We have a jumper.

[Raechal]

So I was looking for my money and I thought I might have put it on top of my 120 gallon and maybe it had fell behind the tank, so when I looked behind my tank I found a pretty crowntail betta behind my tank. I noticed it's crowntail, but the rest looked like a dried up leaf so I was praying to God, it was just a leaf that looked like a crowntail betta. I scooped it up with a net and examined it closer, it was one of my female crowntails.

She was hard as a rock and very brown, her eyes were also missing. The other whole there is where she could have jumped out was out the back where the filters and heater fits.

I feel so terrible...Today is just so horrible. I don't know what to do.

 

[black angel]

awww im sorry hun, ((((hugs)))). My female tries to jump out when im feeding and has managed it a few times. i try to keep my hand over the tank but they are terrible for jumping. so sorry though

 

[Kiarra]

That's so sad!

I can't imagine, though, what could have happened to her eyes out there.

 

[50000_tears]

awwe may she rest in peace

 

[OrkyBetta]

So sorry about your loss. That's horrible. My sister's female VT jumped out of her bowl and ended up much like your girl, only we didn't find her until a good month later, burried in the shag carpeting...

*hugs.* Sorry again. Might I suggest duct tape over any openings? It is sometimes hard to do, but if your creative you can pull it off. Put the duct tape on both sides of the lid, so the sticky side isnt exposed. We dont want anyone sticking. Also, maybe lowering your water level a bit.

 

[SPLiSH]

Sorry to hear that. *hugs*
little girl.

Orky's idea's good, but if the hood is silver or a lighter colour and you don't want duct tape showing, you could use those plastic covers that are used for paper documents..

 

[BettaMomma]

I'm sorry.
You must be pretty devistated.


Somehow they seem to manage to find the one teeny little hole and get through.
I'm sorry.

 

[Raechal]

I'm sorry.
You must be pretty devistated.


Somehow they seem to manage to find the one teeny little hole and get through.
I'm sorry.

I feel like it is my fault. And I feel so bad for her. She must have jumped out when I was sleeping or something. I don't know why her eyes were missing. She seemed pretty chewed up. Maybe all of the other girls were harassing her and she jumped out. I'm so upset...

 

[BettasRFriends]

I feel your pain. I remember one of my female (very smart) jumped out in the middle of the night when it rained. I forgot to closed the lid and next morning she was dead

 

[Raechal]

I feel your pain. I remember one of my female (very smart) jumped out in the middle of the night when it rained. I forgot to closed the lid and next morning she was dead

I am going to try to find something at walmart tomorrow to cover the wholes with. Like some screen or something.

 

[BettasRFriends]

You could reduce the water level to ensure no more deaths. That would be the cheapest way.

 

[Kiarra]

Marbles typically come in some mesh netting. You could use something like the mesh netting to cover the holes. That way, it doesn't restrict air or water flow, but it DOES restrict the fish.

 

[RandomWiktor]

I'm so sorry; I know exactly how you feel. One of my hopsice bettas managed to get out of the space just above the filter, not idea how he fit still. I found him dried up and dead in the morning.

A very cheap, effective way to cover those openings is to buy those plastic screens used for needlepoint(?). They are just squares of plastic wth lots of holes that people sew yarn through to make designs. They allow air to freely circulate, are easily cut to the appropriate size, and are very inexpensive. Both of my 2.5's have them. If you cut it close enough, you don't even need tape to hold it down, it'll fit snug around the wires.

I'm assuming her eyes weren't so much missing, as they became shrivelled from dehydration to the point where you wouldn't really see them. Eyes are made up of almost entirely water, so when they dry out, they kinda vanish.

 

[BettaMomma]

I'm sorry.
You must be pretty devistated.


Somehow they seem to manage to find the one teeny little hole and get through.
I'm sorry.

I feel like it is my fault. And I feel so bad for her. She must have jumped out when I was sleeping or something. I don't know why her eyes were missing. She seemed pretty chewed up. Maybe all of the other girls were harassing her and she jumped out. I'm so upset...

It's not your fault whatsoever.
Many of us leave spaces open (I, in fact, have some open right now on both my big tanks that I plan to fully cover before bed tonight) on our tanks assuming that they can't fit in that size of a space.
It wasn't that you did anything wrong at all.
It just so happens that she was unlucky enough to find that teeny little space.

I hope you're feeling a bit better than before.

 

[aznmidnite]

Sorry to hear about the jumper Raechal.

Hopefully you'll find something to cover the opening. I've had friends mention that their bettas jumped throught very small openings. Kind of shocked how they can somehow squeeze through some small openings.

Hope you feel better.