powerhead killed my clownfish

[ektorgt]

i woke up and i couldnt find my clownfish

after looking for him for an hour i found him where the powerhead sucks water....
really sad...

what can i do to avoid this from happening to my other fish?????????\\


thank yoiuuuu

 

[HoopsGuru]

Put a sponge over the intake of the powerhead.

 

[ektorgt]

it seems to me that the powerheads are too much for my tank...
i have 2 aquaclear 4000 powerheads (395 gal/hour) in a 75 gal....
the fish seem to be blown away by them sometimes///

am i ok with those???

 

[DragonForce]

i have 2 maxi jet 1200's blowing 295 each. In a reef tank you can have up to 20 gph flow

 

[HoopsGuru]

In a reef tank, there is no specific level or cap on what water flow you can have. The problem is the kind of flow. For example, it does not help to have one huge pump doing "x" amount of turnover and think things will be well. This creates laminar flow which is very unnatural for reef tanks.

I do not believe your powerheads are too large for your aquarium, however, they may not be placed very well. You could put one in each rear corner so they meet in the middle front....where the currents will hit each other and redirect to other areas of the tank. And, as mentioned, sponges over the intakes can help diffuse the power over a larger area which should help slower moving fish stay off of them. I would also consider the idea that something was ailing the clownfish, as they are not a typical one to get stuck.

 

[ektorgt]

i got a sponge and connected the powerheads
i went for some siccors to cut it and when i was back my porcupine puffer waas stuck on it!!!!
i think he hurt his fin
\
anyways i put the sponge under the intake and the flow of the powerhead is now somehting like 50 gal per hour...
its really slow and weak

 

[ektorgt]

something was ailing the clownfish, as they are not a typical one to get stuck

what do you mean by ailing??

he had the whole 75 gallon tank for him because he was my first fish...

 

[HoopsGuru]

Ailing -- sick, stressed, something that had it weak or something. All of my clownfish are surprisingly strong swimmers, and I would not expect them to get stuck to a powerhead if healthy. I'm not saying there was something wrong...just surprised. Porcupine puffers are known for getting stuck on the other hand. On a side note, do realize that the porc will outgrow the 75g tank in due time.

I am also surprised that your sponge restricted your water flow, what kind of sponge did you use?

 

[ektorgt]

a sponge that my mom had bought for cleaning the dishes

(it was new and never used obviously...)

 

[JG]

I would get a sponge made specifically for aquariums. Dish sponges are not that porous and many are packaged with chemicals to keep the sponges flexible in the package. This might not be healthy for your tank. Some are even made with anti bacterial chemicals in the material of the sponge. I would remove the kitchen sponge ASAP.

JG

 

[malkore]

HOnestly, I think the problem is, the clownfish died, adn was then sucked onto the PH intake...or was on it's last leg, and got sucked onto it.

it takes a pretty small, weak fish to not be able to outswim the intake on a powerhead.

 

[HoopsGuru]

That was my hunch too, clownfish just doesn't fit the bill for getting stuck on PH. I would remove the dish sponge as mentioned and get one from the LFS (perhaps I should have been more specific) because puffers are slow moving fish that can and will get attached, most often when juveniles.

 

[ektorgt]

my pufferfish hurt one of his fins when he got stuck in the powerhead and is struggling to swim... he doesnt move his left side fin unless he really has to and his skin from the side of the fin is kind of swollen because of the powerhead sucking on it.....

i already bought some things specially made to protect the fish from the powerheads but my pufferfish is real bad...

i dont know what to do to him...
is there anything i can do????

 

[HoopsGuru]

Puffers are tough, I would give it a few days and simply keep water quality as good as possible. There is not much to do to intervene in injuries.

 

[greenmaji]

nm