arfon

ive a kuhli loach who likes to lIve in the external filter. he has been living there now for for 4 months. every time i clean out the filter he's there, so i gently transport him back to the tank. as soon as i do this he's back in the filter. he's obviously finding food in the filter and likes his own company there is not much i can do about it because he swims up the pipe that throws out the water that has been cleaned in the filter. ' must be a good swimmer because the water comes out of the pipe at some force' so i guess all i can do is let him get on with it.

vin

Isn't there some sort of screen you can put over the end, similar to that of one you'd use on the intake tube?

Tom

But if it is doing well and doesn't have any disease, leave it be.
Tom

COBettaCouple

Is there any chance he owes the fish mob money and is in hiding? It's funny behavior for him, but if he's happy and you feel that he can be healthy living there - i guess you could let him do his thing. Netting over the intake tube (cut from a fish net) and held in place with a rubber band might keep him in the tank if you'd like him to stay with the other fish.

Tom

But he could also start to make a small hole in the neeting and still make his way into the filter, the netting could also catch some of that stuff the filter doesn't catch and eventually start to clog the filter, leading to many problems.
Tom

COBettaCouple

The netting would require checking, for those things.. especially getting clogged.. although i've not found that to be more of an issue when cleaning the substrata.

arfon

i think its best i just leave him to it. never thought of netting but i guess there is that small chance it may collect small bits that filter didn't get and eventually clog up. I'll just have to fatten him up so he cant fit Thur pipe :

armadillo

That's really funny! It seems to bring him comfort to be on his own. Unless he can't get back down once he's in there? Very strong swimmer indeed, very impressive!

vin

It would if we were talking about the intake...I think what they are saying is that he's getting into the discharge tube.

Tom

I am aware of the tube that is being used(discharge tube), and the filter can't catch 100% of all the stuff all the time, not even the best filter, and the stuff could build up over time and eventually clog it.
Tom

vin

I would have to disagree Tom. Just because I can tell when my filter media needs a good rinse because my water discharge has slowed. If you're performing regular filter maintenance then there should be no way for the discharge tube to be clogged to the point where you'd have problems. That would have to be a heck of a lot of debris.

sirdarksol

This is funny. I'd have to agree with the "let him do his own thing" votes. There's obviously some condition on the inside of the filter that he likes, considering he is swimming against a strong current to get there. Maybe it's just the extra current he likes. As long as he's not able to get anywhere near the impeller or any of the other moving parts on the intake, what's the harm?