Wave Maker VS Clown Fish

Mania25 · Mar 24, 2015

I'm new to marine aquariums. Just a quick question, I have just put two clown fish in my Kent Bio Reef and they are less than an inch long. I have a Jebao RW-4 wave maker on speed 1, it comes on for a few seconds then turns off then comes back on etc but I'm worried that my clown fish might go near the propellor when it's off for a second and then face certain death when it switches on. So much so that it put my nerves on edge and I'm worried about it. Do you think this could happen or is there anything is can use to cover it that won't effect the function. The front of the wave maker on has three little bars that go in front of the propellor so they could easily swim in. Any ideas?

Thanks.

DMan · Mar 24, 2015

Most of the newer pumps have fail safes so if there is an obstruction the pump won't start up. How well they work I'm not sure.

srva80xx · Mar 24, 2015

I have RW-15's and was worried about the same thing except I run mine on else mode. I was worried they were going to get sucked right in but they have been able to swim away from it

SeahorseKeeper · Mar 25, 2015

A healthy fish should be able to swim away from a powerhead.

Mania25 · Mar 26, 2015

Thanks for the responses guys. They are able to swim away however the setting that suits my tank is the one where the skimmer comes on for two seconds and goes off for two seconds, leaving the blade still for two seconds I was worried they would swim into the propellor when it stops and then would start with them in it.

Mania25 · Mar 26, 2015

Not skimmer I meant wavemaker lol. It's still early.

saltyphish · Mar 26, 2015

Should be good. I was afraid my midas blenny would get hurt the same way. He would perch on the power head when it was not running. Still alive today

wangspeed · Mar 26, 2015

My lawnmower blenny met his death this way. Pump was off for feeding and he went inside to eat algae. One day it turned on while his head was still in...

Mania25 · Mar 26, 2015

That's really sad

. I've decided I'm going to cover the front part with some net of some sort, similar to the the net that holds oranges.

tyler1503 · Mar 27, 2015

Had this happen with a zebra eel

There was a black out and he swam into the intake of a pump. When the power came back on he got shredded by the impeller.

bairdimusprime · Mar 27, 2015

wow sorry about the losses! i think there is a failsafe on these wavemakers but im not sure!
why not put a foam cover over it for some security? if you have clowns you're going to want nems.. and with nems you're going to need covers on your powerheads

best of luck