Fish afraid of the filter?

Question

I just got a filter for a goldfish tank and I think the 2 goldfish are afraid of it. They stay away from the half of the tank with the filter on it because the water coming out of it pushes down hard and creates a current and they wont go near it. They spend all day just on one side like staring at the filter and swimming a little closer to it then backing away. Is this normal? What should I do?

Answer 1

I don't think goldfish are keen on fast-moving water.

Could you try positioning the filter in a way that that it doesn't create so much movement in the tank?You could shield the filter with a piece of glass; some filters, you can insert a piece of tubing into the water outlet and direct the water up over the surface, or into a corner to minimise water movement

Answer 2

Man,I just poster a type of question  like this...but....my betta is obsessed with it. I don't know why. The first answer is the best. What you could do is put a plant right below it so it deflects the water.

Answer 3

If you raise the water level, then the filter output won't be so harsh. Try raising the water level and see if they'll still go on the filter side of the tank.

Btw, don't remove/turn off the filter. Goldfish are big poopers, and produce lots of ammonia, and the bacteria in the filter will remove the ammonia.

E-mail me for any questions!