# All open top tank people



## WhatItDo (Oct 28, 2006)

Do you have problems with fish jumping out???


I have a 6 gal bow and I Lose ALL my fish over time. I come home from work like every 2 weeks or so and theres a dried up tetra on my counter!!!!

I bought 6 Neons, they all jumped. Then 6 Glowlights and they all jumped.

Do you just keep your water level fairly low???

I might just have to go PLANT ONLY on this little tank!!!


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## pet-teez (Aug 17, 2007)

The couple tanks I've had with no top have been fine in the past few years, bettas, white clouds... the last thing that launched out was a Dojo Loach about 8 years ago... they go all whacky so they can be found on your carpet all over the house, pretty sad.

Couldn't you get a plexi top cut for it or?

How about trying some RCS for it? That way you get a live critter running around and don't have to look for crisp fish.


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## zergling (May 16, 2007)

WhatItDo said:


> Do you have problems with fish jumping out???
> 
> 
> I have a 6 gal bow and I Lose ALL my fish over time. I come home from work like every 2 weeks or so and theres a dried up tetra on my counter!!!!
> ...


"carpet surfing" is a pretty common thing with open top tanks, although many are lucky and have fish that never jumps! In my experience, it happens less frequently with bigger tanks with lighter loads. Some fish are more likely to jump than others, though.

have you considered a thin and clear acrylic/glass lid?


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## cody6766 (Mar 15, 2007)

my gold tetras aren't jumpers at all. My tiger loach is still in the tank too. Thin plexi at home deopt is cheap and easy to cut (box blade + straight edge = score and break) if you have jumper issues. It's thin enough to just lay on the rim's inner lip.


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## WhatItDo (Oct 28, 2006)

well my tank is one of these fancy no seams curved tempered glass ones (well the bacl piece is silconed and the bottom.) I figured it would be too much of a pain to get a piece of acrylic cut.

My light has the legs that go over the inside edges. So I would have to rest it on top. I guess that wouldnt be reccomended on that Plexi from Home Depot huh???

maybe those Coralife legs will fit on my light. I jsut want to have a real nice clean look u know.I dont want to have to prop my light up with wood or anything.

Thanks for the replys i'm going to check out that plexi this weekend.


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## Storm_Rider (Sep 30, 2006)

try a night light maybe. theory being that they can't see the surface at night so they just end up going right out as they torpedo towards the surface- with a night light they know when to stop


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## Blacksunshine (Oct 11, 2006)

With my first fish in my 20 I had some issues. my Silver tip tetras were harassing my black neons like mad and I would get a few that tried to jump away from danger. Once I fed the silver tips to my tiger fish that problem stopped and I haven't had jumpers since.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Make a top from bridal netting & something to serve as a frame. For saltwater tanks a top is generally fashioned from ceiling diffusor{eggcrate} , to this the bridal netting can be glued, hot glued..etc.Most small sw fish are jumpers..ie:gobies, blennies, dartfish, wrasses, etc. Even if plants are in the tank, they will still get light through this.{corals are kept without light issues}
If you want to take nice photos, just remove while you take them. Cheap insurance so no fish loss due to jumpers.


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## Harry Muscle (Mar 13, 2007)

Here's an idea I really like the look of for open tanks:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=817485

Personally I think it looks prettier that a plexiglass top.

Harry


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## cody6766 (Mar 15, 2007)

cover the top lip of the tank with some kind of washable ink and then carefully lay the plexi cover over it to transfer the mark. Cut with a dremel and you're set


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## eklikewhoa (Aug 29, 2006)

I use plastic cross-stitching grids and build a little wall around my tank rim....just about 2" which has done a great job of keeping the fish in.

I saw that post on reefcentral.com with the net panel but with a rimless tank it would still stick out and at the same time block out a bit of light.


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## JenThePlantGeek (Mar 27, 2006)

I use floaters!

Mini frogbit, giant frogbit, pistia water lettuce, Phyllanthus fluitans, even duckweed works! It has the added benefit of a bit of extra shade if you have algae troubles. Let me know if you need any - I'd be glad to send you a handful!


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

WhatItDo said:


> Do you have problems with fish jumping out???
> 
> 
> I have a 6 gal bow and I Lose ALL my fish over time. I come home from work like every 2 weeks or so and theres a dried up tetra on my counter!!!!
> ...


Are you sure your tank is fully cycled?

12 fish jumping seems a lil odd no?

In the past year I have had 1 fish jump "knocking on wood"

I have read about fish jumping when "parameters" aren't right...

Just a thought


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## Minsc (Jul 9, 2006)

Bridal netting, now there is something I never thought of!
I actually used a disassembled clear loofa:icon_mrgr 

I do prefer it to a glass top, though it is quite noticeable. Surprisingly, it doesn't seem to block very much light at all. The plants growth patterns and coloration are the same.

I do think I've heard a fish bounce of it at least once in the middle of the night.
I've never had a major fish jumping problem, but my harlequins do seem to get spooked and go flying from time to time.


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

Coincidentally I just had a fish jump out today or yesterday. I have a ADA Mini M tank which originally had 3 Neons, 6 Black Neon Tetras, and 3 Harlequin Rasboras. 

Over a period of of 6 months or so, I've had 3 Black Neon Tetras jump out and die. At first I thought it was because I kept the water level way too high. I thought I had the water level too high, but it is about 3/4 inch from the top now and I still had a jumper.

I've also had 1 Neon freak out and jump twice. Both times I discovered him in time to throw him back in and he's fine now. The Rasboras have never jumped. The Neons do seem scared of the Black Neons and Rasboras, but hang out together with them so I don't know.

I've thought of getting a glass or acrylic top as well but I don't know if I will like the look of it, especially with the holes I'd have to cut for the inflow and outflow pipes I want to buy. Does anyone have pics of an ADA tank with a top on it with holes cut in it?


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## medicineman (Sep 28, 2005)

I do have this problem of excessive evaporation, but rarely the case of fish jumping out (now that I have several open top setups). Shrimps jumping out perhaps... because they were escaping fish mouth.

Making the fish feel at home is the key (too bad we cannot ask if they feel comfy :hihi: ). I like Jen's idea of floaters. In the wild those shy fish also hide under floaters, perhaps it may help a lot.


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## trfjason (Aug 10, 2006)

I think it really depends on what fish you have. I have 4 Red-Eyed tetras, they freak out easily and they are always close to the surface. Sometimes they splash and jump to, however, none of them have been found on the floor. If you have problems with Neons, how about trying Cardinals?


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

Harry Muscle said:


> Here's an idea I really like the look of for open tanks:
> http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=817485
> Personally I think it looks prettier that a plexiglass top. Harry


great, but that DIY putz won't tell anyone what or where he got the materials from... namely the clear thin plastic 1/2" mesh. it's laughable how half the thread are of posts from people scratching their heads trying to second source the stuff. I'm embarrassed to admit how much time and money I wasted trying to find the right moss wall mesh, or ricca mesh, so it really steams me when people withhold critical information like that from DIY threads. if you wanna corner the market on the best materials to do a project, then post and price it out in a trading thread and save us all a lot of grief ...


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## Minsc (Jul 9, 2006)

That looks like clear pond netting. Some british pond supply sites sell the stuff.
The holes look awfully big to catch the tiny fish found in most planted tanks.


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## WhatItDo (Oct 28, 2006)

mott said:


> Are you sure your tank is fully cycled?
> 
> 12 fish jumping seems a lil odd no?
> 
> ...


This is over a 1 year period. I test my parameters once a month.
I dont htink it has to do with a light being off becasue i seem to only lose fish in the day. I come home from work and theres one on the counter. Never woke up to having a jumper yet.

I agree it has a lot to do with the type of fish. I think the glowlights where harrassing eachother alot.

My tank has no inner ledge so its going to be alittle tricky. I might try the flaoters idea but i'm worried about blocking too much light.

Tommorw I'm gonna go to some hardware stores and find some plexi.

Right now I only have a 3'' gold nugget in the tank. I sold my 46 gal bow last week and am looking to get a another tank for him.

Heres a couple pics. I jsut rescaped the whole tank a few days ago


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## Anthony (Jan 11, 2005)

Evaporation is something to consider, and you'll have to keep an eye on it. But for me I've had all but one of my rainbows jump out, and a few rasboras.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

Hehe^^^^ Dethklok owns


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