bichir curling on my filter.

[lix.ma14]

Hi i have a canister filter which has a 'pipe" that draws water and debris into the filter. sometimes, one of bichirs swims to the top of the tank and when it comes down again, it sometimes observes the pipe. the problem is, he sometimes, gets stuck for 1 or 2 seconds on the pipe where it has slots to suck the water and debris in. i'm just afraid that it might tear my bichir's delicate fin. since many of you guys have filters (i hope so) and bichirs in this forume, have you experienced this before??

thanks

 

[cdubel01]

never had this problem, but interested to hear results...

 

[JamesF]

I wouldn't worry about it tearing the fin. If it did, normal currents in a river would tear them as well.
The only time I'd worry is if the bichir has trouble getting off of the filter intake. A quick remedy is to put a sponge over it. An aquaclear sponge with a slit cut into it works very well.