Fish Dying in back chamber of 14g Biocube

xokarmaxo

xokarmaxo

Member
My sweet little Midas blenny that I rescued from the LFS over 3 weeks ago jumped into the back compartment of my 14g Biocube sometime during the evening/night.
For those who have the same tank as I do, he is in the powerhead compartment (3rd chamber) in the pocket where that little slit is where the water level says "Maximum" and "Minimum" on the outside of the tank. He looks like he wants to come out because before he ended up back there, he was actually sitting on the sponge looking up for a way to get out of there.
My tank is here at work, so I only had a little over an hour to try to get him out before I had to get back to work. I tried sticking my hand in there to barehand him out, I tried using the turkey baster to get him out, I tried flooding the compartment, hoping that he would swim over, but nothing worked. He is in that teeny tiny pocket/slit that is IMPOSSIBLE to reach and get to him.
At lunchtime, I will try to siphon him out with the hose to see if that will work.
My question is this... if worse comes to worse and he dies back there, how bad will it affect my tank? I can see the back end of his tail back there, but I haven't seen him move in a long time. I'm wondering if the turkey baster incident killed him?

I REALLY want to get him out of there! He's come so far from where he was over 3 weeks ago when I rescued him from the LFS all beaten up, thin and fragile.

UPDATE: 12:05pm: He's out!!! I siphoned the little booger out and boy, does that saltwater taste nasty!!!!!
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
LOL glad to hear you rescued him. Do you know how he got there in the first place? Did he peter pan it from the main tank to one of the other compartments? you could try to get a small piece of plastic or screen and cover that area seeing as though its not essential to have it open so that no further suicide attemps happen. Getting sucked into that little impeller wouldnt make for a good day either.
 
xokarmaxo

xokarmaxo

Member
Originally Posted by PerfectDark
LOL glad to hear you rescued him. Do you know how he got there in the first place? Did he peter pan it from the main tank to one of the other compartments? you could try to get a small piece of plastic or screen and cover that area seeing as though its not essential to have it open so that no further suicide attemps happen. Getting sucked into that little impeller wouldnt make for a good day either.
I have NO idea how he got back there. Had to jump back there for some reason. He's been in the tank for over 3 weeks and he's been, for the most part, the little "king" of the tank. Not shy one bit. Wonder what made him take the leap? He's back in the tank now, but has been hiding behind my pagoda cup. I saw him try to venture out, but then go right back to hiding again. I know that he's GOT to be stressed to the max after his little ordeal this morning! I plan to go out and get something to cover that little opening so that something like this doesn't happen again.
 
huskerreefer

huskerreefer

Member
My Bi-Color Dottyback did that twice to me last week. I finally had to jimmy-rig a barrier and have had no further problems. Basically I made a cut down a length of tubing (the one I used to get the bugger out) and slipped it over the edge that separates the front part of the tank from the rear part. I then used some plastic mesh type material (got it from hobby shop...I think it is used as a grid for knitting) and twist tied it to the cables that go to my lights. Basically it hangs down on the front tank side and is paired with the tubing to form a barrier that prevents the fish from jumping back over. It's pretty ghettofabulous, but it gets the job done and I don't notice it from the front of the tank.
Hope this makes sense to you....if not, I will try to get a picture up.
 
xokarmaxo

xokarmaxo

Member
Originally Posted by HuskerReefer
I finally had to jimmy-rig a barrier and have had no further problems. Basically I made a cut down a length of tubing (the one I used to get the bugger out) and slipped it over the edge that separates the front part of the tank from the rear part. I then used some plastic mesh type material (got it from hobby shop...I think it is used as a grid for knitting) and twist tied it to the cables that go to my lights. Basically it hangs down on the front tank side and is paired with the tubing to form a barrier that prevents the fish from jumping back over. It's pretty ghettofabulous, but it gets the job done and I don't notice it from the front of the tank.
Hope this makes sense to you....if not, I will try to get a picture up.
I read your thread to help myself out! That's how I knew about trying to siphon him out!
I would LOVE to see pics of how you rigged your tank up to help prevent further jumping attempts. I'll have to try that. In my desperation to find something to get my little guy through the night without further trips to the back, since my tank is at work, I just placed a piece of plastic back there that kind of "drapes" the back part. HOPING that it will keep him out of the back until I find a more permanent solution.
Post some pics!
 
huskerreefer

huskerreefer

Member
Well the pictures worked...sorry it took me so long to reply! I hope this helps you out...it has done the trick so far for me.
 
xokarmaxo

xokarmaxo

Member
Originally Posted by HuskerReefer
Well the pictures worked...sorry it took me so long to reply! I hope this helps you out...it has done the trick so far for me.
Ahhhhh..... seeing the pics, it totally makes sense! Thank you SO much for posting them! That's what I am going to have to do with mine.
Though after my ongoing battle with red bubble algae, I am having to break down my tank and start all over again, and since I have to do that, I figured what the heck, I'll go ahead and upgrade to the 29 gallon Biocube.
 
blondie_00

blondie_00

Member
Originally Posted by xokarmaxo
Ahhhhh..... seeing the pics, it totally makes sense! Thank you SO much for posting them! That's what I am going to have to do with mine.
Though after my ongoing battle with red bubble algae, I am having to break down my tank and start all over again, and since I have to do that, I figured what the heck, I'll go ahead and upgrade to the 29 gallon Biocube.

i have the 29 gal bio cube and my tiger jawfish did the same thing so you might have the same prob...sorry
 
xokarmaxo

xokarmaxo

Member
Originally Posted by blondie_00
i have the 29 gal bio cube and my tiger jawfish did the same thing so you might have the same prob...sorry

Oh, I am sure that it will happen again. When I get the 29 gal, I plan to rig it up the same way to try to prevent it. :jumping:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top