Better than a glass canopy or ANY cover... i have an idea

[Chaitika]

A local lfs kept an RTG in a 350 gallon with a screen mesh for a lid.

Guess what?

6 weeks later, they found it dead on the floor one morning. Something spooked it during the night and it made a hole right through the mesh.

Heavy glass is what I use and anyone I know who keeps aros. Like Koji said, they'll bang on glass lids and lose a scale or two but they learn pretty quickly not to.

 

[Retuks]

i find it very strange... every aro ive known continually hits the glass / hood in the 500 gal square tank and the 125 i have without "learning" anything. especially silvers.

i guess mesh wouldn't work. but a net is very different from a plastic bag as one of you stated before. i can break a hefty with my finger, but not like, the same plastic netting that they use to make crab traps with.

i think better than mesh is orange fencing then. you know, the kind thats used in construction wrapped around the delineators.

theres NO WAY any aro can break through that. yet it would soften the impact 10fold compared to glass. its better to splash some measley water than have a broken tank, dead-on-impact aro.

EDIT: oh and im not talking about the paper-thin fencing. im talking about the flexible plastic one. they take a 300 lb built samoan guy 5 seconds of hard pulling to even start to stretch so the velocity of a pointed 2-3foot fish throwing itself at it couldn't do dust to it.

 

[Crispy]

I have somewhat flexible plexiglass as my lid (under a hardwood canopy) and it works well. Problem sometimes when he hits the braces of the tank. I've thought about putting an adhesive foam padding along my braces? Something used outdoors and waterproof? Similar to the adhesive weather-stripping we use in between windows and doors...

 

[bigdaddycool]

i am for glass all the way - water being close to the top as possible.

netting can snag on fins, gill cover (maybe), and mouth - probable cause for concern with an expensive fish.

 

[juneblood3]

Sweet, thanks Koji. I plan on getting a baby Jar soon so hopefully he is a quick learner.

 

[Gshock]

Forget the net, your house will be humid as hell after a couple days. The condensation would cause mould to grow everywhere and weaken any sort of wood around. Your utilities bill will also be skyrocketing due to all that extra water you need to add to top off the tank, not to mention the constant heat needed due to the imense amount of heat loss.

 

[Matt724]

there would also be alot of water evaporation

 

[ausarow]

netting can cause damage, rip scales hook a gill plate, general abrasion.
what would work is a clear rubber lid, but then you still have to attach it and always still have glass walls they could hit side on. ive seen fish damaged by the glass rim that the lid sits on so work could be done to better that too. then you also want it removable for cleaning or a small hole for feeding.
still not a bad idea.

 

[rhodes_96]

I find what koji said to be true. I experience exactly the same thing. keep the water high, the arowana less likely to get momentum to break through cover. Yes they will learn about the cover being high. My aros now learn when it's feeding time not to go to berserk when going for the food, otherwise they will hit a wall of glass.

 

[Retuks]

Forget the net, your house will be humid as hell after a couple days. The condensation would cause mould to grow everywhere and weaken any sort of wood around. Your utilities bill will also be skyrocketing due to all that extra water you need to add to top off the tank, not to mention the constant heat needed due to the imense amount of heat loss.

huh i never heard of that before.. mold from a net? i dont use a heater since my water is always 80 degrees since its right next to the open window of my lanai. i live on the east side of oahu so theres no such thing as heat loss.

every tank i own has no hood really, just light strips and hobs for BB and none of those things happen.