And then my wrasse was no more

[Chris_150G]

I have a glass top that leaves a 2" opening across the back of the tank.

I was watching the game on Sunday and out of the corner of my eye I noticed that one of our dogs was chewing on a little yellow stick. She looked like she was really enjoing it too. I started wondering what that little yellow stick could be. So I got up and went over to the guilty little dog and..."Noooo!!!! that's my wrasse!" Yeah it was long gone. It was an awsome fish with these big eyes that would dive bomb into the sand, (when it went to bed for the night), so hard that a sand mushroom cloud would rise up from the rock work. So long Sunny.

So the moral of the story is that eventually your dog or cat will enjoy a nice fish stick chew if you don't seal up the tank properly.

 

[U4BOYZ]

Sorry about your fish. Bummer. I too have a wrasse, and I too have a small opening in my tank. I'm going to tend to it. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Sunshine]

Sorry about your loss, Chris.

 

[Rcpilot]

I have a glass top that leaves a 2" opening across the back of the tank.

I was watching the game on Sunday and out of the corner of my eye I noticed that one of our dogs was chewing on a little yellow stick. She looked like she was really enjoing it too. I started wondering what that little yellow stick could be. So I got up and went over to the guilty little dog and..."Noooo!!!! that's my wrasse!" Yeah it was long gone. It was an awsome fish with these big eyes that would dive bomb into the sand, (when it went to bed for the night), so hard that a sand mushroom cloud would rise up from the rock work. So long Sunny.

So the moral of the story is that eventually your dog or cat will enjoy a nice fish stick chew if you don't seal up the tank properly.

Ouch! Carpet surfing gone BAD!!

 

[Solarfall]

Yup, happened to me like a week ago with my wrasse.
If I ever get one again I'm making an eggcrate top

 

[Bifferwine]

That sucks :( Sorry about your fish. They do seem to be able to find even the smallest hole in your top.

 

[coolhandgoose]

That sucks.

I do have a question though if someone can answer. it seems that people lose fish due to carpet surfing. How can we prevent this? I heard that you didn't want to seal the top of your tank because you want the air transfer surface agitation.
Wondering what you guys do?

 

[PufferGuy]

Ive had my red flasher wrasse for a while now and my tank does not have a lid at all... never had a problem... the only fish that jumped out was a shrimp goby that i had just got and was really stressed

 

[fastrd400]

That sucks. I don't have a wrasse but I had a snowflake morrey that did the same thing on several occasions. I figured I'm better off without any escape artists.

 

[Bifferwine]

I do have a question though if someone can answer. it seems that people lose fish due to carpet surfing. How can we prevent this? I heard that you didn't want to seal the top of your tank because you want the air transfer surface agitation.
Wondering what you guys do?

You really can't prevent it. Even eggcrate (which is probably the most widely used material to stop jumpers) won't stop them all. I had two gobies jump right through the eggcrate.

I think it's all about luck. Some of our fish will jump, others won't. Some people can have a diamond goby for years, and it never jumps. Other people's fish will jump the first day they have them.

You can use glass tops, but that's detrimental to your tank in more ways than one, and if you use powerheads or other equipment, you are still bound to have some "holes" and "spaces".

So it's just up to each individual hobbyist to decide if buying a jumper is a risk they are willing to take to have that particular fish.

 

[SaltwaterNoob17]

Sorry about your wrasse, Chris...

Biff: What's wrong with glass tops?

 

[Reefrookie]

I think you can prevent this............. I tried egg crate, but that restricted more light than I thought it would. Then I put on glass tops, and the temp fluctuated too much and i was cleaning them all the time. I am now in the process of making 2 screen tops from black aluminum screen framing and 1/4" square plastic mesh. I am thinking this will solve the light,temp. and jumping problems.

 

[Rcpilot]

My 1st 6-line wrasse took a flying leap about 6 weeks after I got him - for no reason. I never really found his body and suspected he may have died and been consumed by the CUC. Found his dried corpse a year later when I pulled the entire tank and stand out away from the wall to paint. He was wedged between the edge of the carpet and the baseboard trim. He was only about an inch long, so it was easy to miss him lying back there until I had my face right down next to him.

I had a diamond watchman goby that never jumped. He just got old, I think. He died last year.

I don't buy jumpers anymore.

 

[Bifferwine]

Biff: What's wrong with glass tops?

They heat up the tank (if you have lights for a reef tank), and inhibit gas exchange at the air-water interface. They are not a problem if your lights aren't very strong, or if you have a sump that remains uncovered, but most people have one of those.

 

[yote]

Hate to hear about your wrasse Chris.
There are 2 kinds of wrasses that we see in this hobby.There are those that HAVE jumped and there are those that WILL jump.Its going to happen.If you got a wrasse,its eventually going to jump.

 

[Rcpilot]

Hate to hear about your wrasse Chris.
There are 2 kinds of wrasses that we see in this hobby.There are those that HAVE jumped and there are those that WILL jump.Its going to happen.If you got a wrasse,its eventually going to jump.

That's pretty funny! :lol: It's true though.

 

[dcantucson]

Sorry Chris. I have lost many a fish to the floor. :(

 

[Sharkie]

what about using tooling for covering the top?
for those of you who don't know what that is tooling is the stuff they make tutus out of/veils stuff like that. it has SUPER dinky holes that no fish can jump through, you could probably just cut a strip and tape the edges over the opening and you'd be good to go :) plus it comes in 500million different colors and its like 39cents a yard! its worth trying! i know it kept the crickets in their tub when i had them!

 

[yote]

That might be a good idea Sharkie.If it dont block the light.

 

[Sharkie]

it shouldnt with just a layer of it :)