Just found out one of my mated pair of clowns jumped out of the tank and went to the great reef beyond. Since I'm new to the hobby I'm not sure if I should keep the water level within an eighth of an inch from the top as I have been doing. I have a canopy but nothing to contain jumping.
Also, will it be a problem to add another clown or should I be happy I still have one?
It is not a good feeling when I lose the life of a fish through ignorance!!
Sorry to hear that . Jim has a mesh cover for tank in the DIY section , contact him and he can send you some mesh. I have mesh on my display and frag tank and its a big saviour.
I unfortunately lost a picasso the first night I got him. I then contacted Jim for the meshtop. I still have the other picasso but that was a hard pill to swallow when it happened. I feel your pain. Hang in there , it happens a lot in this hobby. We due indeed learn from our misfortunes .
But, I read you asked about keeping the water level low-
You can do this, you just need to maintain it to keep parameter swings and such from happening. I am doing this exact same thing right now.
I can keep my tank almost an inch low without getting to much noise out of the tank. If my tank gets loud- it reminds me to top off- right now. Its almost like an alarm clock to top off, and keeps the swings in check!!
I have a few jumpers in my tank- and no lid yet....one day I will do jims mesh top. Have you seen the post about light penetration and the mesh top vs. other tops??? Great thread to check out.
Personally I'd like to find out why they jump. What is it that they see? What may have scared them? Why do they jump when held in a tank verses the ocean? Silly questions maybe???
Sorry to hear. I hate it when a fish decides to do that.
From what I've experienced I don't think water level is going to make that much of a difference. The mesh cover is a good plan though.
As far as getting another, you didn't mention if it was the male or female that jumped. In either case, you should be fine if you add another clown that is smaller than the one that is left. It might take them a little while to get together but they will eventually.
I personally feel fish don't "jump"...they swim fast until they run out of water and gravity takes over. And as Murphy would have it, they often land on the dry side of the tank.
In most of our tanks, fish can't really reach their full "burst" speed because the size is too small. In the ocean, they can put the pedel to the medal for any number of reasons....scared, pursue prey, etc. When they accelerate in captivity they simply run out of room.
Clowns are not noted to be "jumpers", but I lost one that way before the mesh top. I contend that any fish can end up on the dry side of the tank...whether or not it happens and how quickly it happens is a matter of that species tendency to swim at high speeds, whether the fish is being harassed by another, or other stress factor.
Thank you for your response and obviously caring. It is appreciated.
Can you provide more info relative to the mesh top? Does it affect the amount of light the corals receive significantly? I really like the open-look top but not at the expense of "the family".
Clown Down
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