i am mad at u guys

[fishdude]

u guys told me that a live tetra would never get sucked into a aquaclear filter but nun the less i found a live and very hurt tetra in my filter and i ma missing another that i presume has died
so u guys said it couldnt happen and it did

[OrionGirl]

A HEALTHY live fish won't get sucked into a filter intake. A fish that is sick or wounded very well could.

[demon_surfer]

it only got sucked into the filter because it was on its last legs anyhow.

[fishdude]

well they all looked fine too me :confused:
i dont know how he could have gotten sick tho ????
every thing is fine in my tank

[fishdude]

ugh maybe ill just give up on tetras they seem to always die in my tank

[OrionGirl]

Fish can appear 'fine' externally, but still have internal infections or parasites. Without dissection, there's no way to know a cause, but a visual inspection of the fish often won't be revealing. Was there any behavior differences? Not schooling, not eating, etc are all good signs something may be wrong.

[beviking]

Just think of it as weeding out the dumb fish, or fish education.

"Hey, tetra #2, check out this tubular thing. I think the water is going into it. I'm going to get a closer l...aaaaahhhh!" To which tetra #2 thinks "Dang, same thing happened to #1. I won't be going THAT close!":D

Just backing the others that say a HEALTHY fish won't get sucked up!

[aquariumfishguy]

Exactly, and saying you're going to give up on tetras all together is no good because then you still dont know what happened, setting yourself up for failure with future fish too.

Whats your water parameters?

[often dignified]

if everything looked fine, check ammonia and nitrite.

[Raf]

You can always wrap a sponge around your intake tube....that would safeguard that...

[dwf73]

I am a little bit confused with everyone saying that a healthy fish cant get sucked into a filter. Surely, there must be instances where this occurs- Is it not possible that a fish is too weak to fight the suction, not because it is sick but because the power overmatches it? I understand it would be the exception, but it seems a bit presumptious to say that a "healthy fish can never get sucked in." No biggie, I am prepared to be zealously attacked on this one, I just dont think we have to automatically attribute it to previous sickness or injury.

[Raf]

True...it also depends on the filter, the fish, etc...

BUT, i would always test the water first to rule out any possibilities this is the cause.

[TKOS]

My platy fry are all able to outswim the current from a Whisper 5-15 in a 5 gallon, even when first born.

I also agree that you should definately look into what the problem is with your tank before blaming the poor tetras. Perhaps you were sold really old tetras, or they were sick to begin with. Or perhaps they were sick from ammonia or nitrite levels being too high. Tetras (with some exceptions) are generally a hardy fish and if they are getting killed off from some unknown thing, chances are other types of fish will as well.

[blitzen25bm]

what if he has an ac500 on his 10 gallon and his tank is ony 3/4s full.

[OrionGirl]

Then the suction will be even lower, as the water level contributes significantly to the force. A filter working at full power with a high water level has water moving more quickly than one at full power and a low water level.

With a few exceptions, fish come from areas where there is a lot of moving water--lakes, rivers, stream, all have a stronger force naturally than most filters. If you are using a filter that is 10 times larger than the tank, you may have a problem, but it's likely to be more than just fish getting sucked to the filter.

[Captain Hook]

I have a tank with an AC mini on it and at first I was worried that my fish would get sucked in. So far I haven't had any problems, and these are tiny endler's livebearers.

[Duke107]

I think we can safely assume the fish were not well as his comments were as foolows "ugh maybe ill just give up on tetras they seem to always die in my tank"

Just a thought!

[F.sparverius]

My betta has got sucked against the filter a few times today. His long flowing fins stick to it nicely. He's managed to get loose both times but I wonder if I should do something about it. It's one of those cheapola tanks so I can't turn the filter speed down any like on my larger tank.

[Raf]

slip a sponge over it, not only will it keep your fish safe, it will also act as a pre-filter for your filter.

;)

[HarmonyAZ]

I just posted something similar in the newbie forum. I just added 6 small cardinal tetras to my 29g which has an AC500 filter. Two are AWOL and one I found up the tube. I rubber-banded nylon over the tube end for now, and am not sure if that was stupid or what. Or if I should pull the filter off and check for bodies of the other two. ???

[fishdude]

i have an ac.....um lemme chek...........300 on a 29 gal
i havent been home in a while so maybe the water got bad while i was gone. ill chek tomorow

well my rams seem as happy as can be and i have seen my betta rest on the intka a veiw times then swim off easily and my gouramis seem fine its just i always seem too lose tetras

although i was thinking if anything ever does happen (not that im hopping it does) but i could do a tank with rams gouramis bettas and corys and maybe a banjo cat

ill post again tommorow right now sleep

[beviking]

The.fish.were.weak..

Fish are designed to...uh...oh yeah, swim in water! Their lateral line allows them to instantly detect changes in water pressure (ie. a net coming at them, pushing water at them or...water going away from them, ie. a filter intake) and their bodies are designed to allow water to flow around it. Even the mucus helps reduce drag. If the fish detects water pulling it in a filter, as long as it is strong enough to turn its head into the oncoming water (away from the intake) then the suction on the fish is drastically reduced and the fish can swim away.
Even an AC500 on a 10gal, the fish would find a spot with less current and avoid it (wish I had an AC500 to try it though, maybe the AC300 and some baby swordtails?).

Bettas and gouramis are labrynth fish. They can breath air. If ammonia is too high and damages their gills, they just breath air. If ammonia damages a tetras gills, they suffocate. When fish don't get oxygen, they tend to get weak. ;)

HarmonyAZ, cardinals can be tough to acclimate, but do well once they are.

[fishdude]

ok well i have some bad results :(
i have high nitrates, nitrites and ammonia
the reason is i havent ben able to afford a python gravel vac until today (im going to but it today) and my gravel is kinda large so there are spots of stuff the UG didnt suck up
i alreday did a 30% water change so hopefully that helped
i also cleaned allthe stuff in my HOB filter and im also gunna get bioglass filter media today

[aquariumfishguy]

Well thats strange that they are ALL high. Usually, if ammonia is high, its because the tank isnt cycled and this usually means nitrates are minimal, if any show up at all. The same holds true with high nitrates. Usually, if you have high nitrates you will find low ammonia levels, if any at all.

What were all the readings?

[Aquarius0015]

Bettas and gouramis are labrynth fish. They can breath air. If ammonia is too high and damages their gills, they just breath air. If ammonia damages a tetras gills, they suffocate.

True, labyrinth fish can breathe air, but they cannot escape ammonia poisoning any better than other fish.

[Rocketman]

Hmm. To whoever has an AC500 on a 29g...that may be too much power. Your fish may feel like they're in a whirlpool of sorts. It won't do any harm, it's just a bit expensive.

Also, I have found Convict Fry, (even a few weeks old) inside my AC Mini. Also, at work, we get Betta's stuck on the overflow intakes, (which have little current) all the time. Betta's are bad examples though, as they have so little speed and so much drag on their fins.

[HarmonyAZ]

Hmm. To whoever has an AC500 on a 29g...that may be too much power. Your fish may feel like they're in a whirlpool of sorts. It won't do any harm, it's just a bit expensive. That would be me. For $9 more than the AC300, I get replaceable parts... pump motor and such. Which is all the old AC300 needed. The tank doesn't seem like a whirlpool at all. It doesn't seem turbulent. It does seem clean. That book OrionGirl had me read said "feel free to put as much filter as will fit along the back, without making the tank a blender." Well, basically that's what it said.

My second batch of cardinals, from the same "batch" at the fish store, all survived.

[daveedka]

Just a thought on this, how old is the tank, how is your UG set up, and what were the readings. all three shouldn't be high at once, or if they were, the tank would be very toxic and everything would be dead I would think. The reason for the Ug question is that many people have trouble with them, I am a fan of UG filters but only when properly set-up and maintained. I prefer reverse flow power heads with intake filters. They can turn into a real septic tank under your substrate if they aren't maintained well.

[Rocketman]

That's true about the UG filters.

[fishdude]

ok well i always order from DrsFosterSmith.com and i was just lookin a t a reverse flow for my penguin powerheads, a python , and a penguin 170 biowheel filter (my ACs almost dead anyways)
but i also think i have a fault test kit so :p i also got an apple snail with a new plastic part for my lid i can cut out so he cant escape

so hopefully the clouding will go away soon

this tank is definately cycled its been about 2 months and i used half old tank water when irst starting my 29 gal so.......

well thanx for the help

[fishdude]

oh and im not really mad at u guys sorry :p