Fish Jumping From Water

[Pokey]

@Biotope Biologist, I was just reading in another thread where you mention that, “… fish get really comfortable in these enclosures (shallow) with emergent plants. They feel safe and happy which means that even fish not considered jumpers will breach.” I was wondering, if they’re happy, why do they do that? Are they playing?

How do you tell if it’s happy jumping and not from something they don’t like in the tank?

I really like your shallow tank! 😃 I notice that the netting is only a few inches around the edges. Do the fish usually only want to jump in those areas? 

Anyone else have fish jumping experiences we beginners can learn from? 
 

On a side note, would the small cichlids like Dorsigera and the Bolivian Rams do well in a longer but shallower tank? I really like those emergent plants!
 

(no fish yet, still learning 🤪)

[Biotope Biologist]

I am going to tackle this from a biologist’s perspective and also clarify that we don’t actually know why fish jump. 
 

In the field at around dawn you can see fish jumping everywhere. In the ocean, streams, estuaries it doesn’t matter. People say they might be escaping predators, responding to stress, or catching bugs out of the air.

 

But I don’t think this explains the behavior and here is why. I have seen full grown sturgeon breach. I have seen sharks like dogfish and salmon sharks breach. Even bottom dwelling fish like halibut.
 

Then when I first had my tank open air no net, I lost shiners, minnow, and even a goby to these nighttime/early morning affairs. I have accidentally startled the trout into jumping, they are skittish. But the gobies and minnow didn’t make sense. Until I saw late at night my gobies playing near the surface of the water and breaching.

 

It is something I can only attribute to play or comfort or a “jump for joy” if you will. It is not something I don’t think is actively being researched. But for now I will not keep open air tanks anymore without some sort of protection.

 

As for the netting the fish are allowed to jump in the open sections of the tank the net is to keep them from breaching close to the edge of the tank where it might be fatal.

[Pokey]

Thank you! That is very interesting and I really love the idea that they’re happy and jumping for joy or playing! 😃I used to go fishing 😱🤣with my brother and we always thought that they were trying to catch bugs when they were jumping.

[MattyM]

In my experience, fish that are used to swimming a lot will sometimes jump in a smaller tank - my research pulled up some articles that thought they hope to land in a larger body of water. Or if the water isn't to their liking, they may also do this. 

Spawning female fish may also jump when there are floating plants, with the hope of landing their eggs on/around the plants for a higher survival rate. 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by MattyM
misread initial post

[Galabar]

The fish that I've lost the most would probably be the Siamese algae eater.  When they get big, the really seem to want to jump.  I've got glass covers on all my tanks.

Even with a glass cover, I've had amano shrimp escape the tank, walk down the stairs and down the hallway... 🙂

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 11/21/2023 at 6:17 PM, Galabar said:

Even with a glass cover, I've had amano shrimp escape the tank, walk down the stairs and down the hallway... 🙂

Yeah, I've had Amano shrimp make it a surprisingly far distance from the tank, though I was never 100% sure the cat didn't help them cover some of that distance...

[Tanked]

I have heard my TFBs hit the lid at night after lights out.  I don't if they are being spooked by something or are striking at some floating morsel.  I firmly believe that some fish do play.  I have watched the SAEs playing tag with the Tetras.  If you keep the water level as high as possible, the more energetic fish could accidently jump to their death.  In the small community, the SAEs are the largest fish in the tank, so there is nothing there for them to be afraid of.

A lid is a good idea for a couple of reasons. If you don't want a solid glass lid, than a piece of ceiling light grate is a great alternative.  You don't have to remove it for feeding or topping off.  If you do decide to use the ceiling grate, do not buy one with a reflective coating.  The coating will disintegrate.