Fluval U4 Filter Securing Brackets

[N0body Of The Goat]

Bit gutted to say the least, found one of my less common male Phenacogrammus cf. nigropterus (Rainbow/ Pastel Congo Tetra) with its head stuck between the two lower suction cups of the bracket last night, getting nipped / eaten alive by a small gang of my teenage Lionhead Cichlids (it was their frenzy that got me to look at the tank from the side rather than the front). The poor fish was in a really bad way when I finally got it free, so I netted him into my hang on breeder net to try and give him a chance to de-stress overnight, but sadly he was dead when I got back from work this afternoon. Looking at his body, its no wonder he died, he had major fin damage but more importantly a long strip of scaleless body with mini chunks missing.

About a week I found a teenage Lionhead Cichlid in a very similar trapped position behind the U4, he had a scrape on his side but thankfully he has healed well over the week, these guys are far more hardy that the skittish tetras.

About 18 months ago I remember one of my Pearl Danios getting trapped behind the U4, with his tail fin almost reduced to nothing (became known as "Mr Stumpy" for a couple of months), thankfully he made a full recovery in QT and rejoined his brothers and sisters.

... I'm starting to think these internal filters were not designed with small fish in mind! Anyone else had similar experiences?

 

[alihar]

Yes in the past I've had two cardinal tetra trapped behind a U4 in exactly the same place you describe.
Both survived with no damage thankfully.
My friend had a harlequin trapped in the same spot of their U2 but sadly it was dead upon discovery.

 

[ParadiseGuerrero]

I've had a couple fish get stuck behind the U4- a paradise fish (3 times now- funnily enough he never seems stressed to get stuck there-stupid thing), 2 rosy barbs, a white cloud and a guppy. I put some sponge behind it but the white cloud still managed to get wedge there. Luckily all but the guppy survived.

 

[Haveagojoe]

Same here i've lost a few fish behind my u3, I emailed Fluval who didn't believe a word I said because of the "extensive research" they had done before releasing the u series, I replied and told them to troll through a few forums that would be better research.

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, I've had a silvertip get stuck; actually in the hollow back of the bracket. I've got a piece of filter floss there now. It is a very poor design, IMO.

The U series has some really great features; I love the fact that the pump unit is at the bottom rather than the top; that was genius idea; shame the rest of it isn't as good

 

[KISSfn]

Sounds like a poor design to me. Sorry for your losses...

 

[smokeyjo]

I've had the same problem my crab and the common plec I had got stuck behind it managed to get them out in time though