The Rescue

It's not every day that my exceptionally prolific skills as an aquarium fish wrangler are called upon, but on such days it's important I wear my big fish fins. Today's post tells the tale of a mentally unstable hogfish in distress, Mr. Swiss, and the heroic feats of a one Janitor of Atlantis to save his fish friend.

(artist's interpretation)

The Aquascape

 Aquariums are dangerous places. If a fish isn't careful, it can become victim to a number of gruesome fatalities. Aquarium hardware (mostly pumps and overflows) put aquarium inhabitants in danger, particularly small or slender fish, like wrasses and gobies. One of these culprits is an overflow. An overflow, or overflow box, is the beginning of the sump filtration system.

The black box on the right with the slits in the top of it is the overflow box.

An "L" shaped plastic box is inserted into the corner of the aquarium and sealed so that no water can enter it. The top of the box sits at the surface level of the water in the aquarium. This allows only water from the surface to "overflow" and fill the overflow box. The water then travels through a hole drilled into the bottom of the aquarium and enters the sump where it's filtered. Surface water generally contains oils and dissolved organic waste. Continuously filtering the surface water helps remove these excess nutrients.

The other overflow is located all the way in the far left of this picture.

The Escape Plan

Fish like to jump. They take their "fight or flight" response quite literally. Unfortunately for aquarists, this means you'll occasionally come home to your very own crisp fish chip lying on the living room floor. This is why a lot of aquarists will have canopies on top of their aquarium, like I do.

"Look at me! Look at me! I'm a hat!!" - The Canopy

Although they're not very fashionable, canopies do prevent jumpy fish from achieving their lifelong goal of becoming a crispy cat snack. However, aquarium fish are determined, and if they can't jump out of the tank, then they'll just jump into the sump! And how might they do that you ask? Why, quite simply, they jump into the overflow and follow the plumbing to the sump.

"ALL SUMPS LEAD TO THE OCEAN, RIGHT? RIGHT??" - Mr. Swiss

How to Retrieve a Psychotic Fish: Overflow Edition

If you look closely, you'll see a red and white striped slender fish in the bottom right of that picture. That's my pacific redstripe hogfish named Mr. Swiss. Here's a better picture from LiveAquaria.

I bet he tastes just like a candycane! (liveaquaria.com)

For whatever reason, my genius of a fish decided to jump into the overflow. Apparently this is trending, because a few days ago my mystery wrasse ended up in the sump and my dad had to catch him and put him back in the top tank. Fish these days, I swear. I didn't want to let this guy get into the sump because there are several high powered pumps in there that don't have their intakes covered. They're essentially just waiting to suck up Mr. Swiss and make him into fish confetti. I didn't want this to happen.

A better view of the overflow box.

Getting Started

So as I said, I didn't want him getting into the sump and potentially being minced, so I decided I'd have to catch him out of the overflow. As you can see, the overflow isn't just some empty box with a hole in it at the bottom. There are two pipes inside of it. The white pipe you see is open at the top. This leads down into the sump. The pipe behind that (squint a little harder!) is the return pipe from the sump pump. The important information here is that there isn't much space to fit a net inside the overflow.

Fish-vac 2000

First I thought I'd be able to just siphon out the overflow box and hopefully get Mr. Swiss with it, but unfortunately he didn't like the idea of being sucked through a 7 foot long aquarium hose. (Then why was he in the overflow box???) I started by shutting off the sump pump so that the overflow wouldn't keep filling up as I was trying to drain it. Then I siphoned out as much of the overflow box water as I could.

"I just wanted to see the ocean!" - Mr. Swiss

When it got down to about an inch and a half of water, it was time to catch Mr. Swiss. I started off trying to fit the net down there, but this was a terrible idea and didn't have the remotest chance of working, so I opted to use my arm instead. I'd like to take a minute (just sit right there) to tell you why shoving your hand into the overflow of your aquarium is a terrible idea.

Like broken glass, except made of bone! (ncmg.org.au)

If you can't make out that picture, just know those are tiny little calcium carbonate skeletons of tubeworms. They feel like barnacles, only more brittle and smaller. These grow everywhere in aquariums. They grow especially well in tight spaces where you may need to forcefully shove your hand.

"Go ahead, punch us!" (dreamstime.com)

My aquarium is about 28 inches or so deep, and my hogfish was at the bottom of it, all the way in the back, hiding behind a pipe covered in brittle, sharp, bony tubeworms. This is why shoving your arm down into tight spaces to catch a fish is a bad idea:

#hardcoreaquarists

After much flopping (and presumably giggling) Mr. Swiss finally tired out and I was able to pick him up with my hand. Of course, it wasn't that easy. I had to step onto the ledge of my aquarium stand, put my entire torso into the canopy, lean forward as far as possible, and blindly shove my hand 28 inches into the gaping maw of tubeworm hell. But at the end of the day, Mr. Swiss was back and happily swimming in his beloved (presumable) home. Let's take another look at that arm, shall we?

No fish left behind... or in overflow boxes.

I've since covered the overflow boxes with some cardboard while I search for a more permanent solution. Catching fish out of filtration systems is a pain in the ass. Sometimes it's nearly impossible, but every aquarist knows it's only a matter of time before a fish gets sucked into a pump intake if left in the sump for too long. That's why it's always important to be prepared for Evil Knievel fanfish, and rescue them asap. Fish suicide is a serious problem, and only you can help. Support fish in need today, and cover your intakes.