The GFCI breaker for the one pond was popped. It was time for an exciting game of electrical failure hunt!

I unplugged everything that was on that outlet and slowly started plugging everything back in one thing at a time. I was guessing it was a heater. It's usually a heater. In fact the last 4 times a GFCI outlet tripped it's been a dead heater.

Color me surprised when all the heaters were back on.

So I started with the lights next. All the lights were just fine.

Next the filters and pumps. At first I plugged the whole strip in. Blam. Oke, so now we know it's a filter. Let's go check all the filters for leaks, or water or anything burnt out.

Nope. Oke. All filters plug in and are back online and working.

At this point, I'm at a loss. I start slowly plugging back in pumps. One by one, until paydirt!

Ah, but there's nothing clogged the tube is clear, why does it keep shorting?

I run my hand up the cable to take the pump to the sink to try and clean it out, to find a middle section underwater has been cleaned of algae, and chewed on. More importantly half chewed through. Copper wire and all. Chewed and frayed.

As I look over at the other pump and cable, I see it and finally understand.

A 10 inch common pleco chewing the algae off the OTHER pump cable to where I can see white bare wire.

Of course thanks to the GFCI outlet the little bastard didn't electrocute himself.

Stupid plecostomus. I hate you.

Now off to rewire a pump.

Lol...wow amazing how he did that.

Once I get the wire spliced as the pump back running I'll get some pics of the cable. With what happened to the cable, I can't imagine what else it could be.

Lol...damn hungry plecos anyway....good thing you had a breaker could of been a lot more damage.

Wow

Wow again!! I would have never thought a pleco could have done that!!!

Got to love the GFCI breaks and plugs.

Just another good (interesting though) reason to incorporate them into your aquarium or fish room.

These pics should be interesting to see.

Keeper

Yikes! That could have turned out a lot worse. I can't believe the plec did that much damage, crazy fish!

Dang!! That was one hungry pleco!

Nom Nom Nom!

The side:


Another side view:


A view from the top:

My god he was hungry.

Like the jelly doughnut only if copper was the jelly.

I know the pics don't show it but that length of cable is only about 6 inches.

They actually get fed daily, scary enough. The corner where the pump cable comes out is right where I have a bunch of plants growing. There's a grow light for the plants that makes the algae grow especially good in that area.

I'm thinking that the pleco got overly excited (Pleco growth spurt maybe?) because that area of the pond has next to no algae on it anywhere.

Woah I cant believe a pleco did that! What is a GFCI break?

Hard to believe a fish did that. I guess I understand why we need gfci now.

I really can't think of what else would have done it. In the pond was the pleco and a couple of huge pacus. The pacus don't have the precision to go after a small cable like that.

Either that or there's an awfully big rat with scuba gear.

I guess if they eat wood, what is a little power cord?

Wow! That cord is mangled.

Holy cow! Mangled it good, didn't he?

WYite

Wow , I don't now how I missed this post! I have read that in the wild they eat the bark of trees that are submersed, but would never have thought that they would eat through an electrical cable.

wow you got a freak pleco lol

OMG! what a mess. after seeing that i know what to look for first if i have problems.