Jumpers
 

Any idea what makes a fish jump? I've had a few fish over the years make a break for freedom with obvious results. Most recently yesterday found my six line wrasse dead on my laudry room floor (tank backs onto laundry room). Unfortunately it is always my wife that finds them first, and she always screams (just like in the movies when the housekeeper comes across the body). The wrasse must have really flow to make it so far. In the past it was always the clownfish (3 of them) that made the break (damn that movie!!).

Do you have any aggressive fish in the tank that chase these fish and force them to jump?

My male lyretail jumped but I was really lucky as I was close by and heard his little scream
so I was able to rescue him. All kidding aside I had just fed them and I think it is a natural thing for them to do. Like Coleus said there may have been a chase going on.
wrasse's are like little bullets
List of jumpers I have had:

green spotted gobie
bartlett anthia
lyretail anthia did it only once (smart fishy)

9/10 times, unless the fish is brand new to the system it's another aggressive tank mate that causes a fish to jump.

What size is the tank? It might be a factor.

I think that some fish jump, not to jump per se, but to just exert a huge burst of speed (I'm sure wrasses are in this category). In the ocean, this just takes them somewhere else. In our tanks, either they hit the rocks, the walls, or they head a little bit upwards and ... out they come.

I had a pair of bluesided fairy wrasses who were so jumpy that so much as someone walked by their tank, they'd be in the overflow. Usually they would just jump their way out of the overflow on their own. :neutral:

This worked out well for the most part until one day, when I was on vacation, my tanksitter forgot to close the hood one night after feeding ... both of them jumped out that night.

Buh.

The tank is relatively largish (48" x 30") but the little bullet may have gotten into a scrap although I never did see much agression. The fish seemed to be doing well and was getting quite portly... Ah well.

Went out and bought another 6 line today and may put a curtain along the exposed side of the tank to divert future jumpers into the overflow where I can rescue them. So far the new guy has settled right in.

Cheers.

A lot of fish have a very strong "flight instinct"....As Tony said, in the ocean that "bolt" doesnt have the same consequences as in our tanks

Typical jumpers are gobies, blennies, tilefish, wrasse and triggers. If the aquarium is pitch black with the morning light coming on suddenly, it will cause fish to jump. Commercial holding systems use night lights and gradually introduce light in the morning.

It's usually the first week when fish jump, so a temporary eggcrate top is a good idea for the first week. A eurobrace is usually enough to keep fish in the tank so they are a good investment. A eurobrace also stops splashing when you clean the tank.

As Mr. Wilson said, Gobies are known jumpers. I used to have a pair of scissortail gobies. When one died, the other goby jumped out of my tank 8 times before finally biting the dust. I tried covering the tank with eggcrate and with drywall mesh so there were not any holes large enough for him to get out and yet he worked and worked at jumping out of the tank until he got through.

None of the other fish were bothering him either. He would swim along and then look up and then swim down and shoot right up trying to get out.