One of those DOH!! moments...

[~Col~]

Hey all,

A little lesson to be learnt here...

I noticed yesterday that the 'el cheapy' canister filter that I have on my axolotl tank was rattling and that the intake pipe had become brittle and was cracking. It's only 14 months old but as I say it was extremely cheap (1year warranty).

So I cleaned it, scrubbed the impeller and repaired it only to find it still rattling away and sounding ready to explode.

Mad dash to the local aquarium wholesalers to grab a AC300 for the tank. It was nice and cheap and would have worked well I thought. Got there and they were out of stock!! Grrr!! So after talking to the owner and explaining about the cheap canister I bought off them 14 months ago he talked me into getting a new Eheim 2215 and took $50 off to sweeten the sale.

Now here is where the lesson is learnt...

I set up the new Eheim, went to the sink to remove the media from cheapy to put into my new filter and then automatically tipped the water from the cheapy down the sink. I then watched in horror as 3 fish went down the drain before I could even react!!

Now given, they were only "feeder" fish that my axolotls have decided to befriend and not to eat for 4 months but I feel horrible that those poor fish went down the drain.

So my lesson for today... do not tip the filter water directly down the drain without checking it first for fish!! I did manage to save one that hadn't left the filter yet.

On a positive note, the tank is looking amazing with the new filter working a dream!

[ScottishFish]

You are only human, these things happen

[wijnands]

That's one of the first things you learn when you start keeping shrimp. Congrats on the Eheim, should be good for at least a decade.

[imma24]

Wow - they must have been pretty tiny - what a shockeroo. Yeah, you never know what you'll find in a filter at cleaning time.

[junkers12]

You will love the canister. I have never had a fish in the filter, that would be a shocker.

[Lady Hobbs]

I've never had fish get into my filter. Don't you have a strainer on the uplift tube? You can prevent that but cutting a piece of foam and making a pre-filter to fit over the tube.

[~Col~]

Yep, the cheap one had a strainer with really tiny slits in it (smaller than normal). The ones that went down the sink were 1" or more. Have no idea how they got in there!! I cleaned the filter 3 days before as it was due for a clean and there weren't any fish in it then.

Maybe it was through one of the cracks in the tube... Who knows... It's not logical...

The feeder fish are Firetail Gudgeons. So they are skinny and long.

Wijnands - that's why I have something covering the intake on my shrimp tanks...lol!!

[Fishisompin]

My sympathies...I've lost three of my favorite Mbunas because I left the cover off after working in the tank. Carpet sores galore...we always think chemical/ bio dangers...humph...