Half moon betta getting caught against filter intake

[fishel]

Alright so this is my first fish, a male half moon (at least that's what it said on his cup). I tried to research as much as I could before I got him but I can't find anything about the problem I'm having. I have him in a top fin 5.5 gallon aquarium, that came with a top fin 10 power filter

(http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2752295)

and the filter intake tube seems to be sucking him towards it. I found him stuck against it yesterday morning and after not moving for a few seconds he wriggled away it looked like he was having a hard time getting away from it until he was a little ways away. I put some of his fake plants around it, and I have it several layers of pantyhose material covering it now so his fins won't get sucked in. The nylons have slowed it a lot, but he still swims close to it sometimes and gets his fins stuck against it. He gets away a lot easier, but it still looks kind of difficult. Is there anything else I can try to make it easier on him?? Or could he be doing it on purpose?

Any help is appreciated

[MSG]

You would have to fit a piece of sponge or something similar over the intake. Using p-hose isn't going to be enough. So either buy one, or try to make one yourself.

Oh the intake tube is doing what it's supposed to do. It sucks up debris in the water. Not the filter's fault it doesn't have some sort of control switch. Blame the people who designed that entire line of filters.

I'm not sure if any of their filters have a switch, but I do know the smaller ones don't.

You will have to fix that issue on your own you don't like it or buy another filter.

I've decided I don't like mine, so I don't use it.

[JessSH]

Unforunately, I don't hve any suggestions. I had a similar filter at first for my 10 gal & I tried for a couple hrs (literally) to fix it to no avail. I ended up having to get new filter, it's Tetra 10i Whisper. I still had to modify the bottom because it has slits for the intake part, but the suction is way less. I ended up just putting some embroidery mesh over it & it works great. Good luck!

[fishel]

Oh dear...Well I've bought a sponge I'l try in the morning, and if that doesn't work I'll probably just end up buying the Tetra Whisper. Thanks for the advice

[MSG]

Here's what that filter that Jess suggested http://thegab.org/Water-Quality/filt...isper-10i.html

This is another one I was using, but I don't like the intake for it.
http://www.amazon.com/Tetra-ReptoFil.../dp/B000HHM9BE

Just grab some filter floss wrap it around the intake tube.

If you don't have filter floss, just grab some plain white cotton balls and pull them apart slightly. 4-6 should be more than enough for the time being to buy you time to find a more permanent solution.

The TopFin WORKS, but I like filters with FEATURES. That TopFin 10 is one of the bottom level filters for beginners because they come with the starter tank kits.

Search around the net or this forum. There's 10000's of people who own this filter & you're not the first person to encounter this problem.

Also, if you've ever been to preschool/elementary school I'm sure you remember arts & crafts. It will require those skills to fix it.

Good luck.

[fishel]

UPDATE: So, to solve my issue, I've just shoved filter floss into the intake, which has slowed it a ton but it's still taking in water. I also ended up having to baffle the outtake with a sponge as well, as that was also much too strong for little Gimli. Now the filter isn't causing him any problems. I'm not sure how well it's filtering, but at least it isn't trying to suck up the fishy.

[Myates]

You can also use the toe end of a nylon pantyhose and wrap it around the filter intake and tie it off.. sometimes that helps keeping the intake to a minimum without blocking it so much.

[fishel]

I tried the nylon before the filter floss. It did slow it a lot and kept him from getting his fins damaged, but it would still suck him up against it and trap him for a minute until he either struggled away or I turned off the filter.