Lawn mower blenny...a jumper?

docjones

New member
I just had a lawn mower jump out the tank, saw him on the floor when I got home, is this common? I didn't think they where jumpers?
 
Obviously that one was!
sorry for your loss.
I had one for 4 years and it never jumped. Usually mine stayed in the lower and middle layers of the tank. They really are not to skiddish either it suprises me as a jumper but i suppse it can happen to any fish.
 
My lmb jumped out of my tank. I want another 1 but I was under the impression they for sure were jumpers.
 
Yes, they are jumpers but don't jump that much. Mine stayed on the bottom most of the time. You should put a mesh net on the top of the tank.
 
Never had one jump on me, but it doesn't mean they won't do it. I wouldn't call them jumpers like wrasses but never hurts to be cautious.
 
Yea I am thinking of adding egg crate to the top. Figured it wouldnt block light that much and still keep fish in.
 
There is a screen that a lot of people are using and works very well. If you do a search on here, you will see what I'm talking about.
 
My lawnmower blenny was the first fish in my first saltwater tank. My wife actually picked him out (just a few weeks ago on 12/18/07) and he quickly became our favorite fish. Then he just disappeared. (I even submitted a paranoid post seeking suggestions).

Then we found him a day later, somehow hidden in a towel we had on the floor. It sucked.

I'm definitely going to have to explore using eggcrates or some type of wire mesh to cover the top now.

So yeah, at least in my extremely limited experience, lawnmower blennys are definitely jumpers. Sorry about your loss, docjones.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11512767#post11512767 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Deyoe1118
i was under the impression that all gobies, blennies and jawfish were jumpers...

Pretty much. Any fish is potentially a jumper, but gobies, blennies, and wrasses seem to be extra prolific at it.

Dave
 
Hey there - sad to report I had the same issue with mine this morning. He must have jumped in the middle of the night and got spooked by something. Ran some water tests and didn't see indications of a level spiking. I'm pretty bummed since he would wait for me in the mornings to put seaweed on the clip and then go to town. Looks like I need to make one of those nets!
 
Bummer.

I just added one. This thing is a freak. Constantly was smacking the lid in qt. Has tried to jump out of the display a couple times. I have it covered.
 
I've even had a clownfish and foxface jump out. If you don't have a screen or other type of lid it'll happen at some point. Best to take away that possibility and put something over your tank, no matter what your fish assemblage is like. It's cheap and effective.
 
Egg crate may not work depending on what fish you have. I had a Midas Blenny do a perfect jump right through the egg crate onto the floor... I didn't find him in time. All my tanks that have fish now have either mesh lids or glass.

I have had a lawnmower blenny, a midas blenny, a clownfish, and a orangetail filefish jump out! The only one I caught in time was the filefish.
 
All fish are jumpers if you give them enough time and the right circumstances. An uncovered tank is just an accident waiting to happen IMHO.
 
Yes they are. I live on Guam. You can literally catch them on the exposed rocks along the beach when they are young. They can live out of water for hours.
 
Update:

My lmb is still a freak. I didn't have the overflows adequately covered. I had to open some valves so he could take a ride to the sump.

I made the mistake of ordering a medium instead of a small. They sent me a monster.

Perhaps it was captured when too mature and isn't meant for captive life?
 
You never know... I have a captive breed snowflake clownfish that has jumped into the left overflow 2x and the right overflow 2x (tank has screen covers). He has now been residing in the right overflow for over 6 months because obviously he wants to be in an overflow...
 
I think it really all have to do with condition. All fish can jump in the right condition. If they are unhappy with the tank condition or if some other animal is chasseing them, they will jump. Certain fishes with use sand for safety will dive for the sand instead of up to get away. These particular fishes will less likely to jump. I never have cover on my tank and only loss very few fish to jumping.
I am starting to keep wrasses and will get cover now. In fact I setting up my 320 tank specifically to put a cover on by more drilling on the overflow so the plumping does not interfere with a mesh lid. I am just setting up and not have the mesh cover on yet, but no fish right now. Will have it cover in a few weeks.
 
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