How important is it to have a lid?

[dollsteak]

My lid has a built in light ballast, which is broken, so might just get a light that hooks onto the sides and have everything seperate with no lid. Is there anything bad about that?

 

[BlueStraggler]

Some fish/animals jump out to their death.

Edit: Is that a little dwarf frog in your tank?He will for sure jump out...I know because it happened to me and I was soooo upset. I didn't find him until the morning and by then it was too late.

 

[Lotus]

It really does depend on the fish. I have a couple of open-top tanks, and they have been OK. Other tanks have jumpy fish, so I keep them lidded. You could always make a DIY lid using eggcrate (light diffuser -- from a home improvement store) if you need to keep fish in. You can put a light on top of it, and it's easy to cut with pliers.

 

[dollsteak]

yeah that was my old tank, the frogs didn't jump but i had a algae eater which was my biggest fish that jumped out when i had the water too high

 

[Monoxide]

Id say just get another top. It be worth it and you never know when a buddy of yours in that tank .. may jump out ( to whatever reasons we wont know)