I'm kinda just cooling it with mine until after cottage season.

I don't understand your sponge filter problem. Did you get "store bought" sponge filters or sponge filter sponge and the other pieces to make your own sponge filter?

With store bought sponge filters, you connect an air hose (connected to an air pump of course) down the center of the clear plastic tube and into a nipple (usually) at the top of the actual filter. Put it into the tank and the rising bubbles push the water ahead of them out the top of the tube which causes water to be sucked into the bottom of the filter (through the sponge) and so on and so on.

Putting one together yourself is a bit more complicated. There's a great post in the hardware section of the forums:

http://www.fishforums.net/content/Aquarium...-sponge-filter/

Cheers.

I will check it out.

I have plenty of air pumps. I bought the tubes and sponges from DrsFosterandSmith when they had a sale. I suppose I need things to make the pieces connect. I have seen them working in tanks, so I should be able to figure it out. It is just when I take something out to put together, if I don't see immediately how it works I go do something else. LOL It took me a year to put up my first canister filter. I looked at the instructions and all the parts and said, "Later!"

My Rena is still not working after taking it apart and fixing it and all, it stopped again. I have spent hours and I am very annoyed with it!

I hear you.

The number of times I've started something but got distracted and moved on is plain to see if you come into my office.

I'm slowly come to realize that if I really want something and I'm under a time constraint I'll go out to buy it or pay someone to do it.

Good luck with your filters. Did you take a look at the link I posted?

Cheers.

Not yet. I will.

* sigh *

Don't make me come over there!

I still didn't get it.

LOL! Is this one of those situations where the woman says "Oh dear, I can't figure this out!", bats her eyes, and the man says "Here, let me show you how it's done."? Unfortunately I live on the other side of the continent. Of course, this could be a good thing for me because after that remark I half expect you to come over and slap me silly(er).

(Trying to swing this thread back to Corys) Do you have any comments/experience about/with metae? A lfs got in a shipment and from the pictures in Ian's book they look quite nice. Just thought I'd ask before I drive all the way downtown...

Cheers.

Answer to first order of business: Absolutely that is what I expect!

I don't have metae. I have melini which is similar. I know Baracuda has some--or did. He liked them. I think they would be a nice little fish. They would be nice with pandas perhaps and arcuatus/skunks. My melini are with a group of smallish black and white species. Are the metae also small?

Well, I'm going right out and buy a plain (sic) ticket



C. metae are a bit larger 45 - 50 mm vs melini 40 - 45 mm and yes, from Ian's pictures they look quite similar but it looks to me like the metae's snout is a but longer and the rear stripe starts just before the adipose fin vs before the dorsal fin.

I think I may give them a call tomorrow and ask if they have any left. I'm getting itchy...

Those little buggers!

The female has been laying eggs off and on for a couple of months now and I've managed to get a few out of the tank and into the nursery tank but no luck with hatching.

This morning she was at it again big time. I decided to let them harden a bit before moving them (the eggs) so I had breakfast but when I came back down the eggs were all gone except for one. These guys sure have a taste for caviar.

I'm going to get some of those plastic pint containers that you get strawberries in and place them over the plants with the eggs next time and see if that helps.

<sigh> If it's not one thing it's the other...

I find that mine don't eat the eggs so fast if they have plenty of their own. If you can get some kind of live food that you can put in during the spawn or at the end of it, so they can find food to restore their energy, it might delay their snacking.

Peppers are notorious for egg eating, but when I kept a supply of blackworms in their tank they weren't much interested in the eggs.

I have also heard that Corys are more liable to eat the non viable eggs. I don't know how true that is.

This post has been edited by jollysue: Jul 8 2008, 08:31 AM

Just the evening before I fed them frozen bloodworm on which they pigged out. One of the problems is that there are 9 other Corydoras in the tank with them so it may not be the spawning group that's eating them. As for blackworms, I've made some local inquiries about those but so far all the replies have been negative.

As for them eating non-viable eggs I too have heard that. This kinda bothers me because since the March disaster I have yet to have a single one of their eggs hatch.

But thank you for your suggestions Jollysue. They are always most welcome.

Cheers.

Well, the little buggers fooled me again.

I noticed this morning that the 2 males were interested in the female but not overly so. But I thought I'd keep my eye on them. Well, it was a busy day (long story) and tonight when I checked on them, they had laid eggs...

Needless to say I couldn't try my 'trick' to increase the likelihood of the eggs being fertilized but I ripped out the plant with the eggs and dropped into my fry tank.



So now we wait.

I hope they hatch for you.

Thanks for that thought. It's been quite a while since any of their eggs have hatched. From the last batch that did hatch only a few survived but were stunted.

Think happy thoughts...

The difference with live food is that you can keep a suppy in the tank. So they can graze on the live worms when they want and not just when you feed them. If they get a snack attack and there is no other food, would they not be more liable to snack on eggs if they are egg eaters?

Anyway that was my point.

Oh, you had a point?

Well, the eggs had hatched this morning and I saw one wiggler. Oh joy, oh joy.

When lunch time came I saw 2 fry but they weren't moving,,, <sigh>

Water specs are 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 0 Nitrate. Ph ~7.6

Well, at least I've got them to hatch again. Woot!

To be continued....

Congrats!
And razzberry returned in duplicate!


Have you tried using water from the parent tank? Maybe they are sensitive. Some of mine hatch readily and live. Some have fry running around the parent tank. But some seem to be more sensitive and getting them to adults is more work. I have some I am working on.

Try rain water! heehee Or RO.

I got some black sand from my friendly sole ownership lfs today. A lady came in with a filter that was giving her trouble that she got somepalce else. They had apparently sold her that filter. a ten gallon tank, a common Goldie and a Common Plec and RO water! She also wanted another fish for the tank. omts here we come! The lfs where we were is an African Cichlid store!



I told her the best she could do there was upgrade her tank and to come back when then. Then gave her a little education on the nitrogen cycle and why one of her goldies (she had 2) died when the filter stopped working because the water was too low.

Sigh....

This post has been edited by jollysue: Aug 15 2008, 03:27 AM