fish-eating filter...

[silvershark]

i looked into my tank after a day out today and noticed that the cap had come off the air inlet of my fluval 2+, AND that a little head was poking out of the top. i switched the filter of and gently helped out a neon tetra as he wouldnt move on his own, when he did get out he just sort of sank to the bottom. he is still alive and i've put him into a breeding trap with his own food as i'm worried at how lnog he was in there with out eating but he's not moving a great deal and when he does he's swimming at an angle. anyone have any experience with this and if he'll pull through?

forgot to say what fish. sorry

 

[Katchan]

No experience with fish living through that. I've had 4 fish die from similar incidents until I was able to find a permament solution. I had 3 die (including a beautiful 1/2 moon betta) from going into the filter and pump and 1 die getting stuck in the intake tube. All cause when I purchased the thing 2nd hand it didnt have a cover on the end and i did'nt know it should of . So I know your problem and I wish u luck

Katchan

 

[loafybones]

Next time you get a fish caught in the filter, try telling him to alternate wiggling his fins and his tail at the same time! (Like in finding Nemo, sorry my son watches that over and over again and i thought that was funny but probably not!!!)

 

[silvershark]

good idea but sadly he's a defiant little bugger!

 

[silvershark]

ok he's now swimming vert wgich alone is an improvement! he's also eating again so i'm gonna let him out of the breeding trap tomorrow and keep an eye on him. his dorsal still looks a bit flimsy but he's not had much room to swim so we'll see tomorrow.

 

[The-Raven]

I've had so many neon tets get stuck in the filter it's unbelievable. That's when I decided to just get a UGF and forego the hang-on-edge filter.


But after a week of contemplation and seeing my tanks gravel just getting worse and worse, I decided to spend 10 bucks getting a little 2-10 gallon filter for my 29. Works great, and no more getting stuck incidents.



Lesson: It's better to get 2 small filters (<100g/h) than one monster filter (>150g/h) for little fish, especially neon tets.

 

[Tolak]

Take a sponge from a hob filter, like an A.C. 300 sponge. Poke a hole in it with a knife & slide it over the intake. It diffuses the suction, and adds an additional pre-filter before the rest of the filter. I do this with angel fry tanks, never lost one to the filter yet.

Tolak

 

[JacopoFishy]

I had a day-old dalmation molly fry get sucked into my filter...

couldn't swim too well when I found him in there and got him out...
lived a few weeks, though
strong little guy. won't forget him.

 

[B75]

I lost 5 neons in 3 days due to my filter sucking them in and then they get stressed and die. I released 3 still alive but lost them after about 6 hours.

I now think either get bigger neons or stockings over filters.

 

[silvershark]

he made it through and after a little obtusiveness got back in with the crowd!!! just i little discoloured under his d.fin but ok now