Can a 4-5’ drop harm a fish?

[i cant think]

I just had one of the worst experiences in this hobby. My tilefish decides to hide in his cave and catch me off guard. The second dose of food and he decided he would shoot up, hit my hand and then flop on the floor. I checked the tank then heard flopping on the floor, I had no idea which fish it was and all I caught was the blue body. Luckily I caught it just seconds after it happened and got him in, annoyingly he landed near the radiator. He didn’t flash too much so I think I got him in time, he also came out for feeding almost instantly. I now know not to lift the lid too high up instantly, he almost always shoots up instantly so it should be an average thing for me to know.


Now the question is, will he be harmed by that drop? The tank is 2’ tall, and has about a 3’ stand. I have never had to deal with a fish jumping this far down.

By the way the species is a Hoplolatilus chlupatyi and is notoriously hard to get thriving in captivity, I have had it so he flashes without being stressed which in my book is a thriving fish. Will he survive and thrive again?

 

[BostonReefer300]

Most fish can take a beating, but it varies of course. I've had plenty of fish jump out of their tanks and land several feet down with no ill effects. You'll just have to wait and see. Good luck!
PS If you ever want an indestructible fish, get a yellow tail damsel. It is literally impossible to kill them. I had one get sucked into a drain pipe and then battered for a couple days in my turbulent filter sock before I found him. He looked like a diseased zombie when I got him back into the tank. He's still living (and mean as hell) seven years later

 

[lapin]

I have had fish jump out. It is prob ok since it was put back in the water in a flash.

 

[Simon Reefing]

I just had one of the worst experiences in this hobby. My tilefish decides to hide in his cave and catch me off guard. The second dose of food and he decided he would shoot up, hit my hand and then flop on the floor. I checked the tank then heard flopping on the floor, I had no idea which fish it was and all I caught was the blue body. Luckily I caught it just seconds after it happened and got him in, annoyingly he landed near the radiator. He didn’t flash too much so I think I got him in time, he also came out for feeding almost instantly. I now know not to lift the lid too high up instantly, he almost always shoots up instantly so it should be an average thing for me to know.


Now the question is, will he be harmed by that drop? The tank is 2’ tall, and has about a 3’ stand. I have never had to deal with a fish jumping this far down.

By the way the species is a Hoplolatilus chlupatyi and is notoriously hard to get thriving in captivity, I have had it so he flashes without being stressed which in my book is a thriving fish. Will he survive and thrive again?

He should be fine my clown jumped behind my tank. I can’t even fit my hand behind there took me like 5 full long minutes to get him. He flapped under my waterbox stand to so I had to use a net and kind of push him till I can pull him out. He had a ton of dog hair on him but was fine like nothing ever even happened lol scared me like never before but they are strong animals.

 

[i cant think]

I have had fish jump out. It is prob ok since it was put back in the water in a flash.

Yeah, I had a few seconds of panic trying to find out which fish it was then looked down to the corner and saw him then grabbed a net instantly, I’m so glad I caught it within seconds and not minutes.

 

[i cant think]

Thankyou everyone for the reassurance!
This is a hard to find and keep fish so it really is nice to know he is most likely to make it

 

[i cant think]

Good news is he doesn’t seem stressed at all or even like he jumped. Gave me a panic though when he did, I’m glad I noticed it within seconds though because if I hadn’t I don’t know if he’d have made it.