Fish jumped out and fell 5 feet. Will it live??? :(

[Newreeflady]

So, moving my african flameback angel to the new tank when I had the bowl just above the water he jumped and fell to the floor. It's about a 5 foot fall. Within 15 seconds I had him in the system and he swam and hid, but I'm worried. Is there anything I can do? I'm guessing no. Will he live?

Thanks!
-A

 

[dreaminmel]

I've had fish survive worse... I think since he swam and hid upon being placed in the water he'll probably be fine. Just has to get over the nightmare.

 

[Newreeflady]

Oh, good... I really hope he makes it- I'm quite attached to him.

-A

 

[Dave VG]

It'll be fine I had a starry blenny jump out of my 90 about 2 ft above the tank so a total of maybe around 6 ft. We saw it happen as we watched TV. I put him back in and within an hour he was back on his perch checking everything out lol.

 

[Newreeflady]

Well, he's out and swimming around already. phew! Amazing how resilient fish are, really.

-A

 

[NirvanaFan]

My female clown has bit and latched onto my finger and went on a ride a few times. She flew out of the tank and onto the ground. I quickly got her back in the tank and she was swimming around and trying to bite me 10 seconds later.

 

[tmz]

I think it should be fine. Found a blue spotted puffer (toby) on the floor several months ago. It got there by jumping(suprising since they aren't known to jump ,as far as I know) and took a 4 foot fall before drying out. It was there for at least 10 minutes. I,saw it in the dim tv light and thought it was a hair ball from one of the dogs at first so I know it was out of the water for some time. it was quite dry when I picked it up. In a desperate move I put it in the tank. It's in beautiful shape today . I improved my cover to prevent future adventures.Good Luck .

 

[iamwrasseman]

i wish you the best but your fish probably wont miss a beat and be okay ,no problem .
best wishes

 

[Newreeflady]

Wow, Tom, I can't believe your partially dried fish survived, lol!

Thanks all- The Flameback is doing great today- eating, enjoying the larger aquarium and complicated rockwork. Yay!

-Angela

 

[tmz]

Yep, surprised me too. I has grown and loves it in the 65 g tank. I don't think it will jump again but havea better cover anyway.I'm surprised one of my dogs didn't eat it

 

[Steve Canyon]

Here's a freshwater story for you.
When I was about 12 I had an Oscar that I used to hand feed goldfish. My large Oscar mistook my little finger for the fish. My natural reaction was to jerk my hand out of the tank and shake him off. When I did, he ripped the pad on the finger wide open. I yelled. My mom, a nurse, grabbed a fresh towel squeezed my finger and instructed me to get in the car. Off to Beaumont Hospital (Royal Oak, Mi) for stitches.
I now have a fine white scar to remind me.
The fish?
When we got home he was laying where he landed. On the hardwood floor next to my bed. His gills were barely moving, so in desparation I grabbed him to throw him back in the tank. When I did, the flesh ripped off the side of his body stuck to the floor. Only ribs remained on that side. He SURVIVED! I had him for a couple more years. I didn't hand feed him anymore. He couldn't coordinate his swim well enough to catch live food anymore, so he survived on Purina trout chow till he died.
YUP, fish (and animals in general) are amazingly resilient.

 

[dan10342]

So, moving my african flameback angel to the new tank when I had the bowl just above the water he jumped and fell to the floor. It's about a 5 foot fall. Within 15 seconds I had him in the system and he swam and hid, but I'm worried. Is there anything I can do? I'm guessing no. Will he live?

Thanks!
-A

Always remember, a fish like that weighs a lot less than we humans do. a 5 foot drop for a fish, will do a lot less damage to them... then a drop of equal proportion to us humans.

 

[Newreeflady]

Always remember, a fish like that weighs a lot less than we humans do. a 5 foot drop for a fish, will do a lot less damage to them... then a drop of equal proportion to us humans.

Not sure I buy that without more info; Just like dropping an 11 year old vs your same weight grandmother- the 11 year old is more robust, the old lady has weak bone: the child will be fine, but granny may not. I'd think there are variations in fishes, but I'm no biologist.

-A

 

[RyanEG]

Tom, according to this months Coral magazine, Tobies are actually frequent jumpers...

 

[Newreeflady]

Tom, according to this months Coral magazine, Tobies are actually frequent jumpers...

Oh, great:/ I've not got a top yet. I'd better get on it! In the meantime I'll throw some screen on the 20g QT tank- thanks for the heads-up, I didn't notice that.

 

[museumguy]

I had a 30 inch shark decide to leave my fish tank about a year ago. Fell about 5 feet to the floor before doing it's best 'Land Shark' impersonation. We finally pinned it down and got a good hold of it about 25 feet from the tank and put it back. He survived that fall and then a subsequent 9 hour car ride a few weeks later and now happily resides at Atlantis Marine World on Long Island. Fish are surprisingly hearty and resilient... I bet yours will be fine.

 

[tmz]

Tom, according to this months Coral magazine, Tobies are actually frequent jumpers...

:lol2: Thanks for the information. Mine sure did. I've seen a lot of them and never saw one jump before. I'll have to broaden my references. Scott Michael cautions that they nip but no mention of jumping.