fish sucked up by filter!

[George2]

I recently had two of my Ember Tetras sucked up by my AquaClear 20 filter in my 16 gallon tank! I was very lucky I noticed they were missing and found them still alive under the filter media. Ember Tetras are very small fish (roughly .5" to .75" in length)

I'm very stressed out about it now and am not sure what to do. Is there some sort of mess cover I can get for the intake tube? Will that impact the ability of the filter to clean the water?

What are my options?


Thanks!
George

[Stussi613]

I use one of these in my 6g tank with chili rasboras and crystal red shrimp in it.  You can get them at Petsmart or La Niche.  You have to stay on top of maintenance on them because thy will clog up, I usually just rinse it well in tank water on my filter maintenance days and replace them every 3 months.

[Aud]

I use a 30 gallon sponge filter for my 15 gallon that I bought at big Al's, works great so far.

Cheers!

[George2]

I use one of these in my 6g tank with chili rasboras and crystal red shrimp in it.  You can get them at Petsmart or La Niche.  You have to stay on top of maintenance on them because thy will clog up, I usually just rinse it well in tank water on my filter maintenance days and replace them every 3 months.

That is exactly what I need. Thanks!

[George2]

I use a 30 gallon sponge filter for my 15 gallon that I bought at big Al's, works great so far.

Cheers!

I'm going to check out the sponge filters tomorrow.  Thanks!

[bergenm]

I just take an aqua clear sponge, cut a deep 'X' in the top and stick the filter intake into it. I have lots of snails and shrimp and I rarely lose any to the filter.

If you only rinse in tank water it will also act as a secondary filter as beneficial bacteria will grow in it...

[soleil1980]

I use the aquaclear sponge and insert the intake tube in it.  I have baby guppies and never lost any fish.  However, make sure you check water flow every day as it can clog up fast and you can burn your motor.