Rasbora escape artists

[megwattscreative]

Over my year of keeping chili rasboras and sundadanio axelrodi I have noticed some fantastic Houdini esque behaviour from my chilis. First, they all moved into the matten filter (an absolute pain to get out). Then, today I witnessed one swimming directly into my siphon during a water change, chasing a bit of mulm i assume he thought was food. He went up the siphon, into the water change bucket, straight into my net and back into the tank, unharmed. This is the second time this has happened, although the last one made it all the way to the kitchen sink before I scooped him. They're all ok! It would be funny if I wasn't worried about them damaging themselves.

I love these little fish, but not sure id keep them again: they seem intent on leaving their 100L jungle paradise behind in pursuit of very small uncomfortable spaces 😂

 

[si walker]

Yeah i know what you mean. I have to leave the tank water level down. The other night I had a Ruby Tetra Flapping about on the table. I thought the filter was leaking. Luckily i was up and picked her up and seems to have survived for another day.
Funny to think that a Ruby Tetra is the biggest fish i have ever had in the last 10 years. Rasboras for me normally as well.

 

[Bradders]

. Then, today I witnessed one swimming directly into my siphon during a water change, chasing a bit of mulm i assume he thought was food. He went up the siphon, into the water change bucket, straight into my net and back into the tank, unharmed.

Been there, done that! I now have a filter inlet on my hose and a sponge when taking water out. Saves me a lot of stress!!

 

[megwattscreative]

Sponge is a good shout! I added knitting mesh over the already meshed siphon input but they somehow still get in. Cheers for the rec 🙂

 

[LMuhlen]

When I first got my tucano tetras, I once did a water change using a 6mm silicone tube, the one used for air compressors, because I wanted to carefully siphon out whatever goo was forming on the woods at the time. So I was actively looking at the tube the whole time as I removed the goo. When I was done with it, I looked at the bucket and there were, not 1, but 2 tucano tetras in there. And I didn't even see them getting sucked in.

 

[Connswater]

Over my year of keeping chili rasboras and sundadanio axelrodi I have noticed some fantastic Houdini esque behaviour from my chilis. First, they all moved into the matten filter (an absolute pain to get out). Then, today I witnessed one swimming directly into my siphon during a water change, chasing a bit of mulm i assume he thought was food. He went up the siphon, into the water change bucket, straight into my net and back into the tank, unharmed. This is the second time this has happened, although the last one made it all the way to the kitchen sink before I scooped him. They're all ok! It would be funny if I wasn't worried about them damaging themselves.

I love these little fish, but not sure id keep them again: they seem intent on leaving their 100L jungle paradise behind in pursuit of very small uncomfortable spaces 😂

Syphoned some sticklebacks out into the sink and down the drain via the U bend, netted them out from the outside drain after taking off the metal cover, fortunately I been running the tap earlier so the drain was full of clean water. They lived for years despite being nearly flushed away, I was I think 8, the 1960s. My parents were amazed I saved the fish.

A "few", well in truth, many, decades on, I still have to occasionally rescue young live bearers from the bucket, but I haven't syphoned to the sink, directly, since my childhood.

Sword tails and hatchet fish have jumped out on me, sometimes through small cable access gaps in a hood. However, if I see some decent green swords I might yet decide to breed them as I did in the early 1970s, modern acrylic lids resting on the little cheap Chinese made hangers, are very effective.

 

[megwattscreative]

netted them out from the outside drain

Absolutely terrifying!! Well done you for saving them 🙂