Why Do Some People Not Cover Their Tanks?

[Tokis-Phoenix]

As the title says, why do some people not cover their tanks? Basically, pretty much every fish i can think of has the ability to jump out of a tank, so i don't get why some people risk their fish jumping out of their tanks by not putting anything on to cover the tank.
Sure, some fish definately have more of a reputation for escaping from tanks than others, but there aren't any fish that i can think of that would never consider jumping out of the water. An insect may buzz above the surface of the water, the fish may try to jump and catch it, but ends up finding itself flopping around on the floor below the tank.

More and more, i see tanks up for sale at one of my lfs which come with no hoods or anything to cover them. The tanks look very nice with their lights hanging above the waters, but i can't help but think how easy it would be for fish to jump out of them. Particularly when it comes to bettas, which are known to jump, even now days i see an aweful lot of people that fail to cover their betta tanks properly or buy tanks with no lids/hoods etc.
You don't even need a proper hood for the tank, even a condensation tray like this is very good, i have one going over my fry tank like this one;

http/homepages.nildram.co.uk/~aqfan/imag...ation_trays.jpg


It doesn't take much effort or money to put something over your tank to help protect your fish .

 

[lilfishie]

all but one of my tanks have a proper hood, but the one without i cover with a peice of plastic, the tank only has my very laid back pregnant guppy but i'd rather be safe than sorry. but even with filly fitted lids i have had escape's not got a clue how though

 

[K.J.]

I just think they look better, it's not like every single fish is definately going to jump out. Saying optically pleasing is unimportant would be the same as be saying then, why not just get a bunch of blue gravel and neon pink plants? The fish might like them!

 

[Danno]

Some people do not cover their tank for high output lighting. Glass will reflect the light back at the ceiling. The less things between the bulb and the water the more light penetration.

 

[Teelie]

I prefer glass lids and I use canopies to cover the top so it looks better without having to worry about the cosmetic look.

 

[Dave Spencer]

As the title says, why do some people not cover their tanks?

Some people like this type of look, Tokis:

Dave.

 

[PRW1988]

I agree with Dave, some people like the natural tank, and sometimes they have a piece of the bogwood sticking out, I cover all my tanks, but originally I didn't for my Angelfish and they never jumped out... I dunno, some fish are less skidish then others...

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The tank looks nice, but you could have a clear plastic or glass cover over the top of the tank and it wouldn't spoil the look of the tank at all. I'd rather have that than have my fish jump out of the tank, which is what anyone would be risking in a big way if they had a tank like that, afterall fish aren't ornements, they're pets and personally i'd not want to risk finding them dried up on the floor.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

with high lighting tanks temp control can be an issue, Ian leaves his lid off his planted tank to allow for more evaporation otherwise the fish would boil up

 

[vinylman]

Choose your fish carefully and there shouldn't be a problem; some fish just seem to be more liable to jump than others. I have an open top, well planted 4ft tank with Pencilfish, Harlequin Rasboras, Pentazona Barbs and Cardinal Tetras. I have an Arcadia overtank luminaire and don't use any kind of covers, partly because of the heat issue and partly because I prefer the look of an open topped tank.

 

[lljdma06]

I have both open top and covered aquariums. I can understand your rational, Tokis. For some of the high-lighted nanos, however, the build-up of heat from a covered aquarium would be detrimental to the fish, so an open-top aquarium is best. Obviously, you have to pick fish that have less of a tendancy to jump. My fish for the most part, do not jump, but this is perhaps because I often incorporate floating plants into my open-top tanks. The floating plants add security and discourages jumping. Oddly enough, I have had more instances of fish jumping in my closed-top tank than my open-tops. Ironic, isn't it?

llj

 

[Arimus]

We've got the other problem... the covers also help keep eager paws from going fishing.

(With 4 cats in the room our tanks are in and two young kittens lidless tanks would be an accident waiting to happen.... and as much as I love catfish I'd rather not have a cat as a fish or the fish in the cat)

 

[CFC]

Dont forget that the vast majority of the equipment available in England is designed with the continental European hobbiests in mind who for some bizzarre reason put more emphasis on the plants than fish so these tanks with their open tops and overhead illuminaries are designed for growing underwater gardens and all thoughts of fish are put to one side, which is also why most off the shelf tanks are pretty useless for keeping anything larger than an average sized Cichlid in. The act of stocking the tank to the maxiumum of its capacity with fish and then adding a few token plants around them is pretty much only a Anglo/American habbit.

 

[Dave Spencer]

European hobbiests in mind who for some bizzarre reason put more emphasis on the plants than fish

Just because it is different to how you approach the hobby CFC, it doesn`t make it bizarre. The amount of traffic on the planted forum suggests that it is a very popular aspect of this ultimately diverse hobby. Plus, I would imagine the vast majority of tanks on show there are covered anyway.

Dave.

 

[Ilya]

Hey, I always figured, if your fish is happy enough, it wouldn't want to jump out.

Funny story. When I had my first aquarium, I had put it in my room. I had a flap open, and apparently a fish had jumped out, and landed behind my drawer. Come moving day, I pack everything up, and there on my rug was a mummified fish .