Equipment: Aquarium Tops Are a Necessity

[siggy]

I agree, we know what we like and don't and are ready for the consequences. We learn whats best for our systems thru experience and others. You have more than most and their are some just starting out, I believe the OP was generalizing to a broad audience and made his beliefs known.....Just like you did!..OUCH! my ears are still ringing

If you’re serious about keeping your fish friends thriving long term a top is not optional, it is a necessity.

 

[Crimson]

I disagree, sir.

<Snip the rant>

Stubborn? Perhaps. You wouldn't be the first to call me that... still. It's MY tank, in MY home, they're MY pets, and how I want to go about keeping them is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

Well, you are right its no ones business what you do with your tank. Honestly, until your posted your rant about tank tops I could care less what you did in your private life. Just like you are free to share your opinion on the OP article that also opens up for people to have an opinion on your opinion. Posting online goes from private to public.

I happen agree with the OP. Now your free to agree to disagree with me.

Take care.

 

[Ash321]

Well im not going to disagree all fish have the potential to jump iv worked in the lfs and seen it first hand but this is defitnley more the type of fish imo and the mix! if your fish are chasing eachother more than likely gonna find that little guy on the carpet in the morning! Im in about my twelfth year of reef keeping not had a jumper yet! I belive a deep tank helps and im not against the lids just havent needed one yet. Maybe if i start keeping wrasse that will be the moment i get a lid!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Well im not going to disagree all fish have the potential to jump iv worked in the lfs and seen it first hand but this is defitnley more the type of fish imo and the mix! if your fish are chasing eachother more than likely gonna find that little guy on the carpet in the morning! Im in about my twelfth year of reef keeping not had a jumper yet! I belive a deep tank helps and im not against the lids just havent needed one yet. Maybe if i start keeping wrasse that will be the moment i get a lid!

I have always had Glass or screen covers. It is a matter of preference and perhaps tradition as I owned a full line pet store for 12 years and all my displays had glass covers. I have found particularly with glass tops, a reduction in condensation, obviously suicidal fish and protection from splash to my lights and other suspended equipment. The battle however has been keeping the glass clear with residue from salt to allow Maximum light to reach the tank and corals.
I have the right side of tank with a half sheet of glass to allow quick access to tank and for feeding. Of course my only jumper was a Neon Dottyback , and that was when I left the canopy door open for under two minutes to get a cloth to wipe the top and he jumped. Worse was I was totally unaware until I returned to tank barefooted and felt something moist under my feet. When I looked down at floor, it was squished by ......ME ;Dead

 

[Ash321]

I have always had Glass or screen covers. It is a matter of preference and perhaps tradition as I owned a full line pet store for 12 years and all my displays had glass covers. I have found particularly with glass tops, a reduction in condensation, obviously suicidal fish and protection from splash to my lights and other suspended equipment. The battle however has been keeping the glass clear with residue from salt to allow Maximum light to reach the tank and corals.
I have the right side of tank with a half sheet of glass to allow quick access to tank and for feeding. Of course my only jumper was a Neon Dottyback , and that was when I left the canopy door open for under two minutes to get a cloth to wipe the top and he jumped. Worse was I was totally unaware until I returned to tank barefooted and felt something moist under my feet. When I looked down at floor, it was squished by ......ME ;Dead

Yeah i defitnley feel that pain of cleaning those grotty green and salt creeping glass lids what a job

 

[Oliver d]

My tank is fully covered with a inclosed lid the fish cant jump out and end up on the floor but I ve had one jumper that ended up on the bracing around the top of the tank.

 

[Tenji]

Reefkeeping is a hobby. The priority and emphasis needs to be on enjoying the hobby. If you're not enjoying the hobby, chances of hanging around are dismal. Telling someone that they CANNOT build the system they want because it's open top, is no way to insure the growth and success of our hobby.

For some it's more than a hobby. For us it is our life. It is our job, day in and day out, to insure that the animals our clients keep are afforded the ability to thrive, not to insure the success and growth of the hobby. At the end of the day a top is a seatbelt for your fish, and just like a seatbelt it is your choice to use one or not.

We were asked by Reef2Reef to share the methods we use to keep animals thriving at world renown public aquariums, museums, along with homes and businesses. This series is an inside look at how we do that, we are certainly not personally attacking anyone's methods.

 

[sandybottom73]

I happen to agreee. The exact same thing happened to me. Only I did not see it happen and subsequently lost our lion fish. Countless fish later also lost in various places, with one being found in the back garden ?????? I now have covers on both my tanks. Gives me peace of mind and it works for me.

 

[OhDumb]

I have a screen cover over my nano. Had a Yasha Goby sun dried raisin on top of it after it managed to make it through the screen somehow.

 

[Eva Rose]

Just want to say I appreciate the article. I feel the OP wanted to address the frequent issues seen in many less experienced hobbyists. Issues like “carpet surfing” & wanting reassurance “this fish won’t jump right?”

I understand if certain experienced hobbyists do not want a cover. Of course that is your right to choose. But as an experienced hobbyist , you have also structured your tank inhabitants accordingly (i.e. experienced hobbyists won’t have wrasse in an uncovered tank).

That being said, I do not think the OP is being contentious in using the word “necessity”. As the OP states, many hobbyists with less experience often post asking if a fish will jump. These hobbyists don’t realize the risk involved in losing an expensive wrasse using no cover. There was a recent thread regarding wrasse & if covers were needed. Of course wrasse jump like crazy & covers are insurance for your investment.

Then we come to the issue of which fish jump. Again inexperienced hobbyist want to know which fish will jump. Most hobbyists with a FOWLR or a reef tank are going to have fish capable of jumping. Most are not going to have only slow plodding fish like my Pajama Cardinals. We read all the time of a hobbyist that is upset due to loss of a clown (& other fish not usually known for jumping). I think the article is addressing most hobbyists and wants to suggest the tools to prevent losses. I am one of these average tank owners. My screen covers have protected my fish from loss & injury.

 

[mrpizzaface]

I don’t see the controversy here. I agree with Tenji. If the safety of your animals is a priority, then having a top on your aquarium is a necessity.

 

[P-Dub]

I think that the title is what causes the controversy. I propose a solid title change, "Aquarium Tops - Possibly Wise Addition". They are in no way necessary after all. They are a wise addition, with a caveat. I do not need one as I have an enclosed canopy. Additionally, not everyone who does not have an enclosed canopy would need one as well. It is dependent on a number of factors. In all the years that I have been keeping aquariums, I have lost only one fish that a top would have prevented. While I am a strong proponent of being a good steward and mitigating all loss of life at any reasonable cost, a tank top is and would have always been an unnecessary cost and the drawbacks would outweigh the benefits. I think that the article misses that point. There has to be a cost-benefit factor to the application of any piece of equipment we install on our systems. Cost not just being money. That is up to the individual aquarist to determine not someone else. So, in closing, let's agree that this piece of equipment is a great addition, under many but certainly not all circumstances.

 

[redpine42]

Had a beautiful pinkbar goby jump out and dry on the floor. Ordered a top the next day from Artfully Acrylic.

 

[Centerline]

I have had so many fish jump out of tanks over the last 20 years....

 

[RickyMcG]

Green banded goby disappeared on day 3, reappeared on day 6—but not in the tank. Screen lid ordered; installing today.

 

[samnaz]

I've seen countless posts and threads regarding fish mortality due to jumping. It's almost as if they didn't see it coming (ya right)... Or, worse, they saw it coming and thought "eh I'm fine with them hopping out because I can just replace them". Unfortunately it seems that having an open top tank is more important than the lives of the fish in the tank, which makes no sense at all to me. Fish are not expendable objects.

 

[shred5]

I don’t see the controversy here. I agree with Tenji. If the safety of your animals is a priority, then having a top on your aquarium is a necessity.

Agreed I have seen pretty much every fish at one point on someone floor even the ones that are not supposed to jump.
There are so many options and cheap options it make no sense not too nowadays.
You do not need a lid but away so they do not land on the floor like walls around the tank.
I do not cover my tubs but the sides go up a foot above the water level.
With how are hobby is under fire people should do everything to protect the fish. It just makes things worse not too.
Do you have to have one NO, should you ABSOLUTELY..

We should be showing the world we are responsible and willing to save that one fish. Not going its a fish who cares if it dies.

 

[cracker]

Every fish can jump . I prefer to cover my tanks with mono screen.

 

[PhreeByrd]

This may be only my opinion... but if you're not doing everything possible to keep your animals safe, then you're not in the hobby of reefkeeping or aquaria. You're in the hobby of disposable fish.
Yeah, it's your hobby, you can do as you choose. But proposing carelessness and indefensible disregard for life isn't doing the hobby at large any favors, even if it does result in more fish sales.

I liken people keeping uncovered aquaria to pit bull owners who keep the dog tied up by a rope in a fenceless back yard next to a busy highway. I have little understanding of their reasoning, and not much respect for their choices.

Thanks for a good article, OP.

 

[Antics]

I personally use lids but I agree with what @Greybeard is trying to argue. Necessity/requirement isn't really the word to use for an optional accessory.

Everyone in here acting outraged about the lack of a cover being poor husbandry etc. I wonder if you'll be so adamant when judging your own (or others) practices (such as lack of quarantine of fish, coral, and inverts). Ich, velvet, and flukes are 1000x more deadly to fish than sky diving. It's easy to have morality when it's something easy and inexpensive right? As soon as it's time consuming and inconvenient it's a matter of choice or preference.