OMG He did it again!

[jeaninel]

My male BN Pleco got himself stuck AGAIN inside the intake tube of my Penguin 350 filter. He had done this before about 9 months ago. He knocked off the bottom part of the intake tube and crawled up inside all the way to where it bends into the top of the filter. I had to cut the tube apart, grab his tail and pull him out. The first time he was stuck in the tube for 3 days. This time I knew what to do. . Unfortunately I destroyed that top part of the intake tube. Last time I had a spare filter I could use for parts. But this time I had to order the part from Marineland. It's only a $4.59 part but shipping cost me $14! Bleh!!

Has anyone else ever had their pleco get stuck inside their filter tube?

Here's some pics I took from the first time he got stuck. He was a little beat up but the little monster recovered fully.

 

[lardieleftover]

What a curious little pleco. Might be hungry. You can silicone the little intake guard to the tube. Make sure it's aquarium safe

 

[mrtoofay]

Making the connections a little harder to break off is a start. You know he likes tubes, might as well give him what he wants. Put some pleco caves or even pieces of pvc pipes will give him more suitable homes. Oh, If he's that interested in caves, perhaps it's him to find him a wife.

 

[jeaninel]

Lol yeah maybe I'll get him a pvc tube of his own although there is plenty of driftwood and hiding spots for him. Oh, and he does have a girlfriend. I thought about siliconing the tube but it's the middle section of the assembly that falls off, not the strainer. And if i did that it would be kind of hard to clean out.

 

[Oddball]

I've had some fry get trapped in intake tubes. With the types of fish I keep this pic shows what can usually be the cause of a stuck fish. My son was helping me with water changes when this endli decided it wanted a waterpark ride up a Python tube. It got stuck and couldn't move either forward or backward. My son called me at work freaking out over the endli. I told him to get my field bandaging shears and bust up the python. The endli came out fine and just a little shaken. He was back on his feed by morning.

 

[xraycer]

I don't think silicone will adhere to the platic of the tube, but what I would do is get a soldering iron and just melt a few spots at the joint seam

 

[xraycer]

That's friggin' great, Oddball!

 

[Linus_Cello]

Lol yeah maybe I'll get him a pvc tube of his own although there is plenty of driftwood and hiding spots for him. Oh, and he does have a girlfriend. I thought about siliconing the tube but it's the middle section of the assembly that falls off, not the strainer. And if i did that it would be kind of hard to clean out.

I think the pleco likes the high water flow (there are also lots of stories of plecos crawling up the outflow of HOB filter), in addition to the confined hiding space ("tube"). So if you do get a pvc tube for it, you may also want to consider getting a koralia circulation powerhead and pointing it at the tube.

 

[Oddball]

Most Loris prefer tunneling into a stream bank. So, placing the current 90 degrees perpendicular to the tube entrance should be preferred to placing the tube parallel to the current flow.

I'd use standard plastic cement over silicone sealer to seal the strainer to the tube. The cement works on nearly all plastics and is inert once fully cured. And the curing time is days faster than silicone.

 

[jeaninel]

I've had some fry get trapped in intake tubes. With the types of fish I keep this pic shows what can usually be the cause of a stuck fish. My son was helping me with water changes when this endli decided it wanted a waterpark ride up a Python tube. It got stuck and ucouldn't move either forward or backward. My son called me at work freaking out over the endli. I told him to get my field bandaging shears and bust up the python. The endli came out fine and just a little shaken. He was back on his feed by morning.

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Oddball, that is Crazy!! How in the heck did that guy fit inside the Python? My Python the tubing itself is only about 3/4" diameter. Did you have an extra long end piece? I did have a pictus cat swim rright up the python tube once but he was too big to fit past the larger end piece. I closed the valve and he fell right back out. Lol