Cardinal Was In Juwel Rio 180 Filter!

[wilchil64]

We moved our fish into our new Juwel Rio 180 on Saturday, with the old filter and 50% of the water from the tank they were in previously. We just counted our fish tonight (Monday) before going to bed and one Cardinal was missing!

After taking the internal filter to pieces, we found him at the bottom in the bit that houses the tube, not where the foams are but in the bit behind there, he was swimming in the water. Luckily, when we took off the "spout" that puts the clean water back in the aquarium he swam out, because I don't know how we would have got him out otherwise!

After ordering the Juwel 180 and before it being delivered, we had read about fish getting into the filter and discussed this with our LFS, who put our mind at rest that this very rarely happens, we felt fairly safe that it wouldn't happen to us. Now of course we feel fairly stupid but are stuck with the tank which otherwise we like. We've also read about people removing the filter and replacing it, but can't see how we could cut through the silicon holding it in place as it's so tricky to get at the silicone, so that's out of the question. Don't really want to put in a second filter and leave in the empty housing either.

So my question is: how can we prevent it happening again? Once we've got the 125 litre tank up and running again I think we'll move the cardinals back in there anyway, because we had no problems with the Fluval 3 plus filter, and we'll probably not keep any tetras in the Juwel 180, but I'm worried they'll get in again in the meantime whilst we wait for the water in the Roma 125 to settle.

Can I cover the filter intake vents with the leg from a pair of tights or something? or block the holes in the filter top cover? I don't know where he got in, could be the vents or the top of the filter.

Any advice appreciated.

 

[rdd1952]

My son had a 3 to 4 inch pleco go missing and couldn't figure out what happend to him. When he took his AquaClear filter apart, he was in one of the baskets. He'd been in there for a week. They thought he had somehow jumped out and the cat got him.

It's fine to cover the intake with some type mesh or pantyhose.

 

[Ficious]

sounds like him and his fellow tank mates were planning some sort of escape. his job was to clog the filter so youd have to do tank maintnence and bag them all. they would then make their way to an outdoor body or water and live happily with their free lives. for sure, ive seen this before

 

[rdd1952]

sounds like him and his fellow tank mates were planning some sort of escape. his job was to clog the filter so youd have to do tank maintnence and bag them all. they would then make their way to an outdoor body or water and live happily with their free lives. for sure, ive seen this before

Hmmm. That would make a great plot for a movie. Maybe an animated one.

 

[shelaghfishface]

sounds like him and his fellow tank mates were planning some sort of escape. his job was to clog the filter so youd have to do tank maintnence and bag them all. they would then make their way to an outdoor body or water and live happily with their free lives. for sure, ive seen this before

i`ll have some of whatever you`re taking ...fruitcake

 

[wilchil64]

My son had a 3 to 4 inch pleco go missing and couldn't figure out what happend to him. When he took his AquaClear filter apart, he was in one of the baskets. He'd been in there for a week. They thought he had somehow jumped out and the cat got him.

It's fine to cover the intake with some type mesh or pantyhose.

How do they get in there?!

 

[saz326]

If the cardinal was on the outlet side of the filter - could he have been swimming against the current and managed to swim into the outlet? Maybe you need to cover the outlet and not the inlet.

 

[rdd1952]

sounds like him and his fellow tank mates were planning some sort of escape. his job was to clog the filter so youd have to do tank maintnence and bag them all. they would then make their way to an outdoor body or water and live happily with their free lives. for sure, ive seen this before

i`ll have some of whatever you`re taking ...fruitcake

Have you never seen this happen? It was in a documentary on TV and even on the big screen. I think we've even got the DVD.

 

[wilchil64]

If the cardinal was on the outlet side of the filter - could he have been swimming against the current and managed to swim into the outlet? Maybe you need to cover the outlet and not the inlet.

I'm going to try tying a bit of panty hose/tights in place over the outlet spout in case that's where he got in. Not sure how to cover the inlet holes though, can't pull panty hose over, surely, as juwel filter is siliconed in place at top AND bottom?

I have put a small piece of slate over the gaps in the lid of the filter though, so that's one bit taken care of, I hope.

 

[morgan]

He might have swum in while the filter was turned off during the waterchange, my fish do that. There is also a gap around the outlet tube on Juwel tanks. I was told a couple of years ago when I had this problem to cut up an old filter sponge and place it around the outlet tube and have it right against the filter housing. That should stop them! I often find Molly fry (live) swimming about in the filter housing. I have a Rio 300.

 

[Spishkey]

i have a rio 180 too, and quite often i find fish in there. i leave them too it, they got in there they can get out! my 6 month old platys do it the most, and the shrimps too. i cant see them hurting themselves in there, i think they're just after any food that get sucked in

 

[wilchil64]

He might have swum in while the filter was turned off during the waterchange, my fish do that. There is also a gap around the outlet tube on Juwel tanks. I was told a couple of years ago when I had this problem to cut up an old filter sponge and place it around the outlet tube and have it right against the filter housing. That should stop them! I often find Molly fry (live) swimming about in the filter housing. I have a Rio 300.

He didn't get in during the water change, I counted them yesterday morning and they were all there, so he disappeared sometime between 9 am and 10 pm.

I'll have a look at the gap and see if I can fill it.

But if they should be ok in there and able to get out themselves, maybe it's not worth it?

 

[morgan]

I would never leave a fish in there. When I was a newbie the tank water turned green and smelt terrible. I lost a Golden Nugget Pleco and several other fish. I stripped the tank down and in the filter housing was the remains of a 2.5cm (1") Molly. It had started to go off and it destroyed the whole tank. I would know now to look for that but I didn't then. That was in my Juwel Rekord 96. I don't want to be a doom and gloom merchant but that's what happened to me and it was awful.

 

[wilchil64]

I would never leave a fish in there. When I was a newbie the tank water turned green and smelt terrible. I lost a Golden Nugget Pleco and several other fish. I stripped the tank down and in the filter housing was the remains of a 2.5cm (1") Molly. It had started to go off and it destroyed the whole tank. I would know now to look for that but I didn't then. That was in my Juwel Rekord 96. I don't want to be a doom and gloom merchant but that's what happened to me and it was awful.

Yeah that's my worry too, that they won't get back out and will die. The Cardinal didn't swim out until I took the outlet spout off, so maybe it couldn't get out itself, who knows?

I've now tied a piece of stocking over the outlet spout, so that's another way in I've blocked. The only way in that is left is the actual vents where the water gets sucked into the filter. They are much wider on the Juwel filter than on the Fluval I've used before, wondered if the tetra got through there? Don't really know how to block those. I can't see how I can pull a stocking over as the filter is fastened to the tank with silicone blobs top and bottom. I think I'll stick with my original plan and only keep bigger fish in the Juwel Rio 180 and move my tetras back to the Fluval Roma 125. Pity though. I don't think I'd buy another Juwel with an internal filter.