# 25 Boraras briggitae jumped out... did I do something wrong?



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Fish jump in whatever condition. It's best to have a cover.


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## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

So sad to hear this... little things don't know that once they jump they can never go back on their own...

They are known to jump. The presence of a perceived predator such as a larger fish increases the chances. They also jump when encouraged by strong current. Perhaps the increase in CO2 played a role as they were not adapted to it. I'm a week in at running sub-par CO2 because the new fish show signs of stress at some point..

As mr. green said, if you want to keep them in a add glass cover or a mesh.


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## Bandit1200 (Dec 11, 2010)

Back when I still used heaters I had a mass "jump". A malfunction was causing an electrical "leak" into the water. I can't say how many of my Mollies were on the floor around the tank. Other than that my second indication was that all the remaining fish were huddled together in the corner farthest away from the heater. I couldn't get them out of the corner for anything until I decided to chase them out with the net. Since the net wasn't long enough to reach the bottom I put my hand in the water as well and noticed a little tingle. That brought on the "WTF?!!!". I then started to moved closer to the heater as that was the only possible source of electricity in the water and sure enough the closer I got to the heater the more it was noticeable. Not particularly looking to be electrocuted I stopped and unplugged the heater. This was the "nail" that finished heaters for me. 

I live in Houston, so there's really no reason for me to use them. Even during the 3 weeks of winter we get here, it's easier to just heat the house and let all the tanks get heated that way. No worries about heaters malfunctioning and/or maintaining 5 tanks at a consistent level. All the tanks are whatever the house is set to. It's the same with the A/C all the rest of the year. All the tanks are 74 because that's what temperature the house is.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Just to clarify, you added the Boraras a couple days ago and let the co2 off, then after those two days you suddenly (not gradually increased co2 levels?) turned the co2 back on to slightly less (0.8 rather than a full 1.0 pH drop?) then high co2 output?

What's your equilibrium pH (no co2 injection going) and lowest pH (peak co2 levels) throughout the day? Full 1 point pH drop (30 ppm dissolved co2)?

Fish will attempt to relocate to a new body of water by jumping if the current body of water is not suitable/unhealthy for them. It's their attempt to survive, but they don't know in our household aquariums, there is typically dry land surrounding the tank. Being new fish, still not fully settled in, still being stressed, then on top of that increased co2 levels (lower levels of o2 in blood as a result) and a pH drop, all add up and can really cause fish to want to relocate (jump ship).


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

My equilibrium pH of the tank water varies from 6.8-7.0. Yes, after two days of no co2 use I set it at .8 instead of 1.0 drop. I wanted to use less co2 for a little while for the fish but don't 3ant algae to break out. 

My pH is set to 6.0, but everything always varies so it may get down to 5.9. At that point it cuts off then turns back on again when the pH rises to 6.05. My sump is very basic because it's so crowded with equipment, but the overflow drains into a smaller container (tall tupperware) inside of the sump, then it flows over the edges into the main sump body. The probes are in that smaller container so they are only exposed to display-tank water and never sump water. I figure I get better readings that way. 

It has been two months since I calibrated my probes. They are lab-grade so two months should be OK, but time to do it anyway. The numbers have not been out of the ordinary so I don't think it was a calibration issue. 

You can see how the Brighty K made a pH spike, but I dosed it according to instructions. 

So I am still not sure if this was all my fault or if Boraras just jump that easily. I could buy a glass cover but my temp can rise to 82 with my metal halides, so glass would really increase the temp and a mesh screen would defeat the whole aesthetic I'm going for.

If this was a co2 issue, what should I have set it to and how slowly to increase it? Whenever people say to turn down co2 to acclimate something, they never say what to set it to or how fast to change the set point. 

I am certain it wasn't an O2 issue. Lily pipes aerate at night, surface skimmer and sump. I am just kind of bummed and don't want to spend another $100 on fish suicides if this was my fault, and I don't want to buy fish THIS prone to jumping if this wasn't my fault. Which is a shame, I really liked these,


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

I'd switch out light to something more efficient like LED of T5.


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

I am using two ADA Solar I's, so switching lighting for anything else isn't an option. I had wanted to buy their new LED fixture when the promotional material released showed a glass pendant, but when they released it it looked completely different, clunky and pretty ugly IMO. So I went with dual Solar I's.


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## D.Farci (Mar 15, 2016)

I bought 15 B. brigittae for my 5 gallon. I didn't have a lid on it, and after the first night, I ended up with 11 fish. The next day, I had 8 total. A few got stuck in the Fluval Spec V's filter intake (they could fit through the slots), but I found probably 4-6 on the floor after about 30 minutes of difficult searching. I made a makeshift lid and covered every nook and cranny, including the filter intake (with cut up netting). I've now had the 8 B. brigittae for about a month and they seem fine. This doesn't mean I'll open the lid again... 

I read up on them, and about half the people writing about them experience jumps. My co-worker warned me about her B. merah jumping out, but I didn't heed her warning. 

I wouldn't say you didn't anything wrong. Just buy a lid!


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## cobra (Feb 4, 2005)

Obviously, every aquarist has their own experiences with this kind of thing. I have an ADA 90H (without a top) and never once has one of my Chili Rasboras carpet surfed. However, I have had a couple of Pork Chop Rasboras surf on me.

Cheers,
G


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

Same here open top 7g with a dozen chili's. Nearly gassed them once when I turn the co2 up too high, but never had one jump. I've had two dario dario jump before.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

If you're set on not having a cover, lower the water down to about 2 inches so the fish can't jump out of the tank.


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

Oh, is that all it takes? 2 inches? I figured they could jump higher than that. 

I have seen people put plastic triangles on just the corners of their tanks resting on the rim (or lack thereof), is that effective? 



You mentioned my lighting, do you think the metal halides came on and "scared" them into jumping or something?


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Clinton Parsons said:


> Oh, is that all it takes? 2 inches? I figured they could jump higher than that.
> 
> I have seen people put plastic triangles on just the corners of their tanks resting on the rim (or lack thereof), is that effective?
> 
> ...


A few inches from the rim will work wonders. You Ada rimless people kill so many fish by letting them jump. 😃

Those tanks really aren't for fish to be honest.

Your lights are bright and hot. Fish do freak out on sudden bright light.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

Metal Halides are really strong lights if these are over a small tank. How much plant growth is there in this tank? Do you have some shadowy areas for the little fish to hide in, or maybe some stem plant thickets or lots of tall plants that trail along the surface?


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

It's packed with plants but they stay trimmed. Big rocks covered with moss. I guess I just chose the wrong fish. 

Can you guys recommend something very, very small that isn't quite so jumpy? 

I wonder if a fan over the sump would mitigate the heat if I did add a glass cover. I'd definitely need to set up my ATO.


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