What to do when a fish jumps out?

nynikki

New member
We found our Foxface on the ground today beside the tank. We have no idea how long he was lying there, but my husband picked him up and stuck him back in the tank. Of course now he's behaving all weird, breathing really fast and seems to want to bury himself or wedge himself between something. I'm trying very hard to leave him alone so he'll settle down, but is there anything we can do help him?

Also, what's the chance he'll survive after the ordeal?
 
Also, what's the chance he'll survive after the ordeal?
Without knowing how long he was on the ground it's hard to say. If he was just there a couple seconds, then he should recover fine. If he sat there for 5 minutes or more, he's probably in a lot of trouble.

Watch him and make sure no other fish are picking on him. My fish always sense when one is weak and then they all pounce.
 
I really appreciate the incite to put a cover on the tank, but seriously folks, how is this advice helping answer the question of it there is anything I can do to help the fish now!

To those with helpful information, thank you, I appreciate the advice. The good news is, it's been 13+ hours and he's still alive. He's in the back and still very stressed, but breathing less rapidly than this morning and he's not sinking to the bottom or anything. I can tell he's stressed by the colors on his body. None of the other fish are picking on him, it's a pretty peaceful tank. I don't want to get to hopeful, but he may be in the clear. Thanks again.
 
IME fish that jump out of the tank do not live long. I hope he lives though. just make sure the water quality is perfect and feed it live algaes sea lettuce and agar help fish recover quicker. good luck
 
The folks on here take this hobby seriously so please dont be upset by the responses. The first thing I thought of when I saw your thread was if you dont want to deal with this then get a cover for the tank. You dont like the answers because its not helping you with the problem that you created. If you cant take helpful criticism then dont post on here. I hope your fish makes it through this and please realize that most of the people on here are trying to help you avoid future problems. Although the responses are not always what you want to here, they are sometimes what you need to here.
 
Let us know how he is doing. I had a yellow tang jump when I was doing a tank move. He was only on the carpet for maybe two minutes before I got him back in. I thought I would lose him as he was grey in color. That, and the stress of moving into his new tank, I thought would be too much. Luckily, he was fine 24 hrs later and lived for four or five more years. Good luck.
 
I had an aurora goby jump... Was almost dry when we found him/her.... He ever so slightly flinched as I picked him/her up to throw out...

I put it back into the tank and held it in flow for a min or so... He/she started to breath so I let it go.. He tumbled in the flow and drifted on the sand... I knocked hermits off him for the first two hrs... Then let nature take its course...

The fish recovered after two days was back in his/her haunt... Until it jumped a month later... :(

Today I am installing the cover... I'm tired of killing fish thru neglect...

Btw, an LFS told me he never saw a fish jump during the day, but would often come in in the morning and find fish on the floor... Since he started covering durning the dark periods he claims he's lost virtually no fish...

If you can get a cover that is even fugly, you can just use it a night and it might help.
 
The folks on here take this hobby seriously so please dont be upset by the responses. The first thing I thought of when I saw your thread was if you dont want to deal with this then get a cover for the tank. You dont like the answers because its not helping you with the problem that you created. If you cant take helpful criticism then dont post on here. I hope your fish makes it through this and please realize that most of the people on here are trying to help you avoid future problems. Although the responses are not always what you want to here, they are sometimes what you need to here.

First, let me say that I don't like the responses I got because they do not directly answer the question that I posted. How is it helpful to a person asking a question to give them advice about avoiding the situation they are in, but not helping them solve the problem at hand? This may help in the future, but don't you think I've considered that?

Second, my choice to have or not to have a cover is something of a long standing debate. Many in this hobby will tell you that you should not have a cover on a reef at all! And as a matter of fact, my fist marine tank did have a cover and I was criticized on a similar forum for that! I would hardly consider this difficult decision neglect and if you saw my tank and how I care for it, you would never use that term in describing it! In addition my conscious decision to not have a cover has also led me to choose fish that are not notoriously jumpers for example wrasses and jawfish, both of which I would love to own. Adding to that, I've had tanks up for nearly 3 years and this is the first fish I've had jump!

Third, "if I don't want to deal with this" - don't you think me posting a question to see if there is anything I could do to help the poor fish recover more easily is "dealing" with this? No, I do not want to see my fish die, but more importantly, if there is something that I can do to ease his suffering I would be more than willing to do just that! He's a beautiful fish and makes me smile every day, but dealing with the significant other issues caused by having a cover on my tank is a daily concern I'm not really ready to undertake!

~~ Ending rant now. Please try to consider what people are asking for help with and not criticize every little thing you do not agree with!
 
Let us know how he is doing. I had a yellow tang jump when I was doing a tank move. He was only on the carpet for maybe two minutes before I got him back in. I thought I would lose him as he was grey in color. That, and the stress of moving into his new tank, I thought would be too much. Luckily, he was fine 24 hrs later and lived for four or five more years. Good luck.

The good news is that it has now been 24 hours, he's still alive and seems much better than he did yesterday at this time. He's still hiding out in his corner, but still has the stressed out coloring. Foxface's are so amazing how they can tell you exactly what's on their mind based on their coloring. He's all dark colors today and camouflaged hiding out in the Clown's corner. It was really cute last night, both clowns were swimming near by him and chasing away the little blue damsel in the tank. The damsel is out numbered and outsized by nearly everyone in the tank, but every fish in there chases him off as if he's up to something!

Thanks to those sending good wishes. I appreciate the words of encouragement!
 
WOOHOO!! More good news, he's swimming around now and was just pecking at the seaweed left in the veggie clip!
 
**** happens, no matter how much care you take. I had a 5" foxface jump the other day; I do have my tank covered, but I had one cover off and my hands in the tank working, and he startled and jumped.

Landed dead square in the middle behind a 6' tank, 2 inches between the tank and wall; had to use tongs to get him out, and it took five minutes or so to get him back in the tank; at first I couldn't tell if he was doing his "I'm going to play dead" thing or if it had really taken too long, but within a day or so he was back to his usual self, and seems to be fine; if yours is acting normal, I'd think odds are he's going to do okay.
 
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Hopefully he continues to get better. It's a great sign that he's eating!

If he were really weak and struggled against the current, I would have suggested lowering the flow in the tank a little.
 
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