Fish trapped behind 3d background
#1
Hi folks,
I'm pretty new to the tropical fishkeeping world, I've just built my first tank, as follows:
Juwel Rio 180L
Standard Juwel filter and pump setup (black box style)
I fitted an Aquaterra 3d "amazon tree" background. Took me a week to take the top off the tank, cut the background to size, and fit, put the brace and top back on, but that's another story. See the pics for the tank. It's fully planted now.
I reckon that the actual water volume is only about 150L now that I have all the substrate, and background in.
My tank is fully cycled. Levels yesterday as follows:
0ppm ammonia
0ppm nitrite
5ppm nitrate
7.4 ph
substrate is gravel.
It's planted with amazon swords, various grasses, and cabomba.
I have 2 largish pieces of bogwood, which I soaked for days before I put in so as not to discolour the water.
I've had my tank fully cycled for a month.
I have 12 Danio Kyathit, and yesterday I went to buy a bristlenosed catfish, as a pleco would grow too large, but instead came away with 3 dwarf chain loaches.
I put the chain loaches in last night, they seemed happy, and today when I get home from work I can't see them, so finally I look behind the background with a torch. I saw them briefly.
There was about a 4mm gap down one side of the background, which I left, thinking that nothing could get behind there, and it would stop the water behind the background getting stagnant.
Turns out the loaches can get through pretty small gaps, which I wasn't aware of :(
So my loaches have got behind, and I'm worried that they'll die.
I have all my danios still in front. They seem happy. eating normally and schooling.
I used aquarium safe silicon to cement the background in place, and I was really pleased with the way it turned out, Exactly the look I was after.
I'm struggling to get the fish back out from behind he background. I've tried with a net, but there's hardly any room to move behind the background, and behind the root part, there's a cave like structure so I can't get them in the net.
I've tried with a syphon, but I can't get at them, and I think this might hurt them, which I don't want to do, obviously.
The only thing I can think of now is to gradually fill behind the background, so that the fish have less room to move and I can net them.
I've plugged the gaps now with slivers of the same background material.
If I unplug the gap again do you think they'll come out?
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can rescue these poor fish? They're about 2" long. I feel like I've made a schoolboy error here and I'm annoyed as hell with myself that these poor critters are suffering as a result.
I've attached a pic of the tank as it looks now, and one which I took when I was building it, so that you can see behind the background.
It's up against a wall now so I can't get behind it :(
Thanks in advance for any suggestions anyone might have.