I had Furlough in a 2.5g tank without a cover. He was doing fine but this morning I saw he had jumped out over the weekend. Just wondering if it is an unfortunate accident that he jumped out or could a water parameter out of whack have caused him to jump.
Water chemistry has been good.
0 - Ammonia
0 - Nitrite
10 - Nitrate
The thermometer showed 78 when its normally been 74 to 75. Could the tank have gotten too hot causing him to jump? They don't run the HVAC on the weekends and this weekend we were into the 70's so it could have gotten hot in the office.
Would like to get another (very calming) but worried it could happen again. Planning to upgrade to a FluVal Spec V which has a lid and a better heater, was using a Marina C10.
They jump for all kinds of reasons. Something might've scared or stressed him (some electrical device turning on, somebody passing by), he might've mistaken something outside of his tank as live food and jumped for it, or he might've simply had nothing better to do (though I guess jumping wasn't the best idea).
Point is - got to have a lid. There is no other way around it, unless you lower the water level by 3 inches to make sure he can't make it out of the tank. I learned my lesson when one of my bettas jumped into the overflow through a 1/2 inch gap and flooded the entire apartment.
Water parameters look fine, and I've treated Bettas in water close to 90 degF without them being squeamish about it.
I'm sorry for your loss :/ I blame most of these happenings on the horrible advertisement habits of companies. Most of the "Betta bowls" they advertise include no mention that a lid is necessary zzz.
I wanted to see if someone thought there migh be something going on other than the open top. This is a 2.5 gallon and the stores had no covers for something that size. At home I have a Fluval Spec V which has a cover. Sounds like it would be worth another try with a cover this time.
This tank was never meant to go into mainstream service. I just couldn't bear the I heated 1/2 gallon bowl the original owner had him in. This was meant as my quarantine tank for my 20g community tank. What rally hurts is I had a Fluval Spec V (Cyber Monday sale) I was going to take in over the holidays for him. He was going to get the driftwood/live plant makeover.
You can always check stores that sell plexiglass and get a piece out of the scrap bin that'll fit as the lid. They can be cut with a cheap plexiglass cutter pretty easily as well.
I went to Ace Hardware with a tank (5gallon) and had them cut glass to the correct size it costs a few bucks. Do get the thicker glass. I actually had them cut about 20 lids. They are fantastic! I have cats and even the 10 lb one can walk across the tanks without it budging (although I discourage this) You will want to sand the edges with wet sand paper so they are not sharp. I use hooks from 3M for the "knob' for lids. Another option is to use plastic embroidery mesh cut to size.
It ain't classy, but cling-film works really well because you can wrinkle it into any corners and gaps. And you really don't need to put holes in it. Betta don't breath that much.
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