Michigan Cichlid Association
General Category => DIY => Topic started by: Marty on June 08, 2013, 08:58:45 PM
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Here are the winners of the DIY contest.
Mike Zebrowski - 1st place - festae taxidermy project
Rich Emmers - 2nd place - multi tank filler, using PVC and ball valves
Marty Derenge - 3rd place - synodontis petricola spawning cave
Dan Lee - 4th place - tank divider
This is the link to Dan Lee's video for a tank divider. The download will take a while because it's a large file, but it's worth it.
https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D6221705_1188590_7777350
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My project:
You'll need a clay pot with a opening dimension of about 5 1/4", a cool whip container (the larger size works best), marbles, and a dremel or tool to cut a hole in the pot.
Synodontis petricola are scatter spawners, which basically means they let their eggs drop wherever they spawn. As a result, the eggs and babies have a tendency to get eaten by the other tank inhabitants. Using this cave, you can drastically improve your odds of spawning petricola.
Take a clay pot and cut a hole in it using a dremel or perhaps a hole saw if you can find one that can be used to cut through ceramic or clay. If you cut a hole about 1 1/2" in diameter, it tends to encourage them to use the cave.
Add a layer of marbles about 3 deep in the bottom of the cool whip container, and place the pot on top of the cool whip container.
What the marbles in the cave do is allow a place the fish to spawn, and the eggs drop between the marbles where the fish can't get to them. If you check the pot about every 5 days, you'll eventually see eggs in the bottom of the container. You will have to remove the marbles by hand in order to see them, as they are very small.
This method can also be used with other scatter spawning fish like danios. In that instance, you would just have an open container (like a rectangular tupperware container) filled with marbles on the bottom of the tank.
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That's a pretty slick idea with the marbles Marty. Haven't downloaded the file for Dan's yet but will tonight. Is there a link or pics of Mike and Rich's projects coming as well?
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Rich will be posting his when he has a chance. I'll have to ask Mike if he has time to type out his description as it was pretty detailed.
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Interesting..... I've always seen Petricola bowls with the opening in the top (actual bottom of the pot)
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You can do it that way too, it makes no difference.
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Nice, Marty. I'm looking forward to hearing more about the other two as well. Wish I could have been there. Sounds like an interesting meeting.
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I will take a few pictures and give some details here in the next few days:)
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Wow great job... Some great ideas
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You can do it that way too, it makes no difference.
it was my understanding that the entry is made in the top in order for them to have full surface area of the sides to spawn.
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I will take a few pictures and give some details here in the next few days:)
Bump! :)
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Come on, it's only been a month! He's been remodeling his fishroom again. :)
FWIW, I tried modding my dividers to use in a taller tank and it worked OK except for I need some longer pieces of report binder for the vertical supports, or else superglue two smaller pieces together.
Regardless, so far it's keeping the pink convicts on one side and the red fin caudos on the other.
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Rich Emmers - 2nd place - multi tank filler, using PVC and ball valves
Well I have to make another as i stepped on the one i had.
Basically it was a piece of 3/4"pvc On one end there was a elbow with a piece of pvc going down and then I had a attachment to hook up a garden house, and then the piece of pvc(long piece going vertical,I had 3 ball valves at about 8"-10" apart, the ball valves were 3 way slip, and I then attached a piece of pvc to the middle of the ball valve,this is the part that goes into the tank.
At the end of the vertical piece I put a cap.
When the hose is hooked up I can fill three tanks(that are side by side) all at once or different flows by adjusting the ball valves
I will take a picture of the broken one later
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Rich Emmers - 2nd place - multi tank filler, using PVC and ball valves
Well I have to make another as i stepped on the one i had.
You!? No! Imagine that.:P
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Rich Emmers - 2nd place - multi tank filler, using PVC and ball valves
Well I have to make another as i stepped on the one i had.
You!? No! Imagine that.:P
Hahahahaha
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Neat idea Marty.
Have any Petricola around at the time?