Juwel Filter Housing Problem

[fish.com1]

Hi im a newbie to fishkeeping and have just got a new juwel rekord 96. After leaving the tank running for 4 days i went out to buy some fish.

I bought 5 lemon tetras, and for the first week they were fine. But after a week one morning i noticed only four of the fish were in the tank. I searched for the missing fish and eventually saw him looking through the slits in the filter housing where the heater, pump and sponge pads are stored. I eventually (with a lot of fuss) got him out. Does anyone know how he might have got in or how to stop them from getting in, because since then they've done it again. Are lemon tetras known for jumping?

Thanks.

 

[alysonpeaches]

Hi im a newbie to fishkeeping and have just got a new juwel rekord 96. After leaving the tank running for 4 days i went out to buy some fish.

I bought 5 lemon tetras, and for the first week they were fine. But after a week one morning i noticed only four of the fish were in the tank. I searched for the missing fish and eventually saw him looking through the slits in the filter housing where the heater, pump and sponge pads are stored. I eventually (with a lot of fuss) got him out. Does anyone know how he might have got in or how to stop them from getting in, because since then they've done it again. Are lemon tetras known for jumping?

Thanks.

Can you post a picture of how he got in?

Sometimes mesh, such as that on nets or tights/stockings/pantyhose can be employed to still let in liquid but not fish, but it would depend on the situation. I read that someone a section of stocking to stop fry entering.

 

[Corleone]

If there's openings big enough for the fish to fit through, its almost inevitable one will go exploring eventually. In addition to the options above, some filter brands will have different screens for the intake you can buy separately. Stockings and sponges can be nightmares to keep clean sometimes.


Just a forwarning before anything else could go wrong, running the tank for four days empty actually accomplishes little to nothing - might remove some fine particulate out of your gravel, but it won't make the tank any safer for fish. Even running it for much longer does nothing, the tank can't mature without an ammonia source (be it fish or otherwise). Your tank won't be cycled unless you used filter media from a mature tank.

It's probably a good idea to get proactive with water testing and likely changes before new tank syndrome has a chance to take hold. This thread will have most of the information you'll need for that:
<a href="http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...eady-have-fish/" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...eady-have-fish/</a>

As for jumping, nearly all fish can jump, but some are less likely than others to. If there's small levels of ammonia in the tank (which there likely will be if you didn't use mature media), some fish might try to "escape" into a cleaner body of water, even if that "water" is your carpet.

 

[fish.com1]

Thanks for the advice. Since they got in i've put a washed milk bottle top over the hole where they're getting in and they haven't got in for a week now, so problem solved.

As for the other comment my fish seem fine and the water and temparature is fine too.

Thanks again.

 

[Corleone]

Define "fine" in terms of ammonia/nitrite levels - both fish stores and test kits often have rather unhealthy recommendations on what constitutes fine, unfortunately.