Aquila Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Hey guys...I'm having a weird problem. I have had 2 guppies now jump out of their tank and dry out on the kitchen counter in roughly the same spot. this is weird because: 1) there are only small spaces in the lid in each corner, 2 at the front to help when lifting the lid to feed and 2 in the back to accomodate the filter/heater. Both times the fish were found behind the back right corner...suggesting that they must have swam upstream up the filter overflow! Out of all 4 corners, this is the smallest and hardest one to get out of! 2) since when are guppies such agile jumpers? hatchetfish yes...but guppies? my friend's parents had a huge lidless guppy tank and never had any jump...although they did have a lot of floating plants. So I know my obvious solution would be to put tape over any opening...but what the heck! Just thought I'd share and see if any one else has had this experience. I mean of all the fish i've owned over all the years, i've had maybe 3-4 jumpers...and now i've almost doubled that over a couple silly guppies in a few months. Milena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Swordtails are very good jumpers tooooooo :roll: Found one had jumped out of the bucket I had them in while acclimatising them to go into their new Tank, he had flip flopped all the way across the garage and was found all dried up under my Car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 You need to look at why they're jumping. Are they both females who have jumped? Stressed fish are more likely to carpet surf/kitchen bench surf in your case! Is their tank somewhere that you come around a corner too very quickly and could scare them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 I too suspect they are stressed. This may be because of water conditions, tank positioning, or fellow inhabitants. It may also have something to do with what is on the kitchen counter. Is there something there they may be trying to get to? Is is blue and they think it is a larger tank? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Maybe it is the waving around of sharp kitchen utensils that is causing this? Or perhaps they think they are in a seafood restaurant, and when you are pointing them out to your friends and family, they think you are going pick them out of the tank and cook them for dinner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim r Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 The only time I have seen guppie's jump is when cornered with a net and I was surprised to see how good they were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted July 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Well I was trying to think it could be stress. I had my water tested a over a week ago and it was perfect. The first fish that jumped was actually a pregnant female, so that kinda made me sad and I wrote it off to her getting harassed or something (even though this was near the beginning and the tank was pretty empty. The boys seem to be more interested in the girls that are the most pregnant. But my other 2 females have given birth several times now and they can easily do their thing without being constantly nagged. The 2nd fish was a boy, and he wasn't being picked on or anything...he was actually one of the dominant 2 and the other male never chased him from what I could see. Now the tank is full of babies but they mostly hang out near the top, leaving the rest of the lower tank for the adults...so I dunno if they are feeling too crowded. I feed them lots...in fact every time they see me they go nuts at the top expecting food, so I can't see them being frightened. When I stick my hand in to clean or rearrange something they actually try to feed on it. However, both jumpers happened when there was nobody home. But I like the knife theory...I will have to start cutting my veggies on the other bench where they can't see me! Heehee. I guess their theory is reinforced every time a tank mate disappears mysteriously...haha. Anywho...I think the most probable reason must be that they are stressed from overcrowding from the babies. They will have to suck it up for a bit longer before I can sell some of the fry and also get a larger tank! Meantime I am covering all those holes! Thanks for the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Maybe it's your male/female ratio. You should aim for 2 females to 1 male. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raewyna Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 "The boys seem to be more interested in the girls that are the most pregnant" I read a scientific book a while ago that said the females are most fertile in the 2 days after they have given birth. So the males are probably lining up to be first after the birth. Maybe you were right about them swimming into the current and getting caught when there was suddenly no water. I have never seen my guppies jump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 I had a few young boys in a breeding trap keeping them seperate from their sisters and mum and i lost three (of four) to jumping onto the carpet, the last one managed to jump out into the tank every day I decided it must have been stress from being confined as their water is changed nearly every day and they werent hassling each other *shrug* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.