On 6 Jun 2003 12:23:08 -0500, "Lee Brouillet" wrote:

I'm not sure how your skimmer box is designed, but mine is a large box
divided in two: one half houses the submersible pump (or in my case, the
pump intake, as I have an external pump), and the other side, where the pond
water intake is, has a removable net to catch debris (mine also has several
layers of window screen to catch the "fines" before the get to the pump). My
smaller fish swim in/out all the time, chasing food that eluded them at
feeding time, but is now nice and soft, sitting in the skimmer box. The only
problem I have is that I frequently find scales that have been ripped out
when larger fish also try for a snack, and can't get out as readily as the
smaller ones. The fish can't get sucked into the pump, and they leave when
they want to. What kind of set-up do you have that would allow a 4" fish to
get sucked up? Did you remove the debris net???

My skimmer is similar to yours except that in place of your window
screen is a piece of 1" thick plastic filter material. After
rescueing my comet I removed the debris net as that seems to the be
problem for them - they get hung up in it and drown.

John