Jumping Hawk Fish

[GillJoy]

Has anyone had a hawk fish jump out of their tank? I went to feed my fish this AM only to discover my favorite fish (a red flame hawk) dried up on the floor. I've had him in my 150 gal tank for over 6 months and he was always very spirited with a great appetite. I did not think hawk fish were jumpers. This is the 1st time I'm dealing with this type of situation and just want to know if this is common for this species or if there is anything that could have provoked it as the tank is a very friendly community. Only thing I can think of is that he did start acting a little oddly about a week ago when I added a cleaner shrimp to the tank.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you. - David

[Toddrtrex]

Years ago (10 or so ) I had a hawk fish, was just laying down to go to sleep and I heard a noise. It was my hawk fish wish had jumped out of the tank and hit a 5 gal container and made a noise. Managed to find him and put him back in the tank -- no worse for the wear.
Sorry about your loss, but yes, they can be jumpers.

If you try again, may want to try some egg crate over your tank.

HTH

[dicegame]

Hawk fish are jumpers. I think they are the funniest fish ever i have two of them and before i put the plastic square crating suff over my tank(its clear and thin does not affect light source) i would say that at least once or twice a month they would try to commit suicide by air. A fish that has so much trouble floating you would think should not be able to leave the tank.

[GillJoy]

thank you for the sanity. I know it's bad luck to get attached to fish, but when they have great personalities, it's tough.

re: egg crate. Is this the same stuff you see that is a white grid, almost the same as a ceiling flouresant light cover or that is used to propagate corals? Any idea where I can acquire this stuff as it sounds like the perfect solution.

[Toddrtrex]

Yes, it is the same stuff, any Home Depot or Lowes should have it, it should be in the lighting department. Called something like "light diffuser"

HTH

[chip721]

I happened to be sitting near one of my tanks today when I heard something hit the eggcrate cover. It was my Flame Hawk. He's pretty aggressive at feeding time. I don't know if he thought he saw something floating on the surface or what. But he gave the eggcrate a pretty good tap.

[75Gallons]

Tie your fish to your live rock that way they can never get away.:lol:

[GillJoy]

Unfortunately, this is a live and learn as he's now in fish heaven. I loved watching the flame hawk at feeding time as he would sit in his favorite "where's the grub man" spot when I'd approach the tank and get 1st pickins. I'll have to get another one as their personalities are too great. Are the arceye hawks the same re: mannerisms?

[BlackOnyx]

hawks are listed as jumpers

[GillJoy]

That's funny because if I knew they were jumpers, I would have put egg crate (or similar) on the top of the tank. I have about 4 books on fish stocking, reef keeping, etc. and none of them list the hawkfish as a jumper. Is there a list of jumpers I can use as reference of a book on salt h2o fish to purchase? thank you.

[BlackOnyx]

usually its some small gobies, hawks, certain wrasses.

They panic and leap I guess.

[sunfish11]

After having my longnose hawk over a year he finally committed suicide a couple of weeks ago:( The cats brought him in my room and I found him on my bedroom floor when I woke up in the morning. I really liked that fish...

[One Eyed Bunny]

Hawkfish have amazing personalities. It's just something innate within the grouping.

[GillJoy]

Sunfish...I feel your pain. I still miss the little guy (3-days later). I thought about getting a replacement but the more I read on Hawkfish (trying to find information re: them being jumpers - which I still can not), I think that my flame hawk was unique because he didn't bother anybody in the tank (including snails & crustaceans) and would always swim up to a spot to perch next to where I would be gazing in at the time.

Has anyone had these same thoughts only to realize that hawks are really just friendly in an established tank and personable?

[nevermore84]

My flame hawk is probably my favorite fish too. He is in a tank full of snails and hermits and he has never bothered any of them. I did lose a peppermint shrimp once though and he may be the cuplrit. As long as they are well fed I don't think there should be a real problem.

[cfarrow2]

Interesting. Just got a flame hawk last week. I'll have to keep an eye on that bugger. I had an incident with a royal gramma a month ago. Put him in and two days later; nothing. He was gone, never to be seen again. I asked at my lfs and they said they were jumpers. I'd never heard of that either in research i'd done before buying it. I guess the moral is to keep your tank covered, even if your fish aren't supposed to be jumpers. That flame hawk was pricey, so I'll be making a trip to Home Depot.

[skippy2]

I just had a chromis jump out of my tank. They aren't supposed to be jumpers either. :(

[cfarrow2]

I did replace that Royal Gramma with a bigger one. So far, so good. Maybe the other was eaten? It was pretty small. I added him with the Coral Beauty, noticed it was picking on him within an hour of being put in together. That Coral B. is a real firecracker. He's now eating out of my fingers and dominating the Blue Damsel (first fish in the tank) and the Flame Hawk. Just no telling, I guess.
Can that "light diffusing" material be cut to fit around accessories?

[GillJoy]

yes. I immediately went to Home Depot based on the great suggestions from Toddrtrex and got a couple sheets so I could custom cut to fit my tanks top and allow room for returns and overflow box. I refuse to lose another fish to acrobatics. ;)

[dead beat reef]

flame hawks are cool fish. looking at them or them looking at me.
put a top on the tank that will stop the fish from jumping. If you
have a tank bully that torments a fish till it jumps thats what
might be going on.

[Lpabsolute]

Can you purchase black egg crate? If not has anyone ever painted it black to match the tank? I was thinking about doing this on my open top 54g. so that the white wont stand out to much. Any suggestions or ideas?

[Surfzup2k4]

you can order different color egg crates. I've only seen white in stores.

[GillJoy]

I would think you could simply spray paint it...away from the tank :) If you let it dry for a good 24 hr, there shouldn't be any traces of chems left.

[Lpabsolute]

I've heard that the black egg crate will absorb a lot of light from entering the tank, a big difference in it and the white. So i've heard.