How do you stop your fish from getting stuck to the filter?

Answer 1

This problem could have many causes, depending on your filter and your fish, and therefore many possible solutions:

• diseased fish will often stop moving, or naturally trying to get away from a force like (filter) suction, before other body systems slow down or stop. If your fish are diseased (lying sideways or upside down on the filter intake, or showing other signs of distress - rapid or very reduced gill movement - or disease - covered with spots or tufts or little critters) I would suggest removing them immediately to a hospital tank for proper treatment, according to whatever disease you determine they have.
• naturally slow-moving fish, especially some water surface species (butterfly fish, killies, others), should eventually move away from the force of suction provided by the filter intake, though they may spend some time drifting there without any problem. If they do not move away from the filter intake for hours, they may be diseased (see above.) You could reposition the filter intake, or get a different kind of filter with an intake not so close to the surface (or wherever your species are hanging out, mid-level or bottom of the tank) to keep them physically separated from the suction vis-a-vis where they normally dwell. Particular fish may prefer very specific corners or parts of your aquarium, so again it may just be a matter of relocating the filter intake to 'get it out of their space.'
• if you have modified the filter intake/medium from the original material supplied by the manufacturer, for instance you are using a household sponge as a replacement for a "sponge filter," you should purchase the original filter intake medium/head or whatever and reinstall that immediately. A very strangely modified filter intake or intake medium (sponge, slot configuration, whatever) could potentially trap fish and not let even healthy fish get away. You should never modify aquarium equipment from what the manufacturer designed (and not all equipment is originally designed adequately, unfortunately) until you understand exactly what is going on in your tank (fish and equipment) and can make scientific replacements (experiments) that will likely not harm your fish or the equipment. And as a general rule you should only use equipment designed for a fish tank, or else totally inert plastic, etc., in a fish tank because materials and equipment not designed to support fish and aquatic life could actually be lethal to them. Everything from the wrong gravel to improperly grounded electrical equipment can cause fish distress and death.
• your filter's intake may be too powerful and may need to be divided up into several intakes in different parts/levels of the aquarium. This can especially happen if you have designed/souped-up your filter without regard for trying to pass a huge volume of water through a (one) very small intake. In this case you can increase the surface area of the intake(s) - Warning: do NOT increase size of the spaces between individual openings or you could suck smaller fish into the tubing or filter! - or simply increase the number of intakes (if you have one now, add one or more at different depths of the aquarium.) There are kits that do this very nicely (Custom-Flo), but you usually only get into this kind of equipment when you have a pretty powerful filter and you would likely already know what the issue is and how to prevent/correct it (you wouldn't be asking this question for this reason.)

If you are a beginner I would suggest asking questions at your local pet shop or finding another hobbyist who can assist you with the basics. There are other more fish-specific forums (www.thekrib.com goes to very advanced and is very informative) to find answers and post questions. Good Fortune!

Answer 2

To prevent fish from getting stuck to the filter, make sure the intake is covered with a sponge or guard designed to protect fish from being sucked in. Regularly clean the filter to prevent clogs that could create stronger suction. Additionally, provide hiding spots or plants in the aquarium to give fish places to escape the filter's pull.