Swordtail fish is one of the best aquarium fish to keep at home, this is because they are very active, fast, and friendly, but sometimes, they are very difficult to keep, especially for newbies because they could easily jump out of the tank and die, injured or even get lost and be eaten by animals like cats or dogs, etc. This particular behavior could be very worrisome for many aquarists. In this article, you will learn why they jump out of the water and how to prevent them from doing that.
Why do swordtail fish jump out of the tank? Swordtail fish do jump out of the tank to explore because they are natural explorers.
This fish is very active, and does perform a lot of activities in the water, especially in the wild, and does perform some of them in captivity due to lack of enough space, jumping up and down is one of its characteristics.
Although jumping about to explore is one of their behaviors, there are many reasons why they do that, which we shall look into in a short while.
Although other fish could jump up in the water too, especially in the wild, when it comes to swordtails, they are both fast and very active more than many other freshwater fish.
Why Swordtail Fish Jump Out Of The Tank
There are many reasons why fish could jump or try to jump out of the tank, they are:
1. They normally jump up and out of the tank to explore their environment.
Many freshwater fish such as swordtails, guppies, etc are natural explorers.
They will always try to know or understand their environment and anything around them, and so, they do jump, and in the process do jump out of their tank.
Although all freshwater fish are active swimmers and will try to jump out of their water when they have the opportunity, swordtails do it mostly because they are great and very active swimmers.
In the wild, you will often see them jumping up and down, and sometimes jumping out of the water and lying on the shores.
2. Apart from jumping up and down to explore, they also jump to catch their food.
Although they don’t have enough space in the tank to do this, in the wild where they do fend for themselves, they use this as a technique to catch their foods which are insects or floating edible materials for themselves.
So they do sometimes jump up to eat and don’t be surprised when they do the same thing in your tank because it is part of their nature.
3. You can also see them doing this while chasing each other.
Swordtails are considered to be non-aggressive fish, but sometimes, they do display some level of aggression for some reason and might start chasing each other and fighting, so, that is why you might see them jumping about, whether in the wild or in captivity.
Apart from jumping as a result of chasing themselves, they could sometimes jump up and back into the water in the wild, because they just enjoy doing it.
So, they might try it in your tank, and as a result, might jump out.
4. Another reason why your fish may be trying to jump out of the tank is, that it is stressed.
One of the characteristics of Swordtails and many other freshwater fish is, that they are easily stressed and they don’t like it.
Naturally, they like staying where it is very calm and where they feel comfortable, so if they perceive any atom of stress, such as wrong or aggressive tank mate, unsuitable water, etc, they will try as much as possible to leave the tank, and so, will try jumping out.
5. It could be as a result of a lack of oxygen in the water, or the water is very dirty and unsuitable for them to live in.
Unsuitable water could be a result of cold temperature, wrong pH, and the presence of some harmful chemicals in the water, which is making them uncomfortable.
Swordtails and many freshwater fish are tropical fish, so, they don’t enjoy staying in cold water.
The ideal water parameters of swordtails are:
Water Condition Hard, Alkaline water(12-30dGH)
Water Temperature 65-80°F.
pH up to 8.2.
So, any water parameters that are not the above are not suitable for them, and as a result, they might start making moves to leave the tank by jumping out of it.
6. The presence of harmful chemicals such as chlorine, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, etc will make them try to leave the tank or might die if they don’t succeed.
These chemicals could breed in tanks as a result of dirty water and sometimes they are in build-in water, especially tap water and other sources of water too.
This is why it is always recommended to have water testing kits by your side every time, to know when the water is no more safe for your aquatic animals.
How To Prevent Swordtail Fish From Jumping Out Of The Tank
Now you have seen some of the reasons why they might jump or try to jump out of the tank, let’s see how you could prevent that from ever happening.
1. Cover their tanks with a lid, so that, they won’t have the chance to escape by jumping out.
2. Keep non-aggressive tank mates with them, so that they won’t get stressed and want to jump out.
3. Provide good hiding places for them.
This is one of the most important things to do to secure the lives of your animals and also provide them with happiness too.
Good hiding places like plants, caves, substrates, etc.
4. Limit the noise and the traffic around their environment, because they are kind of shy and won’t feel very comfortable with people around always, and the noise might stress or startle them.
5. Try as much as possible to replicate their exact ideal environment, because they don’t normally feel very comfortable and healthy staying in the wrong water parameter.