Pufferized filter?

[luvmygobies]

I moved my dwarf puffers into a 10g last night because it was done cycling and they were doing fine and were all happy. But then I woke up this morning and went downstairs to do the rounds and found that two of my puffers had gotten caught in the intake grate of my filter and died... After seeing that I could hardly eat breakfast.

Is there a way to pufferize my filter? I have a AquaClear on that tank. I shut it off becuse I don't want anyone else getting stuck in there while I'm at work, but I can't keep it off indefinately. They were too big to actually get sucked up into the filter... They were sorta half in and half out of the intake tube's grill... Sorry, I don't want to be so descriptive but I though that might help in understanding what needs to be pufferized.

I can switch filters (i.e. take the whisper off the tank they were in before and out the aquaclear on that tank) but I'm reluctant to because I have really small neons in that tank now.

Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[Davy]

I have a dwarf puffer in a 10g with some tetras. He has never had a problem with the filter though. Are you sure they did not die first, then get sucked onto the filter? That is what usually happens.

 

[luvmygobies]

I would think that if it had happened to only one.... But they were all healthy before I made the switch and the water from that tank and the one they came from are both fine.... And also the fact that they didn't get sucked onto the intake- they got sucked in tail first up to their gills... I had to put on gloves to get them out because I couldn't get them to come loose with my net.

 

[Sandie]

I can relate, that used to happen with my neons. A person at the lfs told me to tie part of a nylon around the grill part you are talking about. I never did that, I just got bigger fish, so not sure if anyone else agrees with that advice. Again, just what they told me to do at the Pet Store

 

[Balance]

you could wrap some of that blue filter media around the intake....

 

[Teresa]

When our fry were born, I put an old filter sponge over the imput so that they would not get sucked up, I tried using mesh but it slowed filtration down..the sponge has not...

 

[CoNMaN]

i was going to suggest a sponge wrapped around it, or maybe a old nylon stocking, scured with a rubber band, That is what i used to keep my snails from exploring up the tube. dumb snails....

 

[luvmygobies]

Thanks ya'll.

 

[aquatic-store]

Pantyhose over the intake!!!!
Yep you heard me right

 

[Igor The Cat]

well snails arent knowen for there intelligance conman

 

[tetra girl]

a sponge over the filter works wonders for stopping fish getting sucked in to the filter and it also stops food from getting in the filter are harbouring bad bacteria. My LFS actually sell a sponge that has a small hole in the middle which goes almost to the end on the sponge which is made especially for putting over th filter intake!

 

[luvmygobies]

LOL aquatic- you mean I would actually have to go out and buy some?!? D@%n.