not again...

[demjor19]

another one of my florida/spotteds slipped out the back of the tank over night! this time it was one of my larger ones (16-17 inches). i found hime under the tank stand (thanks to my cat again). he was very dry and covered in dust, but had some life left in him...i guess we'll just have to wait and see if he makes it. this time i had no salt on hand and i had to be to work soon after i found him, so i am going to pick up some supplies tonight to try and fight off any infections or funguses. i also didnt really have much time to inspect for physical injuries or damage that may have occured. i'll update this evening when i get home.

P.S. i just ordered new custom glass tops as i wrote this. this won't happen again ...i hope not anyways.

 

[CTU2fan]

That's rough Hopefully he recovers alright. My tank has eurobracing and acrylic covers for the holes, I thought they might be too late so I'm weighing them down until I get moving on the canopy - I'm a horrible procrastinator, if I didn't need the stand to set the tank up I'd likely still be putting it off too.

What have you got on there for lids now? Are the gar getting out through openings or knocking the tops off?

 

[NilePufferFanatic]

That is a little discouraging

 

[demjor19]

That's rough Hopefully he recovers alright. My tank has eurobracing and acrylic covers for the holes, I thought they might be too late so I'm weighing them down until I get moving on the canopy - I'm a horrible procrastinator, if I didn't need the stand to set the tank up I'd likely still be putting it off too.

What have you got on there for lids now? Are the gar getting out through openings or knocking the tops off?

i have acrylic covers, but they don't fit tight against the back of the tank and they are somewhat light as well. the ones i ordered this morning are
1/4" tempered glass and fit to my specifications. this should eliminate any escaping.

 

[gollum]

I just use clear stickytape on the lids at the back and some smooth rocks at front ... always worked for me ...even keeps my saratoga from making too much noise by banging on the lids for his dinner lol

 

[E_americanus]

sorry to hear about the gar jumping out, hopefully he recovers with no problems. i agree that the new glass tops should help, and that in the mean time you can just use tape to cover up gaps on the back (i use a combination of tape and customizable plastic that comes with glass tops to cover all the gaps at the back of the tank). although glass is pretty heavy, i still tape down the front covers as well (tape across the corners) since gars can be pretty strong when it comes to jumping.
with bigger gars i use some large ornamental rocks and an inactive strip light to weigh things down.

again, keep us posted, hope the fish recovers--
--solomon

 

[demjor19]

sorry to hear about the gar jumping out, hopefully he recovers with no problems. i agree that the new glass tops should help, and that in the mean time you can just use tape to cover up gaps on the back (i use a combination of tape and customizable plastic that comes with glass tops to cover all the gaps at the back of the tank). although glass is pretty heavy, i still tape down the front covers as well (tape across the corners) since gars can be pretty strong when it comes to jumping.
with bigger gars i use some large ornamental rocks and an inactive strip light to weigh things down.

again, keep us posted, hope the fish recovers--
--solomon

thanks solomon...i'll keep you posted. as long as he didnt injure his back i shouldnt have too much trouble rehabilitating him. i'll be sure to update later.

 

[proaquatics]

ouch! this happen with a walking catfish once but of course it made it for about a day then passed. hopefully he will make it.go call on ordering those gt's.

 

[KaraJo]

I just got back from class and the gar is swimming around just fine right now so it looks like he's going to be fine. For a while this morning he would fall to one side and couldn't swim straight, but He seems alright now...I'm sure he still has some recovering to do. We would have had a hard time finding him under the stand if it weren't for the cat.

 

[xander]

haha you guys should get the cat a reward, that's 2 gars (s)he's saved you

lol i forgot to cover after feeding one night and my spotted jumped out:S
he's okay but his scales are a lil f^%ked up on one side, seem to be healing though

gl w yrs haha