NEED HELP! Fish stuck behind fake rock background

[dencio]

Hi All. One of my Mollies found a gap between the fake rock background and the glass and swam in to investigate now she's stuck in there. Any way I can lure her back out through where she came in?

The background is stuck to the back of the tank with silicone but one side of the background was not completely sealed with silicone (thus the gap). Rookie mistake on my part not making sure there were no gaps :scry: Any suggestions on how I can plug the gap without having to drain the tank and start over?

Thanks,

D

[rageybug]

Can you pry the background out a little to give the fish a little wiggle room?

As for sealing the hole, how far down is it? Can you just drain the tank down to the hole to re-seal it? If the hole is big, can you stuff it with gravel?

If all else fails, buy some more mollies, they should eventually stuff that hole shut!!

[dencio]

hey rageybug,

The gap's about 3 inches above the substrate. The tank's an 80G and hosts quite a few fish so I'd rather not have to drain it (will have to find a temporary home for the residents...not an easy task). The gap is between the fake rock and the side glass, so was thinking of maybe sticking something like a filter intake there to block it. Wifey suggests putting some sort of mesh there but am thinking that will only partially solve the problem as fry will still be able to swim thru the mesh.

There are gaps between the back glass and the fake rock so it will take a large amount of mollies to fill it if I go down that route!

Sigh...growing pains of a newbie fishkeeper...

[OscarFan]

u may have to just ply it off. Dead or alive u will have to get the fish out or it will cause amonia to spike in your tank. If you do get it out alive you should add some stress coat. If it is not stressing out I would wait till morning and see if it works itself out on its own. Good luck

[wolf_eyes]

You could use plumber's putty or aquarium putty instead of silicone to close the gap in the hole. This stuff can be used underwater so I think i would be ideal for your situation. Here is an example of the stuff [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
I agree with everyone else here. You're going to have to try to get that molly out

[Lady Hobbs]

Cram some filter floss or foam in the opening.

[Northernguy]

I had that problem and shoved air line in the edges and they stayed out.If you tear your tank dowwn for any reason you can silicone the edges.

[rageybug]

You could use plumber's putty or aquarium putty instead of silicone to close the gap in the hole. This stuff can be used underwater so I think i would be ideal for your situation. Here is an example of the stuff [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
I agree with everyone else here. You're going to have to try to get that molly out


This sounds like a pretty good idea! Putty... hmm.... I like it!

You are probably best to just drain the tank and fix it properly. It would be crappy to have to do this fix again in a few months.

[W_Oz]

How much space is behind your BG? If there's enough space you can use the old "Fish Bottle" trap. Grab your favorite plastic beverage bottle that'll fit. chop the cap end of the bottle just before it starts to taper to the cap so you have a funnel. Flip that around and stick it back inside the bottle. Punch a few small holes in the bottle for ventilation and to aid in submerging the thing. Put food in there then sink it. The fish will swim in to get the food or investigate and they're stuck! Check the bottle in a few hours to a day then return your fish to the general population.

[dencio]

Update!

Thanks everyone for the tips. Silly molly has worked her way out of the background (whew!). Now I'll try to plug that gap before anyone else swims in.

You guys are great! thumbs2:

Cheers,

D