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I have a filter that hangs down into the tank to suck up water. Three fish have died from getting stuck to it. And now I am very worried because my Pictus Cats like to hang around the filter and I have lost a Channel Cat because of this. Should I get a new filter or is it just bad luck???

You should have a filter basket attached to the inlet. This prevents these sorts of incidents from happening.

ok tanks!!!

if you're talking about fish getting stuck to the filter and not getting sucked up the filter tube, you may have a more serious problem at hand. most well fish, even small fish like neons and my .5 inch cory fry can outswim a filter. they may get curious and swim up the intake if they can. if they can't fit in the filter intake, they'll swim away. if your fish aren't healthy, they may get stuck to the intake while dead or dying. if i were you, i'd check ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in the tank, look for possible signs of illness on the fish (not eating, redness of gills or fins, red streaks, flashing, abnormal behavior), and look for ways toxins may be getting in to the tank. if they're swimming up the intake because they can fit there, get a sponge prefilter or a replacement filter basket like Silurus said and that will probably fix your problem. if not, you need to find out why your fish aren't strong enough to swim away.

-Liz