 20 gallon tank. Fortunately after I did some research I was able to move him to a better home in a friends pond.

\Dan

 

[NickT]

im sorry about your loss.... it is always sad when the best fish dies.....

how long has the tank been setup?
do you test your water for amonia nitrate and nitrite?
are you adding anything to your water? (salt/meds/anything)
also do you have an airstone/airpump? you now have 8 fish all about an inch or more IMO you need areation or some sort.

the reason i ask all of this is becuse fish usualy dont just leave the aquarium.
i have no hood on my tank and my last tank was the same way and out off all my fish ive never seen one leave a tank with good water. it does happen but more often than not it has to do with poor water.
another reson i stress this is sometimes people think that there water is fine since they can still see the back of there aquarium...this isnt the case. you cant see deadly amonia or nitrate but they kill....... my vodka is clear, but i woldnt put fish in it.
even if all your other fish look fine you need make shure your water is safe or els they will get sick or leave the tank.

 

[xXMrBonesXx]

keep a strong current in your tank and they'll be happy as a pig in poop, all my id sharks do is swim in the bubbles but as mentioned above they get to be around 48" as adults and fat as hell, my 2 are going soon, i like them but i don't have the tank for them (don't think they should be kept in tanks anyway) or the room in my house for a tank that size

but about the jumping. something could have spooked it, they are very clumsy fish and the slightest thing could have sent him darting but he darted the wrong way and ended up on the floor

 

[Hailey]

sorry guys thanks for those responses but i have a new tank now its a 35 gallon tank and it has been setup for 3 months now, my water is perfect I took a sample into the LFS and they said it was great, I am still a newbie ive only had fish for about 8 months now. but im learning more and more with valuable assistance (thanks guys).

I posted a message awhile ago about ID sharks and alot of people didnt believe that I should even purchase one without 50+ gallons. I do not believe in animal cruelty and I like to see fish grow, but I believe that if my fish grow to big for my tank I can take them to my LFS and they can resell it to someone else.


I was thinking of posting a newbie post on how to keep safe water as my girlfriend has had some problems with her water and fish and what to do if your a beginner and what your in for when you take care of fish.

When I first came into the game I thought I just had to get a air pump, filter and a heater and my fish would be happy as could be. But keeping your water quality safe is probably the hardest thing to do. My old tank I lost some fish because I didnt know that my filter had to be changed so often and as my water did look clear and my fish were happy but my filter was clogged with iron and calcium and it was making my tank a very polluted ecosystem.

I will let you guys know when I post that 'newbies guide to keeping your aquarium safe' and I will ask what you think about it....


thanks for all the help

Colin Finlay

 

[Hailey]

and your probably asking why HAILEY wrote that message....lol

its colin_finlay but i am at her computer and I didn't realise the sign in name wasnt mine!

 

[xXMrBonesXx]

good enough for me

 

[NickT]

I was thinking of posting a newbie post on how to keep safe water as my girlfriend has had some problems with her water and fish and what to do if your a beginner and what your in for when you take care of fish.

kinda like one of these?
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=7443

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=6756

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=13133

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10099



if shes having problems keeping her water safe she shold look into buying testkits and learning about the readings. i woldnt trust an lfs telling me "your waters safe"
how do i know he know what hes doing and what the readings actualy said?
ive seen people at the lfs who think that theres a safe level of amonia in your water.....