Jumping Platies?

[Macko1968]

I have 4 platies in my community tank & they have never show any incination to jump out of the tank.

I've just aclimatised 4 platies in a friends Fluval Osaka (open top tank) & after about 10 minutes, one platy jumped clean out! He survived a 4ft fall on to a solid pine floor & is now back in the tank looking very contrite.

Is this unusal behaviour for a platy or does my friend need to invest in a sheet of perspex for a lid?

 

[OldMan47]

Platies are quite capable of jumping, as are many of the fish we keep. Most, perhaps all, of the fish shaped more or less like a platy can be very fast swimmers and decent jumpers. I find that once fish are settled in, they seldom jump much but in a new tank they can be very nervous about their surroundings and want to escape. If you are going to run a tank with an open top, it would be best to run with the water level a bit low so that they don't jump over the sides but that is no guarantee. I had a female X montezumae jump out of her acclimation bucket when the water level was at least 3 inches from the top of the bucket. In that little bucket she had to jump from a standing start since there was almost no room for her to get up any speed first. Fish can and do jump.

 

[Macko1968]

Thanks for the advice. The platy seems to have settled down now she's realised she gets fed inside the tank!

 

[Bebobb]

I would say that she was stressed out. I wouldn't worry about it being a constant problem.

Platies are quite capable of jumping, as are many of the fish we keep. Most, perhaps all, of the fish shaped more or less like a platy can be very fast swimmers and decent jumpers. I find that once fish are settled in, they seldom jump much but in a new tank they can be very nervous about their surroundings and want to escape. If you are going to run a tank with an open top, it would be best to run with the water level a bit low so that they don't jump over the sides but that is no guarantee. I had a female X montezumae jump out of her acclimation bucket when the water level was at least 3 inches from the top of the bucket. In that little bucket she had to jump from a standing start since there was almost no room for her to get up any speed first. Fish can and do jump.

Montezuma. That reminds me. Our of my aquarium club members has been looking for some Montezumas recently. He is on the ALA Board of Directors, so I think that he will be able to find some when he goes this year to the convention. Lol, sorry. Just had to say that.

 

[OldMan47]

I may be able to expand my Monties at the ALA convention myself. I am considering running for one of the BOD vacancies myself, but that happens after the convention. The biggest conflict that I have is that the BOD meets at the same time as some of the lectures and it would mean missing some of the presentations to be a BOD member. So far I have only attended one convention and only am into my third year as a member so nobody really knows me there yet. I am fortunate to have an active livebearer membership club near me in Indy, the Circle City club, so I attend their auctions prowling for new rare livebearers. They were the convention hosts last year and I worked the auction as a runner, the way I always seem to do.