Should I divide it, or let him live alone?

[labloverl]

Yea, I think there's a black foam-looking-thing in front of the cartridge in my HOB filter. It says "do not dispose." Does putting foam into the intake keep it from pulling on the fish?

As worried as I was about messing up the cycle, I did decide to keep the HOB filter and I'll put the heater close to the divider on the other side. I made the craft divider and used the blue ends from the divider I bought a few years ago to hold it up. The filter flow is a bit strong for Sawyer, but I read that slowing the flow can kill the bacteria??? Is that true, or can I baffle the filter? I also wish I could get the floating ends of the tall plant on the right side to stay in one place. I'd like to secure them to the divider to block the view a bit or maybe even act as a barrier from the strong current so that he can come up to the surface without any trouble.

[Hallyx]

Slowing the flow reduces the amount of food flowing over your bacteria. Using foam to slow it provides more room for more bacteria. It balances out.

It takes more than several days with NO flow to kill the bacteria as long as it's kept wet. They go dormant first. Drying out kills them right away.

Don't bother blocking the view until you see if it needs blocking.

Nice job hiding your filter and heater.