Gah! It jumped!

[Kaikoura]

My dragon goby jumped the tank last night. I found it in the morning, and in my couch. It was still alive, but it was obvious it'd been there a while. I put it back in the tank, but what should I do? It can't even swim. It just moves around the bottom...

Yes, I do realize I need a cover for my tank. I've been meaning to get one, but my parents keep putting off going up to Petsmart, as much as I'd like to go..

[Obsidian]

I know that many fish survive this kind of an outing but I believe the only real thing you can do is wait it out and see if it comes back (I could be wrong). I suspect that will take a bit of time.

Hopefully this is what your parents need to be able to get you to the store. If not find anything that will fit, even tupperware lids, because something is better than nothing, as you now know.

Goodluck to your goby

[Kaikoura]

Thank you. I'll try to find something.

Anyways. I'm thankful my cat didn't find it. She won't fish, but if it comes out of the water, it's free game to her.

[Steve155]

A relative of mine had an angel fish do the exact same thing.. when he finally found it behind the cabinet it was dry and covered in a thin layer of dust
(about 5-6 hrs after it had jumped). He naturally thought it was dead and headed to dispose of it... but what do you know? - Its gills moved, after placing it back in the tank it regain full health and lived for a further 2-3 years! So i hope your goby has the same luck that the angel had. - hope it will be ok!

[redpaulhus]

even saran-wrap (plastic wrap) will do in a pinch...

[Kaikoura]

I couldn't afford a tank top with a light and everything on it. I already have a light for it, but I just needed the top. I got a 10gal reptile cage top. It's mesh screened, and it works perfectly. I hope the goby makes it. He's been laying around the tank on his side and barely moving his gills. I'm a little worried, but he seems to be making it all right so far today.
I think the reason he might have jumped was because I added a heater. The temp was much too cold for it, so I put the heater in there. I was hoping he wouldn't jump it from the change. It's not too hot, though. It's the right temperature, now.

[shade2dope]

My goby come out of the water some times.Doesnt make it out of the tank but....He just goes right up the corner of the tank and swims up as fast as he can making his body allmost half way out of the water(hitting the top).Maybe thats what your's did but with out the top to stop him he made his way out of the tank.

[Blue Cray]

My ropefish just jumped too i found it hard as a rock behind the tank.

[Gump]

Originally Posted by redpaulhus

even saran-wrap (plastic wrap) will do in a pinch...

This would work as long as you dont cover the whole top of the tank. If you seal the top oxygen has no way of getting in and the fish will expire.

[Kaikoura]

It's been back in the tank most of the day. Not a lot of swimming. Sometimes the current of the filter makes it kind of.. roll over onto it's side. It won't correct itself, either. Acting sickly. (Moping a better word?)
That was this morning. Now, it stays upright and moves about the tank occasionally. It stays on the bottom mostly, and it's having a hard time swimming upwards into the water. Some of it's fins are kind of frayed from the couch. Where I found it was quite a ways away from the tank. Two or three feet. (The tanks are up on a "table" where a closet from a lower level extends higher up than the floor.) It didn't fall the 8 feet, but it wormed it's way the other direction across the table and into the couch. Definitely a fighter.
The screen top fits perfectly, and I didn't have to rearrange things for the cords, either. I don't think it'll be making it out of the tank anytime soon.
All throughout today, it has been showing steadily rising signs of improvement.. Although slowly doing so.
Do you think it'll be all right? I already got really attached to it. I wouldn't cry if it passed on or anything, but I'd had to lose it so fast.

[Obsidian]

You might want to consider figuring out a way to be able to keep it closer to the top of the tank where it can get more oxygen. I think that is the biggest problem you may have with him hanging out on the bottom like that. Even a breeding net would help, though once he gets active you would want to pull him from there quick as it won't be enough room.

[flamingo]

It might be okay, but you can never really have a 100% answer with fish injuries. Dragon gobies are actually hardy, but like any fish, they can be fine one moment and dead the other. Leave it to itself... and it might make it through. I've had oscars, bichirs, butterflyfish, shiners, darters, etc. jump out and come close to drying out, survive.
Good choice on adding the cover. DG's are notorious jumpers, along with anything "eeley." More so because they hang onto the tank wall, with their heads out of the water a large amount of the time. Curious fish
I'd comment on your tank stocking... but i'm sure someone else will post some lengthy hissyfit about it soon hehe.
Good luck with your fish

[Kaikoura]

With the stocking, they've actually all left one another alone. There haven't been any fights or injured fish. I am already saving up to buy a bigger tank.
As for the pacu, my mom used to have piranha. Lately, since I've really been getting into fish, she's been missing them. She practically begged me to let her buy one and put it in my tank until she can get it a tank of it's own.
I wasn't too sure about it, but everything has been working out okay.

[flamingo]

Dragon gobies will need about a 55 gallon minimum with a salinity of 1.008.
They have the possibilty of getting around 2 feet, more likely a foot. if your 'planning" on buying them a bigger tank, then that would be a realistic option.
Though, with a pacu, you won't be able to buy a big enough tank for it. A fish the size of you, that weighs probably 90 pounds, eats enough food to feed your family, will never be able to be kept by household aquarists. There's maybe one person I've seen with a school of them in a nice tank, and it was in the 50,000 gallon range. A "local" zoo also has a school of them at 5 feet, along with the larger catfish, in probably a tank that's the size of a small mansion. I once had one "back in the day" in a 55 gallon. It reached about a foot long before it bludgened itself to death against the tank wall, when I was trying to move it.
Sorry to go on a speech there .

[Kaikoura]

The pacu isn't really my fish. And it's about the size of a silver dollar (fish) right now. My mom is going to put it in it's own tank. After that, it's not my problem anymore. She knows they get big.

[JustOneMore20]

Can she afford the massive tank its going to need? A 55 or 75g or even a 100g tank is not big enough. Please do research before buying fish.........Pacus should not be kept in home aquariums....they just get too big.

And I don't recommend you buy anymore fish for your 10g. You should have stuck with the 1 Dragon Goby, nursed it back to health and upgraded the tanksize before you thought about getting another one.

And the 20g tub.....I'm sure the minnows are for the turtle, but with only 10 or so gallons of water in there now and the pleco, its already overstocked. I would not suggest adding that many minnows at one time. You are risking killing your fish.

Please, please research before buying anymore fish. Fish do not grow to the size of their tank like you may have heard. They get stunted and die.

[Scuba Kid]

Originally Posted by Kaikoura

After that, it's not my problem anymore.

Good attitude. Really caring for the well-being of the fish, I can tell.

As for your Goby, all you can do is wait it out.

[Daeorn]

It most likely jumped just plain because it didn't feel like it had enough room to swim. Honestly its rare in a take more designed for it that a dragon goby will come up to the top of the tank in the first place.

Your mom needs to get a new tank for that pacu tomorrow.

Even the smallest of the pacu that petsmart has (and I know - I work at one) is far too small for your already overstocked tank.

I don't mean to hound you any more than you have been already, but I think it was already well established that you need a bigger space for your fish - if not for anyone else but them - and you got a 2nd goby and a pacu which grows 2ft.

When you say "I don't have the money to get ..." thats not a terribly good excuse.

To be honest, if you don't have the money to do this that or the other thing, than you really need to do the research to what you CAN own.

Some fish may look cool, but learning the lesson of putting fish in a tank that cannot hold them is something I've already learned the hard way.

If you cannot afford a new set up, then why (logically) would you be putting more fish in your tank that WILL need and already do need - a bigger set up.

Also, what lighting are you using on your tank? You said you cannot afford the strip light and top?

Please make sure you're caring for your fish properly, or all you're going to do is harm them.

[Daeorn]

In fact, whoever works at that Petsmart needs to be talked to. We gotta make sure we're not giving you bad advice, and whoever that was seriously needs to ask a few questions.

First off, just wanna make sure, you do at least have filtration right? I know you said you didn't have the top and whatnot so I gotta make sure. (I'm not assuming you're in any way stupid mind you just double checking).

[Kaikoura]

Yeah, I have filtration. It's excellent, as well with the circulation of the water as well. The water is very clear and clean.