# I just had my first "dropped fish" moment



## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

I never thought it would happen to me. I have never had any fish leave my tanks except in their cups during 100% WC. Well today I was doing a major water change in my 29 gallon sorority when two things happened.  One of my girls, Onion, gets a ride up my siphon tube. I saw her disappear into the squeeze pump area. I freaked and start tearing off the squeeze pump and couldn't find her. I looked down. There she was.. ON THE CARPET!  With wet hands I quickly and carefully pick her up and put her in one of the full buckets for a moment. Then after she started moving around, back into the tank. It's lucky that she is Okay and is behaving like nothing had happened. She even ate normally. Her fins are fine, just a little bruised. Poor girl.

What is your most memorable out of water experience? I had finally and horrifingly had mine :shock: Let's hope it's my last.


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## maxw47 (Jan 22, 2012)

I was once doing a water change on my ten gallon and my female platy popped out of the tank. I too flipped out and picked her up and back into the tank. I was worrying aall night wondering if she would be ok. But I am pleased to say that she is doing great to this day.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

maxw47 said:


> I was once doing a water change on my ten gallon and my female platy popped out of the tank. I too flipped out and picked her up and back into the tank. I was worrying aall night wondering if she would be ok. But I am pleased to say that she is doing great to this day.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


That's good news. I think because it was so brief, it caused minimal stress/damage. It's always water changes that makes them to want to decide they don't want to be fish anymore :lol: Maybe they fear the water is going to run out on them. They may get that feeling as the depth lowers so fast. Or it could be pure coincidence. Thanks for sharing maxw47 :3


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

if anything it'll be my VT that will be the first to do that in the future. i was doing a WC today and i had him in his cup (1cm water level from top). covered the cup with my hand but he still tried to jump when my hand was preventing that.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Huh, I just had one of these moments today.

I have my latest betta boy in a medium pet keeper in my kitchen. Because of the severe evaporation of this unit I put some aluminum foil over it and tore open a small hole to I could feed him

Well, I was getting ready to head out of the house to an appointment when I heard a strange crackling noise coming from the kitchen. I went in and it happened again so I looked towards the noise and there's my crazy new boy, flopping on top of the foil! He managed to leap up out of the water and squeeze his king size body out of whole not much bigger than he it! It's his first time having a fasting day, so maybe he was looking for food.

I ripped the foil to allow him back in the water and he seems fine. I stopped at PetSmart after my appointment to pick up a 5 gallon for him.

Crazy fish.


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## Jessicatm137 (Mar 22, 2012)

When I got my unnamed Halfmoon, when I was transferring him to his new tank, he jumped and went in the sink... Before he flopped into the drain I quickly picked him up and put him in his new tank. He was in shock for a moment, then warmed up and started exploring his tank. A few days later he made a bubble nest... Though he made me freak out!


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## Zero186 (Feb 21, 2012)

All my bettas have jumped during water changes and have ended up on the carpet, desk, etc. At one point or another. They have all made it just fine. It's a total freakout moment that I feel most fish keepers experience at some point.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Oh my god.... STOP IT FISHIES!! LOLOL I never had a jumper.... Yet.... Let's hope I didn't just jinx myself.. again XD I'm glad everybody's fishies were okay. The sink was the most scary. Close call in cups. I always snap my lids on tight. They can't be trusted. sparky's fish wanted to be wrapped up to go.. Silly fish, but really accurate and good aim. I can't trust my fish now.. <_<


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

The carpet seems like it would be prickally to them. Good thing the carpet where my girl fell, got damp. DX


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## Jessicatm137 (Mar 22, 2012)

The lid of the cup was on, when I took it off that was the moment he decided to jump. Though he hasn't jumped since... He's a bad fish.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

<_< He can't be trusted... I will never leave a lidless cup ever again


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

aurasoulful said:


> Oh my god.... STOP IT FISHIES!!... sparky's fish wanted to be wrapped up to go.. Silly fish, but really accurate and good aim. <_<


I know, right?!?!? Apparently he wanted to go to my appointment with me.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I have two of these moments...

The first was with my VT Apollo. There I was, cleaning his 5 gallon. The water in the tank was about halfway down, about halfway up my ribs. He jumped out of the tank and nearly hit me on the nose. I jerked back and he fell all the way down to the hard, cold tiles of the kitchen. I should mention, I'm 5'10", so my nose height is an awfully long way for a little fish to fall. 
Anyway, I plopped him back in, where he lay breathing heavily on the substrate for a while. He perked back up in a few days. 

My second story was a red cherry shrimp girl. I'd just done a 100% change and at some point she had obviously ended up on the carpet instead of in the tank or in the holding bucket where she was supposed to be. Anyway, finished the change, went away and 3 HOURS LATER went back to the tank. There she was, on the carpet. I moped a bit and put her in the tank so her little body would be eaten. No sooner had she touched the water when she twitched, wriggled off my fingers and shrimped away like nothing had happened.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

OMG! It's getting more crazy as we go 0-0
Wow Apollo wanted to hug you! XD "Thanks for cleaning my tank so regularly!" *jumps to hug* LOL Magic cherry shrimp.. That's amazing. Sparky's fish wanted a hug too! XD Amazing what bettas can endure, and shrimp!


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## RedFynn21 (Jan 5, 2012)

I've never had a betta that jumped out of my tank.*Knocks on wood* But, I have a nice, scary moment from years ago when I had my first betta. I was 12 at the time, and also had a cat. I would always keep the door to my room closed...to keep the cat out. She was after all, a cat, and too nosy for her own good =). Well, one day, I guess I didn't get my door closed all the way *facepalms*, and I went to school oblivious as ever. Came home to my grandma telling me, "Your cat snuck in your room, knocked the betta tank over, and then your bird cage over."  

I guess sneaky little Tabitha managed to get into my room, get on top of my dresser, knock over the entire tank, then moved on to my computer desk to where I had a couple of Parakeets, and knocked that over, too. The dresser was a good 5 ft. fall, and the poor little guy, tank/water/all the contents landed on my carpet. Poor Betta was on the carpet for a good 4 hrs. w/o water. Parakeets were also in a cage tipped on the side on my floor. I guess the cat lost interest, because other than having their feathers ruffled, the birds were okay. And so was my betta...other than being traumatized beyond belief for awhile.

How he survived on the carpet with out water for that long, I will never know. Thank goodness that my grandma went into my room, found my betta in time, and put him in water. If not, I'm sure he would not have go on to live almost 4 yrs. Boy what a mess! I learned to always double, and triple check that my door was shut all the way.


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## Betta16 (Mar 13, 2012)

the day I got Shadow, i put him in his new home a 5g and it was right next to my Mate 5g tank and Shadow thought he would like Twinks (my mate betta) tank better, i turned around to pick twink up to put him is his tank (just changed water) and i see Shadow jump tanks coolest thin iv ever had a betta do, he cleared a .5inch gap to land in Twinks tank. Iv sins kept the cover on Shadows tank any time he is in it as he has repeted this stunt on at least 3 more time after water changings lol silly Betta


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

oh my goodness! These stories are so terrible! But interesting, HOW they get by... 

Well, thank goodness I don't have habitual jumpers! They only jump at dinner time. But when Ludendorff was still suffering from fin melt and mad old stress I was up cleaning his half filled tank daily. This one time I thought it would be a quick clean so I got up on the counter kicked some dishes out of the way and tried to get him. No matter how sick he was and clamped and ill, he ALWAYS put up a fight to get caught. I finally got him in a net and he jumped out of it.... Into a dirty spatula bowl (you know, where there's tons of grease from spatula) 

I was horrified but he recovered.


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## ZackyBear (Dec 1, 2011)

I remember when I had a VT and a CT named Bug and Pearl. Bug once jumped out oh his temp-tank while i was doing a WC. I saw him shoot out like a rocket, freaked out, dropped everything. The whole kitchen flooded because of the little bugger, but i got him back in his tank safely and put a cover on that dang thing. If fish could laugh....

Pearl never jumped, thankfully.


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

I have had one dropped fish moment with one of my tetras. I was doing a substrate change so we were moving everyone and one of the tetras was putting up a fight going into tank and missed it, landing on the hardwood floor. I carefully scooped him up and put him back in the water. Our little jumper lives on to this day.



Bombalurina said:


> My second story was a red cherry shrimp girl. I'd just done a 100% change and at some point she had obviously ended up on the carpet instead of in the tank or in the holding bucket where she was supposed to be. Anyway, finished the change, went away and 3 HOURS LATER went back to the tank. There she was, on the carpet. I moped a bit and put her in the tank so her little body would be eaten. No sooner had she touched the water when she twitched, wriggled off my fingers and shrimped away like nothing had happened.


You gotta watch those shrimp! They are notorious jumpers! When I bought some shrimp for Rosso, one of them jumped out while they were trying to bag everyone, then another one tried to jump when I was introducing them into the aquarium. :|


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## BetterBetta (Jun 13, 2011)

In my science class we were measuring the rate of the heartbeat of the ghost shrimp, and I knew they were jumpers. I had an all-girl group so I was the only girl who had the guts to go over to the main holding tank, scoop one up, and carry it over to our little station with a kritter keeper. THe shrimp decided to jump onto my sleeve, then jump again by my head. It was hilarious because everyone else was freaking out!

Also on my old community 10 gallon I was changing the decor and performing a WC. I turned my back to get some silk plants but thought nothing of the little splash I had heard. When I was done 10 minutes later, I looked down, horrified, at my sunburst platy in a puddle of water. I scooped it up and it was fine, thank goodness!


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## Jessicatm137 (Mar 22, 2012)

My brother had one a few months ago... During a walk my cat Midnight knocked the tank down... The walk we took was long and when we came back we saw a fish in it's tank tipped over and no water. We thought he was dead when he flopped around. We got him in water, and he lived, but it was scary!


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## inareverie85 (Apr 18, 2008)

My yellow VT Sashimi thought it would be amusing to squish himself into the sump behind his 8G Aqueon Evolve home. I had put a bit too much water in the tank, basically topping it off, and he squeezed himself under the lid that covers the sump.. I immediately turned off the filter. The opening is too small to fit a net of any sort, so I tried to chase him out with my finger. Bad idea.  He jumped! He landed on the floor and somehow ended up under the filing cabinet that was holding his tank.. 

He was down there a good 30 seconds before I could get to him and pick him up as gently as I could. He was shaken up for a day or two, but he's recovered since. 

He had been recovering from the fin rot that he came home worth from being a Walmart prisoner, so I was really concerned about his fins. They were fine though, and they're still growing out!


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Wow, freaky stories! Especially the one with the betta out of water for 4 hours. Amazing DX


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## Pewmew (Jul 30, 2011)

this was a long time ago, one of my small HMPK marble boy went down the garbage disposal drain while I was pouring out water, I had the net over the container he was in. At first he went in the net, as soon as I move the net about to put him in the smaller container he jumped into the the sink and down the disposal drain. I freaked out so much my heart almost jumped outta my chest ~_~... I look through the drain and stuck my hand in, very carefully feel for him, when I found him, he just flopped unto my hand and I put him in a small container with lotsa stress coat  I never make mistake like this again, now I am always super careful... My boy is still healthy and living, blah talking about it still makes me feel horrible.


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## MadameDesu (Feb 5, 2012)

Pewmew said:


> this was a long time ago, one of my small HMPK marble boy went down the garbage disposal drain while I was pouring out water, I had the net over the container he was in. At first he went in the net, as soon as I move the net about to put him in the smaller container he jumped into the the sink and down the disposal drain. I freaked out so much my heart almost jumped outta my chest ~_~... I look through the drain and stuck my hand in, very carefully feel for him, when I found him, he just flopped unto my hand and I put him in a small container with lotsa stress coat  I never make mistake like this again, now I am always super careful... My boy is still healthy and living, blah talking about it still makes me feel horrible.


EEEK! Oh my god, that's terrifying! I'm glad he lived though 

So far, Rosie hasn't proven much of a jumper, and hopefully never will. 
What is with all of these bettas that have decided that they want to fly? XD


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

0-0 Oh goodness.. I'm too scared to work over the sink.. That's why. Our garbage disposal is very sharp in there DX Oh gawd. Stop it fishies!! Dx


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## lolabee74 (Apr 3, 2012)

Im so sad, my best friends betta was sitting near the kitchen sink while her mmom was doing dishes, i guess the garbage disposal scared her small betta, Lukie and he jumped out of his temorary cleaning bowl why we were changing her sororities water, he jumped strait into the garbage disopsal 
R.I.P Lukie 3/31/12


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## Rosso1011 (Nov 13, 2011)

That is why my bettas go nowhere near the kitchen during water changes. Now, granted, I don't have a garbage disposal, but I wouldn't want to take the chance of one of my guys making it down the drain.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Oh no... How sad... I"m sorry


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## MadameDesu (Feb 5, 2012)

Yeah, what a terrible way to go 
I'm so sorry!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Aw I'm so sorry! Are garbage disposals always on? Hopefully 'it' happened so fast they didn't even know. But wow, I'm sincerely sorry for your loss!


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