How To Stop Fish From Jumping Out Of Tank

If you have an aquarium at home, you might have observed fish jumping out of the tank. Recovering a fish from such a situation would be difficult if you do not rescue it quickly.

When fish jump out of the tank due to poor water quality, fighting with other fish, an absence of hiding places, or as a result of stress, they do so due to poor water quality, fighting with other fish, or anxiety.

Fish may not escape from an aquarium if a lid is kept on top and ideal tank conditions are maintained.

We need first to acknowledge why fish jump. Before sharing a few helpful tips on stopping your fish from doing so, let’s look at why they even do that in the first place.

The reason behind jumping out of the tank

Listed below are some possible reasons why a fish might try to jump out of its aquarium and kill itself:

Oxygen deficiency
Conditions of unhygienic water
Change in temperature that occurs suddenly and drastically
A small tank or an overcrowded tank
Fight with tank mates

An oxygen deficiency

As fish do not possess lungs for absorbing gaseous oxygen, they need to be provided with dissolved oxygen in the aquarium water to survive. If the aquarium water cannot do so, fish will instinctively seek oxygen outside the tank.

Several factors contribute to the lack of oxygen.

There will be a deficiency of oxygen molecules in an overcrowded tank, so each fish cannot fulfill its requirements.

As well as creating a breathing problem for fish, the presence of algae inside the aquarium literally suffocates the fish. Algae suck up a substantial amount of oxygen.

Unhygienic water conditions

The fish may jump out of the aquarium when nitrites, nitrates, or ammonia poison the water. In simple terms, the contaminated water will force the fish to find an alternate area.

It is possible that even a tiny ammonia level in a body of water can rapidly stress out a fish and cause its death. Ammonia in water is generally due to decaying food, fish waste, or eating plants.

Changes in temperature that are sudden and extreme

In order to survive fish, the weather in their tank must be set at an ideal thermostatic level; if the temperature varies suddenly, fish will try to flee to a place with less extreme weather.

A small/overcrowded tank

The tank will be complete within days due to its breeding speed. Additionally, since fish breed so rapidly, overcrowding will result. If you are a severe aquarium owner, you would not want to overcrowd your tank.

This causes many problems, and if the fish becomes stressed due to a lack of living space, it will try to break free from the oppressive environment of the aquarium.

Tankmates fight with each other

The smaller fish usually try to escape the tank to save themselves when their tank mates fight within the tank. Thus, all the fish in the tank fight amongst themselves and get aggressive towards the smaller fish.

Sometimes both male and female fish of a given species become aggressive towards the female fish due to sexual attraction. This causes the female fish to escape from its other hostile male friends.

How can you stop the fish from jumping?

Please make sure the conditions are ideal for your fish to halt it from jumping out and perish. Here’s how to save your fish’s life:

Maintaining the quality of the water
Invest in a tank that is appropriate in size
Make sure you provide enough oxygen.
Tankmates should be compatible.
Hide spots should be placed
The tank should be covered with a lid.

Make sure high water quality is maintained

Keep the tank in an environment where it is clean, the pH level is 6.0-7.0, and the ammonia level is low; most discus will not look for better conditions. Along with these parameters, the temperature should be kept between 82-86 degrees Fahrenheit.

You should change the water inside the tank every week and install a filter to decompose the ammonia into harmless substances. Remove any excess food particles to not decay inside the tank, as decay will cause the water to become contaminated.

To clean the water naturally, you can use beneficial bacteria supplements.

Get a large enough tank.

Fish of the discus family require plenty of space in the tank since they are very active in nature. Therefore, you should provide them a large tank where they are free to roam about freely. A small aquarium is an equivalent of confined them in a suffocating environment.

Therefore, you should use the appropriate aquarium depending on the number of aquatic creatures you intend to maintain in the aquarium. Each discus fish needs a minimum of 10 gallons of water, which means you need an aquarium with a capacity of about 50 gallons.

Oxygen adequate

In the previous section, there was a discussion regarding how dissolved oxygen molecules pressure the fish so much that they leap out of the tank just to breathe. If wished, there are numerous ways to provide fish with easy breathing conditions.

Install air stones inside the tank that are designed to oxygenate the water for fish. This will allow fish to breathe in an increased amount of dissolved oxygen molecules.
The oxygen levels in your fish’s tank will increase when algae are removed.

Make sure your tank mates are compatible

Keep the larger fish in separate tanks from smaller ones. The larger fish will scare the smaller fish and harass them, causing them to escape by leaping out, unaware that nothing but death is waiting outside the tank.

Therefore, aquarists ought to have mates in their tanks compatible with each other and would not cause harm to each other.

Install hiding spots

Having many good hideout spots outside the tank helps the fish retreat into the tank if that circumstance ever arises. Honeycomb-shaped aquarium accessories provide excellent hiding spots. In moments of panic, the fish will go within the hideouts rather than leaving the tank.

You need to cover the tank with a lid.

When taking the tank off to add food, make sure to place a rubber band around the tank’s perimeter. This ensures the fish will not jump out.

It is essential to realize that if your fish jumps out, it is usually because they sense something is wrong inside the tank. Identify the problem and address it quickly to prevent the fish from becoming stressed.

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

Why does my goldfish keep on jumping out of the fishbowl?

Goldfish usually jump out of the water if the water is not clean.

But in the given scenario, the possible reason might be less space for the goldfish to live in. No matter how cute they look in it, goldfish do not like living in a fishbowl as it is usually too small for them.

Does a sick fish try to jump out of the aquarium?

A fish that catches an infection or parasite can possibly show this behavior. A continuous itch on the body that cannot be scratched creates discomfort, and as a result, the fish might take an extreme step.

You should isolate the infected fish in another tank and cover it with a lid until the fish gets cured. Otherwise, the infection can be transmitted to other fish.