Okay Im a newbie to this site and Im sure Ill get some hell for my tank choices for fish but I like to press the limit on what can be kept together in a community tank. I have a 55 gal community tank with 1 Angel, 3 Platys, 1 gourami, 1 dwaf gourami, 4 Cory Cats (just added) 4(3 now) Glo Tetras and previously 1 Yellow Lab and an Electric Blue Crayfish. I went to my tank yesterday morning to check up and do my daily morning routine and feeding and before getting there I saw the water was extremly cloudy which for my tank is now finally cycled completely and is usually crystal clear... So I did a head count and No yellow lab in site and 1 glo tetra floating near the top by the filter ripped to shreds by the crayfish obviously... Had the crayfish for 2 months with the fish no incident. Well I couldnt find my yellow lab... figured hed got completely eatin and was pissed since he is brand new about 4 days old in my tank. So out with the cray got a mini tank for just him yesterday to save all the others and went to take my bucket out from under my tank which hangs out the back of the cabinet behind my fish tank and in the bottom??... :-( My missing yellow lab I thought was eaten dead at the bottom of the bucket... Only explanation was he jumped out where the little strip is missing in the back of the tank for the filter.... not a lot of space but he just happened to jump out right there? Is this normal for cichlids to jump out? Sorry for the short story everyone!! Thanks for reading.
Cichlid Jumped Out... :-(
- Thread starter Ron Taylor Jr.
- Start date
My guess would be he jumped from either water conditions or fleeing from the crayfish, or maybe the angel. All fish can jump, some are more prone to do so. If it is not a particularly "jumpy" species (ie, hatchets, bettas), they typically jump due to water quality issues or bullying / trying to escape an aggressor. They can fit out of surprisingly small spaces unfortunately.
The water parameters for african cichlids are much different from the parameters for cories, angels, etc. Plus they will be aggressive to the point of injury / death / jumping to the majority of community fish. So basically, if you need to either do your community setup or cichlids (and a few of their compatible options), not both. It just isn't going to work out, and the tank will never be a peaceful enjoyable environment for you or the fish.
The water parameters for african cichlids are much different from the parameters for cories, angels, etc. Plus they will be aggressive to the point of injury / death / jumping to the majority of community fish. So basically, if you need to either do your community setup or cichlids (and a few of their compatible options), not both. It just isn't going to work out, and the tank will never be a peaceful enjoyable environment for you or the fish.