No Lid seems scary...

[jcoat]

I read a thread about why you should not have a lid on a saltwater tank and I have to admit....it was new news to me! I was not aware that it is better to keep off a lid.....and i recently had a large heat spike which caused the death of my Longnose Hawk a fwe days ago......however. I am afraid of my fish jumping out.....I aldo had a royal gramma for about a week before it jumed out of the 2 inch opening on the back of my tank so....i now only have 2 lyretail anthias, and a lawnmower blenny......i dont think they would jump....but i worry about future fish?!

and also....any idea why my water would jump from 79 all the way to 86???? I had a problem with my water cooling for a bit and i turned up my heater.....(150w) but that was a month or so ago....and when i came home the other day.....my Hawknose was being ripped up by crabs....and my water temp. was at 86 what sould have caused this....was it all of a sudden the lid issue?

 

[Sk8r]

There are several ways to protect your fish:
1. get a 'booster' canopy: has no top, just a rim, but has 9" sides that make jumping much less likely and sets mh lights the right height from the water. The silly thing has some gaps in back for hoses, but you can glue needlepoint plastic to those gaps and wall them off.

2. Make a frame and do a 'tennis racket' lacing of fine fishing line into a grid that will stop jumping and not interfere with the light.

3. Get 'eggcrate' lighting grid and put it in for a lid: interferes a bit with the lights, but not too bad.

And yes, it's real hard to stabilize temp with a lid involved. Temp builds up in certain areas of your system. During summers, you may find you have to install a fan to keep the temp down and your evaporation rate high enough to cool things off, or you can lose your tank.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

basically sk8r said it all, but you had a longnose hawk, 2 lyretail anthias, a royal gramma, and a lawnmower blenny all in a 29g tank? Thats way too many fish, and that alone may be why the royal gramma jumped out in the first place.

For one, anthias need tons of room. Something that a 29 with a whole 50 lbs of rock cant provide (or even come close to). They only get 5 inches or so, but they're way too active. Liveaquaria.com says they need 125g of water, and knowing them, they usually undersize the tank sizes on fish so that they can sell them.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=54

Lawnmower blennies are quite big (5 inches, and a really "beefy" 5 inches at that. They're fat little guys), and i've read they can pick on some fish. Which again could drive a fish to jump.

The longnose is one of the more peaceful hawks, but it can still be aggressive.

IMO just too many bigger fish for a 29 w/50lbs of rock. 2 anthias that get 5+ inches...10 inches right there. Longnose hawk, another 5+, lawnmower blenny, 5+ more inches, and i've seen royal grammas that are close to that as well, altho they usually stay a tad bit smaller than 5 inches.

I'd be more concerned about getting fish that will do well in that small of a tank rather than covering it at this very moment. Making sure they cant jump out is important yes, but the other things i mentioned are more important at this point.

 

[Sk8r]

Ow, yes, sir dudeguy, I missed that bit. I'd recommend sending the anthias back to the lfs: they won't survive long in a 29---ditto the lawnmower: if you like the type, but need a smaller fish, try the tailspot blenny, same behavior, less size by about 2/3s. Gramma's ok, but they can be pushy to other fish. Probably just fine. You might look at a watchman goby for action similar to the hawk, very personable critters, and they stay about 2".

 

[jcoat]

actually the anthias have been fine for almost a year now thank you sir dude guy! and i didnt have the hawknose when i had to gramma , thank you again....and i also hear that fish grow accordingly to tank size...which also means that fish wont grow as big as they normally would in a smaller tank.....so most of your information for not helpful to my post.........anyone who can give more feedback to my posted questions would be appreciated.....Dude guy can go pick on someone else.

 

[Sk8r]

jcoat, sir dudeguy is trying to help you, as am I. We do not take ten minutes of our online time to attack someone, but if you ask advice about a jumping problem, we have advised about factors that may contribute to that situation. Goodbye and good luck.

 

[b_mattias]

IME fish jump when lights go out. If you have light that dim and go out slowly, that will reduse the risk of jumping fish. I have had 2 jumps both when light went out.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

and i also hear that fish grow accordingly to tank size

first thing, thats completely wrong. A fish will grow to its normal size wether its in a 10g tank or a 50g tank. Well maybe not if its in a 10g tank cuz it would probably die before it got to regular size.

so most of your information for not helpful to my post

like sk8r said...why on earth would i take 10 minutes of my time to make up complete bull crap?

For all we know, that fish could have been involuntarily forced to jump do to the simple fact that you've got too many big fish in that tank that stressed it out simply by being so active (ANTHIAS ARE TOO ACTIVE FOR A 29G TANK!) or physically attacking the fish.

And even if you didnt have the longnose when you had the gramma, thats still too many bigger fish for a 29

 

[sir_dudeguy]

b_mattias--- do you mean like right when you turn the lights off? Or do you just mean sometime during the night when the lights are off? Because i would kinda agree with you. Cuz fish will jump if they get spooked/frightened. Lights suddenly going off really fast would sure spook them (as will lights coming on)

 

[cowboyswife]

I have a canopy with that plastic mesh-like gutter covering on the back. The canopy has a hole cut into the top, and the lights sit on top of the hole.

 

[Shagsbeard]

Don't you guys know that any advice that people don't want to hear is "picking on" them? Advice that they want to hear, even if nonsense, is "helpful".

 

[barbra]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9348336#post9348336 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sir_dudeguy
first thing, thats completely wrong. A fish will grow to its normal size wether its in a 10g tank or a 50g tank. Well maybe not if its in a 10g tank cuz it would probably die before it got to regular size.



like sk8r said...why on earth would i take 10 minutes of my time to make up complete bull crap?

For all we know, that fish could have been involuntarily forced to jump do to the simple fact that you've got too many big fish in that tank that stressed it out simply by being so active (ANTHIAS ARE TOO ACTIVE FOR A 29G TANK!) or physically attacking the fish.

And even if you didnt have the longnose when you had the gramma, thats still too many bigger fish for a 29

I agree on all...just apply some common sense. If your mom put you into a toilet paper box when you were a baby would you never grow larger than that box????

 

[awestruck]

jcoat--I have a 58 and a 29. In my 29 I have 1 huge bubble coral, some gsp, a very small yellow leather (size of a quarter), a pagoda cup, and a 3" rock of red shrooms. My fish are 1 bicolor blennie, 1 blue damsel (not a jerk!), and a bicolor basslett. My fishes' total size is 4". A 29 g. tank isn't large enough to accommodate much more than that, and your fish very well may have jumped because they were stressed due to lack of swimming room. Also, your anthias are too large for that tank--as you will find on RC, even though Sk8r isn't a mod., he knows A LOT about sw fish and he gives great advice deriving from years of experience. You asked for advice is this is what you received.

 

[jcoat]

ahahahaaaaa. thanks guys

 

[wademcarthur]

Quote: I agree on all...just apply some common sense. If your mom put you into a toilet paper box when you were a baby would you never grow larger than that box????



No, you would not have grown bigger than the box, because you would have died. Someone mentioned that in regards to fish.

Seriously, these guys are lots of help. You don't have to take all of their advice, and there is something to "going your own way" in this hobby, but when you need help, ask, and thank everyone that replies for the help. They're taking time out of their lives to try.

On the "going your own way" subject, I once kept a yellow tang for years in a 55 gallon. Everyone said it couldn't be done, but I did it. Then I tried it again, a couple of times and it resulted in disaster both times. Turned out I got lucky the first time, no so the next two.

Have fun with your tank and have fun on the forum.

Wade

 

[magdelan]

In my honest opinion...

One who does not take other people's criticisms will never learn or further themselves anymore than where they are right now. One needs to accept criticism in order to grow as a person, and in order to grow as a person, one must be strong enough to be critiqued.

Mike

 

[michaeldaly]

I have a completely open top tank and over the past 2 years I have lost 2 hermit crabs and a yellow head jaw fish, over the top. But it helps alot with keeping the tank cool.

 

[b_mattias]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9348367#post9348367 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sir_dudeguy
b_mattias--- do you mean like right when you turn the lights off? Or do you just mean sometime during the night when the lights are off? Because i would kinda agree with you. Cuz fish will jump if they get spooked/frightened. Lights suddenly going off really fast would sure spook them (as will lights coming on)

yes right when it comes off. But not only aquarium light but also the light in the room.

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

A) there was something wrong besides 86º unless it maybe was a dissolved oxygen issue

B) I am in awe that a royal gramma would be so freaked out that it would bail toward the surface.


I would say, do not replace any fish

I would suggest checking your maintenance and doing a precautionary water change.

I would also suggest a nightlight for the tank. Like a small light on the other side of the room or whatever

 

[TGBrown]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9348216#post9348216 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jcoat
and i also hear that fish grow accordingly to tank size...which also means that fish wont grow as big as they normally would in a smaller tank.....

Don't believe everything you hear...if you do, you'll have a miserable time in this hobby and will have alot of wasted money replacing things that die because you didn't learn their requirements for proper care.

Take the time to learn and research, and this will be a much more enjoyable and successful hobby for you!