So wrasses DO jump...

[brett559]

Last night while I was feeding my tank, I took my mesh cover off the tank, as I do every feeding. And my Carpenter's wrasse made a jump for it. I mean this fish jumped a good two feet out of the tank. Thankfully, he jumped onto carpet, and I had him back in the tank in just a few seconds.

He was definitely stressed out, he went to his go-to hiding spot and was breathing really heavily. But about 5 minutes later he was back out swimming. I watched him this morning and didn't see any problems. I'm guessing landing on a hard floor could have been the end of him....

My first rescue. My kids were screaming while he was on the floor...and then they cheered when he was back in. Not gonna lie, I sort of felt like a hero.

 

[d-man]

Yep. I'm always wary when I move my screen off. Even just for a quick second

 

[MoneyGone]

I have had a linespot do the same thing recently. Jumped when I had the screen cover pushed back about 6 inches while feeding. Landed on hard tile and within 5 minutes he was back cruising the tank.

 

[ca1ore]

I hear my fish hit the mesh all the time. I figure without the screen I'd have lost lots of them.

 

[Dmorty217]

Wrasse are big jumpers, some species more than others. There are lots of fish that have lost their lives due to carpet surfing

 

[reefwiser]

My Christmas wrasse always use to jump into my over flow. Generally when he woke up in the morning. They come shooting out of the sand straight out of the tank.

 

[brett559]

I was told from the beginning that wrasses required a top or lid. I made sure to get one before acquiring any wrasses.

But it was crazy, this guy took off like a rocket out of there. I could almost see it happening before it did. He looked so tiny on the floor. The fish on the left in my avatar.

Quick question, assuming the landing doesn't do too much damage, how long does a fish have out of the tank? A minute? Less?

 

[evolved]

I don't dare take my cover off at feeding time with a tank full. I lift one corner to get food in and get out quickly. But even still, I end up getting splashed about once a week. I don't even get mad about it anymore unless it leaves my face dripping wet...

Quick question, assuming the landing doesn't do too much damage, how long does a fish have out of the tank? A minute? Less?

Quite a long time really. There's stories of fish which were beginning to dry out being returned to a tank, only to recover completely. 5-10 minutes is easily surviveable.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

My Lubbocks was on the carpet for at least several minutes, maybe five, one evening. I had no idea he was out of the tank. I found him when I knelt down to look into my sump and placed my hand right on him. Pretty hard, too.

I threw him back into the tank and he just floated around in the current, covered in carpet fuzz and dog hair, apparently dead. He was bouncing off rocks and settled into a crevice before I could catch him or shut the pumps down. I was sure he was deceased.

I could see him in the crevice, upside down. He looked to have flashing colors so I hoped he was at least alive. I turned the lights off and went to bed, sure I would never see him again.

The next morning, I saw him exactly where he was when I went to bed. Still upside down wedged into a crevice. Still looked like he had stress coloring so I hoped he was alive, but I went to work with little hope.

After work, he was out and begging for food as if nothing happened. That was around three months ago and he shows zero signs of any lasting affects from the ordeal. It is amazing just how resilient they can be.

 

[hawaiifavo]

I lost a male Hawaiian Flame Wrasse - managed to find the only 2 gap that I didnt have covered. Needless to say I was kicking myself.

 

[aquaph8]

I've had one jump out while feeding bounce off my chest and hit the tile floor. I didn't even have the cover off, it was just held open on one side for feeding. I picked the fish up off the floor and tossed it back in, hid for a day but was fine after that.

I also once added a Labouti from QT that jumped out of my hand when I was trying to put him in the acclimation box, he darted straight down in the tank into the middle of my RBTA. Not cool at all.

 

[Chaucer]

2 worries

2 worries

I not only worry about jumpers, but my girlfriends 2 cats that help me maintain the tank lol