Fish getting sucked up in filter?

Question

I've got a tank full of live bearing fish and find that each time one of the mothers has babies, a large number of them are sucked up in the filter.

I have one of those filters that hangs on the outside of the tank. There is a tube that sucks water up. It goes into the filter, through the sponge and charcoal and then back into the tank, almost in the form of a waterfalls.

I have been given suggestions such as using a sponge or piece of nylon to cover the intake. I really didn't like this option as the sponge gets dirty quickly and doesn't look attractive.

Are there any other filters that can be used other then the one I have. Others at the petstore said they are not as good, but it's been a while since I was there.

I am pretty close to giving up this hobby, just going crazy with the filter.

Answer 1

One thing you could do is temporarily use a sponge filter. It's a big sponge attached to an air pump that filters the water through that sponge and sucks up dirt and debris from the tank. You need to clean the sponge every week or so, but you could use it when you notice babies in the tank. Then when their grown or given away, you could use the external filter.
Or if you have a setting for a lighter filtration, that might work too. Or even another option would be to upgrade to a bigger tank since the babies would have more room to move rather than being sucked into the filter.

Answer 2

use undergravel filter with charcoal attached to the outlet. It doesn't matter what you put on the inlet of the filter you have. The suction will draw anything in the the tube. Even small fish like tetras can get sucked onto the intake and be held there until it dies from exhaustion.

If you don't mind dividing the tank into two then the adult/larger fish can stay in the area with the filter and either buy a breeding net to isolate the youngens or separate using plastic to fence them in. The water will still circulate and be filtered. Check with your local petstore.

Answer 3

You might be able to put some kind of mesh screen around the filter intake, but I might also consider some kind of isolation tank to put the pregnant fish in until the babies hatch. This would also keep them from being eaten, which could also be your problem.

Answer 4

In my experience, most of the time the fish are fine and all you have to do is open the filter hatch and retrieve your (fry) baby fish.

I hope you don't give up keeping fish. The one thing that you have to understand is that keeping fish is a full time job. It takes a lot of time and a lot of trial and error. But the rewards are great.

Hope this helps. God Bless.

Answer 5

you could always get your self a submersable filter they have no intake tube to suck the baby fish into or you could remove the babies and put them into another tank or into a bucket or something and just do plenty of water changes

Answer 6

you can buy a tank divider (at petco or petsmart). basicly it is a very fine screen that can be placed across the middle of the tank to seperate the little fish from the larger fish as well as keep them away from the filter.

Answer 7

Just off the top of my head, you might be able to fuse some kind of enclosure made of plastic or glass, open only at the top (just below water level), around the intake.

Answer 8

yes u can get a under gravel filter system that will help out a lot and u may also want to buy a new waterfall system as well OK hope that this works for u

Answer 9

pet stores sell a screen, made out of plastic with very small holes, keeps the kids separated and out of harms way. you just slide it into the tank

Answer 10

Instead of having the fry swiming around (and many of them are getting eaten as well I am sure about it) you should get a isolation box, where they will be safe there and grow with out stress and safe.