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Went to feed fish asmorning and I noticed some thing wrong. The powerhead was not pumping out water. I could not see the little bubbles within the current along the back of the tank. Went to flip switch on(the stand has switchs and plugs wired into it) and it was on. That was when I noticed one of my peacock cichlids was blocking the suction on the powerhead. If you don't want the graphic details DO NOT read the next part.


First I noticed the tail sticking out of the suction and then I noticed his head sticking down by his tail. He was formed in the shape of " U ". When I freed him from the powerhead he was still shaped like this due to rigormortis. It had look like his inside had gotten rupture from the negative pressure and force of the suction. His body got sucked in the circular suction right up to the plastic screen cover the impeller. You could virtually see the outline of the circular suction on his body.

The peacock was healthy and disease free. Time of death uncertain, but sometime between 1:00am to 11:00 am. I had removed the quickfilter to clean/replace polyester media and left it off, I don't always run the quickfilter attactment as it is optional. The powerhead is aquaclear 802 and it has 400g/hour rating. It has a plastic screen in the circular suction which prevents debris from contacting the impeller. When placing my fingers up against the suction I was surprised by the force and could understand how a cichlid that 3.5-4 could get sucked into the powerhead. The suction proved really powerful if you make a seal using the plam of your hand. Could it have been a sleepy fish drifted into the suction at night? I haven't ruled out dying first then getting sucked up, but he was healthy and one the strongest fish in the tank. Has this happened to anyone else? I am definitely going to always run the quickfilter attachment with or without media. Anyone thoughts on this would be appreciated.


Losing fish to equipment sucks. sucks bad.

I lost a green terror to my aquaclear 50 in my 37 cube a few weeks ago. He was head-in, so I'm not sure if he got sucked in or went willingly. The only reason I would say willingly is because the (larger) convict doesn't let him use any of the caves in the tank and he might have been looking for a cave.

My Aquaclear 50 doesn't have the screen that you mention, so I rearranged my plastic plants (it's a convict tank after all) so that one of them is directly under the intake on the powerhead in hopes that the replacement terror won't suffer the same fate.

My AquaClear 150 caused the loss of my 3 prized male guppies as the tube fell off.]:|]:|]:|]:|]:|]:|

I loast an entire school of glow light tetras to an aqua clear 300. I actually watched the entire school get sucked up. It was horrific.

I'm surprised...peacocks are pretty robust, as you probably know. A powerhead should be no problem.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 26-Mar-2005 19:59

I agree with cup....is it possible the fish was already dead before it was sucked into the powerhead? Or maybe it could have been weakened somehow? Check your parameters and make sure everything else in the tank looks healthy.

A healthy fish should *easily* be able to avoid the suction of ANY filter, provided it's not monster big for the tank it's in

Even if he got pulled to it while sleeping, the shock would send him bolting
As mentioned above something might have be going on there,
Health wise....might have been something thats not obviously detected????

Totally not related but what do you feed him?

Last edited by mr_cichlid at 28-Mar-2005 10:16

I too believe that if this fish has lived in the tank with that particular powerhead for any length of time and was healthy, there's no way he would have gotten sucked into it. When fish are weakened for some reason, then they can't fight it. I actually freed a half dead white cloud from a Penguin 125 intake and it was in the half moon shape while still alive. I had to euthanize it.

Totally not related but what do you feed him?

Cichlid flakes, spirulina sticks, occasional mysis shrimp and they tend to snack on bottom feeder food like shrimp pellet, algae wafer and greens.




aquaclear 802
That suction opening on the powerhead is circular with rectangler grooves that stick and the suction was powerful enough to break the skin with edges of the grooves.

Ruling out any environmental conditions and obivious signs of disease I am determining it was accidental. Still haven't totally ruled out disease and I'll probably agree he never drifted while asleep since most cichlid sleep on the bottom. He could have been going for a piece of "food"(or debris that looked like food) that was making its way towards the suction and the cichlid swam brood side way to close and got stuck. He definitely got caught center brood side. If you ever get a chance you should check the suction of the 802, you will be surprised. The difference between it and say a down tube from a powerfilter is that the fish brood side against the circular suction ring on the powerhead can form a really good seal and this not possible with tube that has 360 suction. Well that my 2 cents. I'm definitely going to keep the quickfilter attachment on and keep an eye for disease in case.

Last edited by openwater at 28-Mar-2005 23:30

I use a few of those same Powerheads and have never had a fish suck into it, for any reason other than being ill/dead.
Again a healthy fish should be able to avoid a powerhead.

Also Peacocks are carnivores and you may consider adding a bit more live foods for the to really prosper. Doesn't have to be live even, Just HIGHER IN PROTEIN. Greens are good, but as a supplement, as far as peacocks are concerned

Lastly, why would you post a thread asking opinions/advise and then refuse what has been offered?
Just my two cents,

Last edited by mr_cichlid at 29-Mar-2005 19:33