HELP!! I just Found a Rummy nose on the floor
- Thread starter mel_20_20
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Thanks, everyone, for the kind words. I'm really bummed about this.
I just am shocked about it. I know some fish are prone to jumping, but didn't really think this would happen with any of these fish.
That's a good point to always remember, Holly. I learned pretty early on about the abrupt lighting change; thankfully I learned about that from reading about that and not by discovering it through an unfortunate incident, such as happened last night.
I always gradually go down with the lighting in the room with the tanks. The overhead lights had been off for quite some time, I have a floor lamp by the tank, and that was on, but my laptop was right by the tank, too, and was brightly lit up, so when I turned off the floor lamp there was still light coming from that, and also I have french doors to the patio, pretty close to the tank, and I leave the patio light on all night, so a lot of light comes in from that source; the tank has a nice moonlit look to it from that patio light.
This Rummy was the biggest one of the whole bunch - so beautiful. Is this unusual to have a Rummy jump like that? Do I need to be investigating possible causes for this behavior? The Rummies are very timid and stay in the back of the tank, mostly. I am getting about a dozen tank raised Cardinals for their tank and hoped that they will help them feel more secure.
The Rummies always look very healthy, bright red faces. I keep the water quality good. I do 50% water changes every 6 to 7 days. The ph stays around 7.4 plus or minus .2 and the water is a bit harder than they would prefer, too, but I felt that stability is more important and I do keep it very stable.
They eat well. There has been no illness in the tank. I have been keeping the lighting more subdued for the last few weeks, around 1 watt per gallon overhead, I think the color/temp of that bulb is 6,000K. I alternate lighting periods with the floor lamp which has three CFL 60 watt bulbs, but it is off to the side and gives very indirect lighting. I guess total photoperiod would be 8 to 10 hours.
I feed them a couple of different good quality flake foods and also krill crumbles from kensfish.com, and, not often enough, I feed them FBWs. I have a SunSun 302 canister and an AC 70 HOB on the tank so it's over-filtered. I keep the temp pretty stable; it fluctuates between 77 at night and 78 in the day time.
The tank is planted, and while this is not exactly an exact biotope for Rummies I've read that they do alright with plants. I believe my Rummies are the "true" Rummy nose Tetras.
Thanks for your support and encouragement, all. Opinions welcome.
I hope this doesn't ever happen again. I feel so sorry for the poor little thing. He must have suffered an injury from that fall onto the hard tile floor. I think he was out of the water for about 2 - 5 minutes at the most, but i guess that, too, would be enough to cause sufficient damage to lead to his death.
I just am shocked about it. I know some fish are prone to jumping, but didn't really think this would happen with any of these fish.
That's a good point to always remember, Holly. I learned pretty early on about the abrupt lighting change; thankfully I learned about that from reading about that and not by discovering it through an unfortunate incident, such as happened last night.
I always gradually go down with the lighting in the room with the tanks. The overhead lights had been off for quite some time, I have a floor lamp by the tank, and that was on, but my laptop was right by the tank, too, and was brightly lit up, so when I turned off the floor lamp there was still light coming from that, and also I have french doors to the patio, pretty close to the tank, and I leave the patio light on all night, so a lot of light comes in from that source; the tank has a nice moonlit look to it from that patio light.
This Rummy was the biggest one of the whole bunch - so beautiful. Is this unusual to have a Rummy jump like that? Do I need to be investigating possible causes for this behavior? The Rummies are very timid and stay in the back of the tank, mostly. I am getting about a dozen tank raised Cardinals for their tank and hoped that they will help them feel more secure.
The Rummies always look very healthy, bright red faces. I keep the water quality good. I do 50% water changes every 6 to 7 days. The ph stays around 7.4 plus or minus .2 and the water is a bit harder than they would prefer, too, but I felt that stability is more important and I do keep it very stable.
They eat well. There has been no illness in the tank. I have been keeping the lighting more subdued for the last few weeks, around 1 watt per gallon overhead, I think the color/temp of that bulb is 6,000K. I alternate lighting periods with the floor lamp which has three CFL 60 watt bulbs, but it is off to the side and gives very indirect lighting. I guess total photoperiod would be 8 to 10 hours.
I feed them a couple of different good quality flake foods and also krill crumbles from kensfish.com, and, not often enough, I feed them FBWs. I have a SunSun 302 canister and an AC 70 HOB on the tank so it's over-filtered. I keep the temp pretty stable; it fluctuates between 77 at night and 78 in the day time.
The tank is planted, and while this is not exactly an exact biotope for Rummies I've read that they do alright with plants. I believe my Rummies are the "true" Rummy nose Tetras.
Thanks for your support and encouragement, all. Opinions welcome.
I hope this doesn't ever happen again. I feel so sorry for the poor little thing. He must have suffered an injury from that fall onto the hard tile floor. I think he was out of the water for about 2 - 5 minutes at the most, but i guess that, too, would be enough to cause sufficient damage to lead to his death.
Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
It's funny.... maybe that's not the word.... it's strange; I was sad last night, but I feel more hurt today.
He wasn't a Betta, or an Oscar, or a Dwarf Puffer, those guys are so full of personality and intelligence that I can't bring myself to take on one of those, but I still feel such a loss.
I even joked, with Jackiomy a few days ago, that the little stinks, the Rummies, don't like me and flee from me and act like they are sure I want to eat them all, and I said that's OK with me because if one dies I won't feel so bad. I was wrong.
It's funny.... maybe that's not the word.... it's strange; I was sad last night, but I feel more hurt today.
He wasn't a Betta, or an Oscar, or a Dwarf Puffer, those guys are so full of personality and intelligence that I can't bring myself to take on one of those, but I still feel such a loss.
I even joked, with Jackiomy a few days ago, that the little stinks, the Rummies, don't like me and flee from me and act like they are sure I want to eat them all, and I said that's OK with me because if one dies I won't feel so bad. I was wrong.
I would think that it jsut got startled. I have kept HUNDREDS at a time in open top tanks but the only time they jump is when startled or chased. I would not think it was anyting you did or didn't do. 
I had one of my juvie SAEs go carpet surfing the other night. Found him dried up the next morning about 3' from the tank (tank is mostly covered, he found the hole).
Strange timing. I read this thread and went to bed last night and when i woke up this morning one of my yoyo loaches had jumped out of the tank and was on the floor about 2' away. He didnt make it.
We lost 2 SAE's when moving the fish from the 30 gallon to the 100. One of them went flying out of the tank when the lid was removed from the 30 gallon. Even though we caught him seconds after he hit the floor he didn't make it.
Another jumped out of the net after he was caught.
We were really upset so you are not alone in your thinking Mel.
Another jumped out of the net after he was caught.
We were really upset so you are not alone in your thinking Mel.
Thanks, Rach, Labby, axel, and Holly, and everyone, for your support and your input.
I wonder what would have startled him, Rach. You know, a few times at night when I've been watching the tank in darkness, with just the light from the patio lighting the tank, I've seen a Rummy swim like lightening to the surface and then down again. I can imagine that if one did that near an opening in the tank he could sail right out of there.
Labby, that is strange, isn't it, that your SAE found that small opening.
It is strange timing axel; you read my post at night and the next morning you find a dead jumper.
Holly, your experience helped me realize that my delay of 2-5 minutes in finding my fish on the floor is not what made my Rummy's death inevitable; you grabbed your guy within seconds of the event and still he died. I've been kicking myself that I didn't find him sooner, especially since I had heard the "noise" that started me looking. I think what I heard was the fish bouncing off the lid of the HOB on the tank.
I have hard tile floors and just the fall may have caused fatal internal injuries.
What is weird is that when I received my shipment of fish from Rachel, back in March, I had one of the Chilis jump out of a net and onto the hard tile floor. He fell about 4 feet.
He was so tiny I couldn't even pick him up with my fingers; I had to get a butter knife to slide under his caudal fin and then pick him up. He was pale, almost totally clear so I didn't want to put him in the tank with the others to have to compete with them for food, and deal with the current in the tank, as well.
I made a tiny hospital out of a jar, put an airline in there with a teensy flow of air, a plant leaf, and sat the jar in a roasting pan with a heater submerged in it to keep the temp right in the small tank. I fed him lightly, changed the water every day, and he fully recovered. I couldn't believe it. Tough little guys, those Chilis.
(for some reason I couldn't make the "include multiple quotes" thing work this time)
I wonder what would have startled him, Rach. You know, a few times at night when I've been watching the tank in darkness, with just the light from the patio lighting the tank, I've seen a Rummy swim like lightening to the surface and then down again. I can imagine that if one did that near an opening in the tank he could sail right out of there.
Labby, that is strange, isn't it, that your SAE found that small opening.
It is strange timing axel; you read my post at night and the next morning you find a dead jumper.
Holly, your experience helped me realize that my delay of 2-5 minutes in finding my fish on the floor is not what made my Rummy's death inevitable; you grabbed your guy within seconds of the event and still he died. I've been kicking myself that I didn't find him sooner, especially since I had heard the "noise" that started me looking. I think what I heard was the fish bouncing off the lid of the HOB on the tank.
I have hard tile floors and just the fall may have caused fatal internal injuries.
What is weird is that when I received my shipment of fish from Rachel, back in March, I had one of the Chilis jump out of a net and onto the hard tile floor. He fell about 4 feet.
He was so tiny I couldn't even pick him up with my fingers; I had to get a butter knife to slide under his caudal fin and then pick him up. He was pale, almost totally clear so I didn't want to put him in the tank with the others to have to compete with them for food, and deal with the current in the tank, as well.
I made a tiny hospital out of a jar, put an airline in there with a teensy flow of air, a plant leaf, and sat the jar in a roasting pan with a heater submerged in it to keep the temp right in the small tank. I fed him lightly, changed the water every day, and he fully recovered. I couldn't believe it. Tough little guys, those Chilis.
(for some reason I couldn't make the "include multiple quotes" thing work this time)
