with one mighty leap…

[Magnum Man77 191]

I lost my Tiger stripe silver dollar this morning… Mrs & I were watching tanks, and we both witnessed this… the dollars usually chase around a little while after the lights come on, and with one nightly leap, the tiger found a hole in the thick pothos vine over the open tank, and went behind, in a spot that I can’t retrieve it, even though we both watched it go… it’s been here over 3 years, in that tank… I hated to see it do that… 3/4 of the tank is covered in a thick mat of roots, and over the top is thick with vines, it must have hit just the wrong spot…

 

[GaryE37 35]

I hate that when it happens. I used to breed an uncommon Cichlid that I didn't think jumped. I had a huge surplus and they were crowded while I tried to find homes for them. Their tank was in my then old, partly finished cellar, with the walls lined with tarpaper - an unfinished job the previous owner had started and not finished. The ceiling was 2 inches above my head, so I was never inspired to finish the job.

When I moved the tank, there was a tear in the tar paper and in it were three mummified cichlids. I don't know why they didn't smell as I have a good nose, but somehow, there they were. Imagine if I hadn't found that and the next owner had found fish in the wall?

 

[Tomsfish35 34]

I got a 120 gallon reef tank complete with 15k of receipts for free for just going and taking it down.
The owner was retiring and becoming a snowbird so the tank no longer fit his new lifestyle.
After draining the tank my buddy and I pulled it from its spot and found 3 fish mummies behind the tank.
One was a sailfin tang worth probably $200 back then.
I am lucky none of my fish have made it out of my 180.
I have a full canopy over my tank with just glass to cover my overflows on the back.
I do here splashing every now and then and on a rare occasion I know I have heard one hit the canopy.
Ever since I started keeping fish I have been aware that they jump.
When I had my first 6 foot tank I had a snakehead [yea that old they were legal] and it jumped out and bounced around for a couple minutes before my girlfriend put him back.
Then I lost a large clown knife to jumping.
Both were only about 14 inches long~! I was shocked she did not get bit by the mouth full of teeth.
1/4 inch glass lids and weights after that for the tank.

 

[GaryE37 35]

Given that I'm one of those weird killiekeepers, I have lost fish to jumping. Most non annual killies can fly. They curl their tails into springlike shapes and then explode into movement when a bug flies over, or if they're frightened.

I've walked by SA Rivulus tanks and caught fish mid air as they launched - I had accidentally left tanks uncovered after working on them. All killiekeepers should be either hockey goaltenders or baseball shortstops when they're young. It pays off.

The worst I've dealt with was a two pound black piranha that jumped when I was taking care of a friend's fish. Several leapt and one timed it for when the others had knocked the weighted lid. What do you do with that!!!

I saved the fish but it bit impressive holes in a very tough net. I don;t know why people like keeping things like that. But I do hate it when what happened to @Magnum Man happens - when the leaper falls into a place you can't get to. You know you could save it and it wouldn't die if you could get to it, but it's physically impossible.

My friend and I ran across quicksand in Gabon, to fish a stream when we only had 15 minutes to try. I caught some interesting Phractura catfish I didn't keep, but he caught a beautiful pair of Aphyosemion primigenium and gave them to me. I kept them alive and healthy for days in the African heat, and got them home after a 36 hour plane journey through Cameroon, Ethiopia, Turkiye, and 2 transfers in Canada, followed by a 10 hour car drive. The next morning they had jumped through the tiniest of spaces in their tank lid...