Losing fish to vortechs :(

[cwatkins]

This sounds odd. I don't know how a healthy fish could get sucked into a vortech. Is it too low in the tank?

I have fish actually reach into the propeller to eat the algae (albeit only when its in feed mode and going slow).

Maybe it's time to use the foam guards then. Note you'll need to increase the speed as the foam slows down water movement.