Why do Discus jump

[chrissyoscar]

Why do discus jump. Does anybody have any idea.
About 3-4 mths ago my female Turq jumped out of the tank but luckily I found her in time and she survived. Last night I come home from work and guess what, one discus missing. I looked everywhere in the tank but couldn't find her behind anything. Eventually I started looking out of the tank and found her. My female Fineline Snakeskin had jumped and was stiff as a board :cry: .
The only gap the tank has is the cut out corner piece so she had a tight fit to get through that.
Does anybody else have trouble with discus jumping or am I just having bad luck.

Oscar :cry: :cry: :cry:

[flukes]

Everyone has trouble, i dont really think they are jumping out of the tank. I think when discus dart sometimes the go straight up and in some cases that just happens to be where there is a gap.
Dont worry Oscar you aint the first and you wont be the last.

There is nothing really to prevent it other than keep the tank covered.

[Chris McMahon]

Sorry for your loss.

I had the same thing (http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=712) happen to me a while ago. I'd say that the discus just get spooked. I think the more discus in the tank, the worse the effect, as a kind of domino effect happens. One discus will get spooked and make a rapid movement, which in turn spooks the other discus.

The larger the group, the move varied the angles they seem to take off on. I'd say that it was just bad luck that your Snakeskin found the gap in the glass.

Personally I've found the most likely thing to spook a discus is a shadow. The brighter the light, the easier it is. However, some times I'd be quietly typing away at my computer and they would just freak out for no apparent reason.

I now keep lids on my discus tanks. I've been thinking on making up some fine flywire screens to replace the glass, as my glass seems to get frosted over within a couple of days every time I clean it. I still have to work out how to handle the filter pipes / cords.

[Proteus]

actually, some fine mesh or screen would be a lot more friendlier on the fish if or when they decide to try to fly...

insetad oh THUMP!!! and one sore head, it would be cushioned somewhat...

just an idea anyway.

[Escher]

Perhaps a piece of thick foam jammed in the gap where the cords and pipes feed could do the trick.

[weird]

I would put it down to being startled. Do you make quick movements around the tank ? I can be pretty heavy footed sometimes, particularly if I am running late. Or have children ?

I keep bala sharks, which are supposed to be the most quickiest to jump, and also not covered tank and <touch wood> never problems because it is a quite area of the house.

But on Monday night I moved my 25% water full discus tank by sliding it across the polished wooden floorboards, and sure enough my tangos were trying to fly by jet proplusion from the bottom and straight up ... so I put jumping down to spooking ... maybe your fish saw a ghost ? Hahaha ... my wife hates when I say stuff like that.

[ahsan]

discus jumping out ,, guess they are pretty much freaked out ,, i had that problem afterwards i just used to lit the aquarium most of the times.
Actually when they are freaked out they just dart in any direction upwards , downwards or towards a hiding place. and they mostly dart blindely.
Well as far as i think is that your tank is at a place where there is not much activity around ,, soo even with a minimized threat or activity they just freak out to death. coz they are actually not expecting much movement. i suggest that if the problem persists either move a tank to a c ompletely isolated place or to a bit busy place in the house. because there they expect the movement around them ,, which reduces the sudden freaking out behaviour of the discus.
regards
ahsan

[chrissyoscar]

Thanks guys

Looks like it's not just me then. i thought something might of spooked her but I don't know what. They're in the garage and apart from me nobody goes in there so it might of been a shadow from a moving plant or something. I'm really upset about it but hey it could be worse :( .
On the bright side my turqs have laid again this afternoon but they don't seem to interested in the eggs so I'm guessing they wont be there tommorrow.

Oscar

[nicholas76]

people discus will Jump for various reasons

The most obvious are

1. PH Swing or fluctuates / or water is to acidic

2. Shadows and lights over tank.

3. placement of tank , heavy human traffic.

4. Not allowing your discus to settle in there environment.

cheers