Lost my Leopard

[tony detroit]

Well last nite, I go to bed at around 11:30, have to wake up early for work. Around 1:30 my GF wakes me up and says the leopard jumped out, which is kinda hard to believe I have the whole top of the tank sealed off with 2, 4'x2' pieces of eggcrate and have the lights on top of them to hold them down, so I run downstairs and find my leopard on the ground, rubbery looking and its white stomach is kinda of blotchy red like it was bleeding almost, it was 10' or more away from the tank. The thing had been outta the water for a good half hour to an hour, it looked like a rubber toy. So I ask her what happened, and she says she just came downstairs and there it was on the floor, and I said, no way I put the lids back on the tank, come to find out one of the sharks bumped one of the water returns and it was shooting water upward and she reached in to move the return back downward, but she says she put the lids back on at this time, so now I'm just kinda little dissappointed and mad, I think she forgot to put the lids back on, but I don't want to doubt her word either, I just find it awfully hard to believe that the shark as big around as my wrist jumped through a 1/8'' slot where the two pieces of eggcrate push together and when I went down there they looked like they were never touched. I'm not really sure what happened, but I have a pretty good guess, but rather than doubt her I'm just gonna let it go I suppose, just needed to vent, if there was a lesson to be learned I suppose it is to put bricks on your lids, although I don't think the shark swam through the lids, I think the lids were left off.
Anybody ever have their fish jump through the lids and come to find the lids on the tank perfectly?

 

[condork12]

have you found leopards to be big jumpers? i want to put a couple in my lagoon but now i feel i should construct a top which i dont want to do.but.... well just a couple questions where did u get your leopard?
and how much did he cost?
o yah and would you recomend me to get one from marineaquatics?
sorry to here about that. it always sucks to loose a fish especialy one like a leopard shark

 

[moto757]

sucks that was a nice looking fish i had a chinese snakehead and it blasted through one of my lids he was a big beast though i came home later and found him on the ground and went to put him to rest and he was still alive so i put him back and he was fine after he coughed up a bunch of bubbles those things have prehistoric lung so they can live out of water for a while

 

[mattiej]

Damn Tony I feel for you, I do. I also feel bad that I have been behind in getting that guy from you. I know what it feels like to have something like that happen and you can't really say anything. After my last trip south last year I had a very nice sized Atlantic Sharpnose to show for my efforts. I go away for a late fall vacation and leave a family member in charge of the pool. I come home to find the sharpie dried up and dead on the floor and a weak explanation that they tried to pet the shark, it spooked and leapt out. They were afraid to touch it so left it there to die! As to the red of its belly as with all elasmo when they die their blood pools to the lowest point in the body.
Typically leopards are not known to be jumpers but they can and will sometimes. All members of the smoothound family (which includes leopards) are quite the acrobats and a good cover is highly recommended. The biggest problem is that while resting they can be easily startled by most anything and this could cause them to leap out of a tank.

 

[ac]

I'm very sorry for the loss. It really sucks when something like that happens. I lost a 22 inch epaullette that jump through a hole about the same diameter as she was. She missed landing in the sump by inches.

 

[cincyreefer]

Damn Tony... Sorry to hear that. Although I have learned to never under estimate the strength of a shark that size, I agree it is very unlikely. Glad to see you put things in prospective though. I just had a wakeup call a few weeks ago that really helped me set priorities straight again in life. I just wish that wake up call would have been for something much less important. Best wishes.

 

[tony detroit]

Thanks guys.
Cincy, wake up calls suck at the times they come, but they are a good learning experience as well. Glad to hear all is ok. What is that in your interests?

 

[tony detroit]

Condork, you'd be ok, but you'd be a little bit better with different species of sharks, leopards are cold water and there's not too much that is commonly available that thrives in that temperature range. The only time I wouldn't put lids is if the water level was a good foot or so below the top of the container. I got him from a local store before the law/fines really went into effect, he was 200. I'm not sure if you can find any or not, but be careful with the laws in effect.
Matty-that really sucks man, all the time and effort, dang. AC, same to you, epaulettes are like puppies.

 

[cincyreefer]

Tony- Rhodamine is a harmless dye used to help determine rate of travel in streams, lakes, rivers etc. We have been using it lately at work to help with the modeling and I have found it quite fascinating at how the concentration varies depending on environmental conditions.
Are you still interested in adding any more sharks or rays?

 

[condork12]

i am in the progress of designing a cover for it the tank is in my basement and the temp is 64 on avg and i would use heaters to keeep temp stable because it only goes down. other than that are there any other reasons not to get one? iam also interested in smooth hounds. what do you think? from marineaquatics.net

 

[moraymike]

Tony:
Sorry to hear about your leopard. I had one about 4 years ago that managed to jump out through a tiny gap in the back where the return line came in. It couldn't have been more than 3/4". Fortunately, the thing jumped out about 11:30 on a Sunday night when I was watching X-Files. I'll never forget that cuz it scared the crap out of me and my cat.
Hang in there. There's nothing that you can do about it now.

 

[squidd]

Originally posted by tony detroit
...Cincy, wake up calls suck at the times they come, but they are a good learning experience as well...
When I get a wake up call, I usually let the machine answer it...or ask them to call back later...

 

[saltfisher]

Sorry about your loss. Wake-up calls are no good. The last one I had was the release from my 404 came loose and was shootin water all over my damn floor. Like you I was :thinking: because she was cleaning the mirror behind the tank when it mysteriously snapped.
I have a good connect for baby leopards, if you want to replace it. Cheap price, too.

 

[condork12]

salt fisher what about me. im looking to get one or more. what is your connection. please reply if youd like to help me.

 

[cincyreefer]

Originally posted by condork12
i am in the progress of designing a cover for it the tank is in my basement and the temp is 64 on avg and i would use heaters to keeep temp stable because it only goes down. other than that are there any other reasons not to get one? iam also interested in smooth hounds. what do you think? from marineaquatics.net
I wouldn't worry about a cover for the whole pool if your "lagoon" is as big as I am thinking. I would just get acrylic sheets and mount them at about a 45-60 degree angle extending over the edge of the pool.
As far as the Leopard Shark, the reasons I wouldn't get one is because they get extremely large. A 6 foot shark doesn't sound all that big until you actually see one. Another reason is that they sometimes have bad track records for getting along with other large sharks. Not to mention they are very difficult to legally obtain one. I would also like to warn you about ordering sharks from online vendors... Some may be pretty good, but most are pretty poor. I might be able to help you out with a smoothound if you need.

 

[condork12]

Yes i would really like if you could help me with the smoothhound cincy. email me. my email is condork12@hotmail.com
thanks alot

 

[bullshark]

Sux bad. Ive had family members mess up my tanks before. My kids and wife are not allowed near the tank anymore.....
All I say now is:
OUT!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[raphael]

I am sorry, My Bamboo splashes around and wants to jump out but I hope he can tell the diffrence between air and water. Sharks a the best and I feel for your loss

 

[tony detroit]

Saltfisher, cincy, thanks for the offers, but I'm all done with sharks I believe. I have a grey smoothound if anybody is interested or would like to trade+cash for a ray.
I'll try and get up a pic tomorrow of these lids, you'll never believe the shark jumped out with these lids.

 

[saltfisher]

No problem..You seem to be going through the same thing I was when I got rid of my leopard. I vowed never to buy sharks again. Now I have a tank full of Triggers and other crap.