jumping gar?

[Polypterus]

I've never had a gar jump out... yet.

You just Cursed yourself... It happens to everyone it will happen to you. True sign of a longtime gar keeper is a roll of Duct tape next to the tank or what looks like just random crap piled on corners edges etc of every tank. Sol's Bed frame is a classic... I use Bricks or concrete blocks which then support lighting.

Also have to say Jumping can have zero to do with water quality. I've had several fliers for no reason at all except they could. A Croc 1 I had literally took a five foot leap once just because. I've had many Longnosed take impossible leaps and several Shorts also go for it with gusto.. Oddly the only one so far I've never had take flight is the Gator... I've yet to have a Gator try and jump.

Likely just cursed myself...

 

[tnaylorj]

I've had gars jump out in some very hard to comprehend situations. Thought for sure I lost a longnose once this way, but even dry and covered with fuzz, he reanimated and was fine!

 

[xander]

gars may also jump if there is something up with the water, however, they will also jump if they are spooked, going for good, erratically breaching, etc etc...water quality and jumping are definitely not singularly directly correlated--
--solomon

thanks for helping me clear tht up. to the op, it might just b tht yr gar is having some fun, but id check my water if i were u, just in case.

 

[jcon]

I believe they also jump because they see food. Bugs can crawl across the top of your tank at night causing them to jump. I heard my aro jumping one night, the lids kept smashing, I went to see who was taking cheap shots at my aro, and it was a big bug crawling across the lid.

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

i lost my only ever gar death to jumping

 

[Conner]

i lost my only ever gar death to jumping

I've never lost a gar to jumping, but I've lost 2 to breaking their own backs after spooking after dark.

 

[sbuse]

You want to have a solid top, even if you do a raised frame. Gar can jump quite high. Mine jumped out while I was standing next to the tank once. The top of the tank is about 5.5 feet off the ground. I have 10 foot ceilings, and the gar jumped over my head and within about 2 feet of the ceiling. Scared the bejeebus out of me, and smacked the floor like you wouldn't believe. He was fine as soon as he had recovered from the shock. You'd never know he jumped if you look at him now.

I have a custom light hood on top of my tank that is 6'Lx8"wx8"t. It seems to be enough weight that they can't easily force the glass lids up enough to get out. But if I leave the slightest gap between lids, I can expect to find a gar on the floor within an hour...

sounds like my ropefish...i have had the lid off for a few hours while i have been messing with things and never jumped...only when i think everything is sealed well then it finds a way to disprove me...after all the jumps it still looks great as it is the same 18" fl i did the resent update on...it almost seems that every time i do an update something happens to the fish i update...

how's your water? i only have gars jump when there's something up with my water..especially since yours has done it 3 times.

water reads ammonia 0, nitrite 0 , nitrate less then 5, ph 7.2, temp between 80-86f...nitrite may sound suspect, but hydroponics are amazing...

gars may also jump if there is something up with the water, however, they will also jump if they are spooked, going for good, erratically breaching, etc etc...water quality and jumping are definitely not singularly directly correlated--
--solomon

good to know that they aren't directly linked, even though i already knew that it wasn't from my water...

i lost my only ever gar death to jumping

thats why i added the big rocks...they are from the iron range so one softball sized rock is a milloin pounds......i probly got around 150lbs of rock on it...accessive, but i have it just lying around so to keep the kids from playing with them i put them on top...

 

[screaminleeman]

I had a LNG jump out during a water change. I went to put it back and it shimmied under the tank stand. Just as I was freaking out about what to do next, it came back out and let me save it. I have just picked it up in my hands to rehome it ever since.

My luck with the 1" x 1" mesh cover on the built in deck pond has not been the greatest. I lost my 7 - 8" SNG and Florida to this amazing feat. Not close to as bad as canabilism though. I have one remaining baby LNG out of the ten from my last order.

There are bugs that are attracted to the underwater LED's in the deck pond, but I have not witnessed any gar chasing/ eating them. On a side note, I put 4 bowfins in the deck pond and 2 in an indoor aquarium. They were all around the 5" mark when I got them. The indoor ones devoured the baby 4" LNG's and are now between 6 and 7 inches long and fabulous eaters. Of the four outside, 1 jumped out to it's death, 1 "disappeared", probably the same LNG hog, and the other two are well over 9" and hit any bug that comes around the pond.

 

[Madding]

You just Cursed yourself... It happens to everyone it will happen to you. /QUOTE]

I just went downstairs to check the tanks and found my spotted on the carpet. He didn't make it.

 

[sbuse]

damn shame...thats why i try not to say/type things like that...sorry for your loss...everyone that has looked at my tank latly has looked at me like i am crazy for the ducktape and big rocks...i tell them, i don't want to lose my gar...