Jumpers

[Iceman]

My hybrid Orange Platy/Pineapple Swordtail jumped out of the tank. Not sure when but was dead when I discovered his successful suicide.

Why do some fish launch themselves out of their home? He was never harassed by other fish. In fact he was the largest fish in the tank. There are no problems otherwise and all the other fish are quite happy. Did my dancing Silvertips drive him up the wall and over?

[garnpet]

If fish get spooked they will jump.  In the wild this is not a problem they just land in the water, in a tank - well the consequences are a bit more drastic.

[mseguin]

or to try to catch food

[KarEn]

I lost 3 leleupies about 2 years ago due to jumping. They just killed themselves against the glass top. One after another, within about 2 minutes I lost 3 fish.  ....crazy.

When I kept tropical tank, my catfish would always jump out of the tank. Good thing I had a cat who would always scream to tell me about what happened. So I just had to put the fish back into the tank. Cat was smart, didn't touch the fish.

[RedFish]

If fish get spooked they will jump.  In the wild this is not a problem they just land in the water, in a tank - well the consequences are a bit more drastic.

I learned this the hard way, was moving my fish from old tank to new tank and put them in a bucket.   My harlequin rasboras jumped out ( a good foot from water to top of bucket) and died. 

[nes]

Check your parmeters!

High ammonia will cause fish to jump (hey you would too if it felt like your skin was burning off!). If you don't have a test kit give your tank a good sniff -the best way to make sure your aquarium is healthy is to give it a good smell on a regular basis!- it should smell like clear & clean pond water. If your tank smells fishy you need to do a water change asap! Also if you've got a bubble filter goign make sure the bubbles are poping when they hit the surface - if they float off and down the sides of the tank your ammonia is high. Not enough oxygen can also cause fish to jump. Check your thermometer too! If it's too high they can jump or if it's electrocuting the fish :S (which does happen - I don't remember but there is a better trick to checking for whattage leak then sticking your hand in the tank...). If you've got an non-under-water thermometer make sure it's high enough above the water line.

You may also be right in the other fish are causing a problem, try adding more plants or another hiding spot (decoration) or even consider moving up to a larger tank

HTH

Nes.

[Iceman]

All water parameters are good. I've got all the test kits. I've got three silvertip males, thought I only had two,  who are chasing each other constantly. I suspect the other fish are getting a little stressed by this. Time for them to find a new home.