Fire eel climbs into filter. Any suggestions?

[mattscheck4]

My fire eel keeps going into the water output--between the cartridge and the filter wall where the water spills out. It makes me nervous having him in there, regardless of whether he likes it or not. I've taken about an inch of water out of the tank so the water line is below where the filter hangs over. I've had this guy for about 5 months, and he's just started doing this in the past week or so. Will the water reduction do the trick, or is there something else someone would suggest?

 

[Etunes]

You have 1 of my most favorite fish and 1 of the most sneaky kinds of fish. It could i kinda depends on the motivation of the eel and the size of it. Use a stocking like a womens leg stalking, that should do the trick, and if it dosent get a cage like what gos into the input and put it over the output. They are sneaky little punks arent they.

 

[mattscheck4]

I put the stocking over the output... No dice; he was back up in the filter again last night. I'm trying something new now: I made a sort of wall with tape, leaving only a tiny opening at the bottom so the water can keep coming out. Here's hoping this works!

 

[mfdrookie516]

eggcrate

 

[fishboy444]

I heard that fire eels can get big.Is this true,I read that they can get to 28"?

 

[Etunes]

no, more like 36". Ya, if that didn't work i would make a little box out of eggcrate and make a cage around the output.

 

[mattscheck4]

I've had my eel for several months now, and he hasn't grown too much. He went from about 9 inches to 11 or 12.

 

[AdamHorton]

I had a similar battle of wits a while back. I used a combination of eggcrate, placed where I didn't want him to be, and I barricaded off the entrances with hard clear plastic and screen door mesh, attached with hot glue. It took several iterations but eventually it worked. I might still have some pictures around of the setup, but you'd have to wait until tonight until I can get to them.

 

[mattscheck4]

I might still have some pictures around of the setup, but you'd have to wait until tonight until I can get to them.

1. So bizarre that your name is Adam Horton; I have a good friend with the same name.
2. Could you upload/link those photos?
3. Thanks for your help!

 

[AdamHorton]

Ah look, I found the pictures on my old website: I had a problem with a fish going behind the overflow cup in my tank.

Here are a couple of my first attempt, I just put some of the mesh screen around the edges. Of course he would just squeeze past it since I didn't want to attach anything to the back of the tank.

What ended up working was eggcrate behind the back of the filter so that he wouldn't want to be back there, and then a hard plastic along the outside. All of this was attached with hot glue. The plastic along the outside didn't work so well because this fish managed to squeeze through the tiniest crack, but along with the eggcrate managed to get him to give that up and go with something else...

...so where did he go, you ask? He tried swimming inside the overflow cup! A mesh screen around the top part of that kept him out, since it was easier to attach more securely. The downside to that is that it was right next to the light and I was battling algae at the time, so I had to scrub it with a toothbrush to keep the algae off a couple times per week, or else the water wouldn't flow as well.

Adam Horton is a decently common name. I wasn't the only Adam Horton at my college, and there are several on facebook. I got the adamhorton.com domain name, though