found tang stuck on powerhead

[KafudaFish]

I found my yellow tang stuck on my Seio powerhead earlier. Cannot figure out how. The right side of his head was stuck on the intake. His right eye is pulled out of the socket and it looked like the left was being sucked through to the other side. He is now resting on the bottom of the tank and is breathing normally. Any advise on what to do? I think moving him would stress him to the point of death. I really do not want to give it the freezer treatment and hope he makes a recovery. The biggest problem is if he dies no one might be around during the next few days due to pregnancy issues.

 

[cee]

I warned people of this almost a year ago and offered a simple solution after my purple tang got caught twice. He pulled through the first time, but not the second (sucked his operculum almost clean off and did a number on his gills). Sorry you experienced the problem, Mike, and it doesn't sound good. I think you're doing the right thing by letting him be and observing him for now. You should know a lot more by the morning whether he stands a chance or not.

Dave

 

[KafudaFish]

Dave,
Thanks. I figure it is wait and see at this point. What is the solution? I have some egg crete and was wondering if I should build a cage around the cylinder and zip tie it in place.

 

[Fishboy42]

Sorry to hear about that

Here's Dave's thread about the Seio problem/solution:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=651680&highlight=seio

I haven't had any problems with fish (clowns, dottys, angel) or inverts getting stuck in mine, but I have only a smaller 820 model.

Matt

 

[cee]

I never had any problems after adding this easy fix. It introduces a gap between the intake and the body of the Seio which makes it harder, but probably not impossible, for fish to get stuck against the intake. I'm glad Matt could find the link, save me from having to explain it again

Dave

 

[KafudaFish]

Thanks. I will see what I have when I get home and hope the fish is still alive. I think I understand without a picture from the old thread. The Seios eat my snails too. They get trapped on the intake and get pulled out of their shells.

 

[ct_vol]

I lost a sebae anemone that decided to take flight... I haven't had any problems with the 820's, but I'll probably do that mod when I switch the 1500's from my 135 to my 120...

 

[KafudaFish]

Sadly the fish died. He ate when I got home and swam around until midnight. He then swam into the back corner and died during the night. I thought he might make it, his left eye was back in place, was swimming and eating but alas no.
I got the couplings from HD and will try Dave's hint tonight. There were 2 models, one for 59 cents and $1.71. Some employee asked if I had any questions and I said "Yeah, why does this one cost three times as much?"
He answered, "This one has a stopper." It was the 59 cent one.
He did not have an answer when I asked him, "Isn't that crazy?"

 

[cee]

Sorry to hear that, Mike. Hopefully the "fix" will prevent future occurances. A stopper on a slip fitting? That doesn't make sense. Sounds like on end has a female pipe thread maybe? BTW, the ID of the slip fitting should be slightly smaller than the OD of the Seio body, and that's why you have to make the cut after you cut off the ring in order to get it to fit over the body of the Seio. Does that make sense?

Dave

 

[KafudaFish]

Yes it does. The stopper he was talking about is for the type of fitting that connects 2 pipes. There is an inner lip in the center that each pipe rests against after you insert them into the coupling. With the other one you can choose how far the coupling can fit. Sorry I cannot think of the proper term at the moment. Afterall I have never stayed at ...........