Fish Splashing!!

piranhaman00 · Jan 29, 2020

I added two zebra dartfish to my 180, they are fascinating fish. I have come to realize that they love splashing water all over the place! They swim around the top and dart down shooting water up, its getting on my AL hybrid as well as the underside (side facing water) of my hydra 26.

Anybody ever had issues with fish doing this? I can only think to remove them from the tank which is sad

but I cant have them destroying the lights! I have the hybrid hung about 8" above the surface, just where I want it to be, and honestly I dont think raising it will do much good, they are launching water lol

Waters · Jan 29, 2020

Yeah....drives me crazy. It is always right after I clean the front glass :-(

homer1475 · Jan 29, 2020

Thin piece of acrylic hung off the lights?

Would protect the light from the splashing, and you could keep the fish. On the other hand, you would have to wipe it down quite often to prevent salt creep.

piranhaman00 · Jan 29, 2020

Waters said:
Yeah....drives me crazy. It is always right after I clean the front glass :-(

Im not worried about the glass becoming dirty again, I just done want the lights to get ruined.

piranhaman00 · Jan 29, 2020

homer1475 said:
Thin piece of acrylic hung off the lights?

Would protect the light from the splashing, and you could keep the fish. On the other hand, you would have to wipe it down quite often to prevent salt creep.

Not a bad idea at all, aesthetically speaking I wouldnt like it but I will see. How would you go about hanging the sheets below the lights?

homer1475 · Jan 29, 2020

Pics of your setup?

Aesthetically speaking, yes ugly as sin. But depending on your setup, might be OK?

piranhaman00 · Jan 29, 2020

homer1475 said:
Pics of your setup?

Aesthetically speaking, yes ugly as sin. But depending on your setup, might be OK?

Ya its actually a really good idea. Im about to order these just wondering how to hang them. I would like to completely cover the middle. My fear is water will splash in the open space in the middle of the hybrid and land in the fan of the LEDs. I could even just set them along the top to block water from splashing over the lights. I cant imagine some water hitting the light side of the leds being that bad for them.

homer1475 · Jan 29, 2020

Can you just drill through the outside of the frame for plastic screws and bolts?

Use either just long enough, or if you need some space longer with an extra nut to hold the acrylic in place?

Personally I would just go to lowes or HD and get one large thin piece. many small pieces may make adhering them more difficult.

piranhaman00 · Jan 29, 2020

homer1475 said:
Can you just drill through the outside of the frame for plastic screws and bolts?

Use either just long enough, or if you need some space longer with an extra nut to hold the acrylic in place?

Personally I would just go to lowes or HD and get one large thin piece. many small pieces may make adhering them more difficult.

Very true. When I get home I am going to reasses the layout and see what will work. Even just laying the sheets on top for the time being will make me feel much better. Appreciate the idea! Something along these lines will work.

The hybrid has little grooves in it for attached the frames, I should be able to adhere the acrylic to that in same way and it will also be out of view for the most part. Instead of hanging them below they will sit on top, water will still be able to splash the bottom of the leds and hybrid but wont be able to get inside, I hope.

Thanks! Ill update this thread soon.

jporter17 · Jan 29, 2020

I have 4 dart fish and they splash water all the time, especially when I feed. Love/hate relationship with them. Beautiful fish though. JP

piranhaman00 · Jan 30, 2020

jporter17 said:
I have 4 dart fish and they splash water all the time, especially when I feed. Love/hate relationship with them. Beautiful fish though. JP

Does it get on the lights? Does it not bother you?

vetteguy53081 · Jan 30, 2020

Hopefully you have covers?
Darts are #1 jumpers and sounds like they’re thinking about it

Dana Riddle · Jan 30, 2020

Egg crate might do the trick. Multiple advantages: Inexpensive. Doesn't collect much salt creep. Easy to clean. Keeps fishes in and should cut down on splashes. If positioned correctly, it can focus light downwards into the tank (and not on the wall or carpet.)

jporter17 · Jan 30, 2020

piranhaman00 said:
Does it get on the lights? Does it not bother you?

Yes it bothers me! Even more so because I have one of those fancy covers on the top which requires me to constantly clean it, and the drips running down the side. Fortunately the lid has an acrylic border that catches most of the water. It's what they do and it's a frustrating trade off. It does get on my lights, so it causes me to clean them more often than necessary. They are splashing as I type this. JP

motortrendz · Jan 30, 2020

My tang every once in awhile, if I have the lid canopy open and I'm doing something he tail whips the surface and splashes me

piranhaman00 · Feb 3, 2020

vetteguy53081 said:
Hopefully you have covers?
Darts are #1 jumpers and sounds like they’re thinking about it

yes there are covers I use that netting.

Just an update, I aimed a 1400gph stream powerhead right below the surface, it just reaches the end of a 6ft tank. The dart fish cannot hover at the top now, they haven’t splashed water since and my lights have stayed splash free. Thanks for the help everyone