diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/kafka/tools/ConsoleConsumer.scala b/core/src/main/scala/kafka/tools/ConsoleConsumer.scala
index 910691e..6be9f71 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/kafka/tools/ConsoleConsumer.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/kafka/tools/ConsoleConsumer.scala
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ object ConsoleConsumer extends Logging {
     try {
       val stream = connector.createMessageStreamsByFilter(filterSpec, 1, new DefaultDecoder(), new DefaultDecoder()).get(0)
       val iter = if(maxMessages >= 0)
-        stream.slice(0, maxMessages)
+        stream.iterator().slice(0, maxMessages)
       else
         stream