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Elassoma gilberti: Round 2!

Started by Guest_EricaLyons_* , Sep 11 2013 08:52 AM

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136 replies to this topic

#121 Guest_gerald_*

Guests

Posted 21 January 2014 - 12:53 PM

Heat kills leeches pretty quick. Put the sand in a bucket or rubbermaid tub and fill with hot water. They'll be dead in minutes. Blackworms are perfectly good food - just don't put in so much at one time (with leeches).

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#122 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 21 January 2014 - 01:15 PM

That's a good idea. My tap water gets near boiling. I will try the hot water suggestion tonight and let everyone know how it goes.

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#123 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 21 January 2014 - 01:53 PM

I would do it twice, since much of the heat from the first filling will go towards warming up the cool sand.

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#124 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 21 January 2014 - 02:33 PM

all right
(it's pure clay kitty litter, not sand)

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#125 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 21 January 2014 - 04:44 PM

There's an ice storm right now so going out and buying a new bag of pure clay kitty litter might be more difficult than just faux-boiling what I have. But we'll see how I feel once I start scooping that leechy goodness up. I might get too squeamish and just throw it all out. I can't guess how I'm going to feel until I've actually got my hands in the mud with the hundreds of leeches.

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#126 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 21 January 2014 - 07:00 PM

Update:
I drained the tank, put the majority of the kitty litter in a bucket, and set it in the bathtub with the hot water tap running. Then I drained as much of the water out of the tank as I could. The little bit of kitty litter still in the tank had leeches, but from past experience I've learned hot water + silicone = leaking aquarium. So I up-ended a four pound box of Morton's iodized table salt into the tank on top of the half inch of mixed water and clay. Then I drained the bucket with the cooked clay of the majority of its water and poured the kitty litter back in the tank. It's now about three? four? inches of solid gray liquid-ground. I'm going to let it settle and let the extremely high salt content kill the rest of the leeches. The plants are safe in water in a bucket, although I've noticed they've shed some leeches.

The rest of the setup is construction rather than deconstruction, so I'll continue it on this topic: http://forum.nanfa.o...oma-okefenokee/

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#127 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 18 February 2014 - 12:26 AM

What is a good filter for an Ellasoma tank?

Something that can move water but not too expensive?

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#128 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 18 February 2014 - 12:44 AM

My favorite filter is a hang on back waterfall with some sort of netting over the intake. I prefer quiet. Sponge filters tend to be louder than waterfall filters. Both work.

One time I stuck a $2 paradiso sea sponge over my filter intake. That works, as does mesh.

Posted Image

http://gallery.nanfa...07_001.JPG.html

Posted Image

http://gallery.nanfa...ze_002.jpg.html

^ fry hanging out comfortably near filter intake.

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#129 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 18 February 2014 - 12:52 AM

No no, that won't do at all. Anybody?

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#130 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 18 February 2014 - 06:34 AM

Hamburger Mattenfilter.

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#131 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 18 February 2014 - 07:22 AM

I agree with Subrosa!

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#132 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 18 February 2014 - 08:19 AM

Why use a filter that takes up so much tank space when filter designs exist that leave more room in the tank for the fish?

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#133 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 18 February 2014 - 09:14 AM

Why use a filter that takes up so much tank space when filter designs exist that leave more room in the tank for the fish?

I was thinking about it (trying to think up something good a mattenfilter can do that other filters can't), and I got it. Wow that would be so useful. It's a tank divider. Lol, I think I might actually have to install one now. I'm in the process of making a cichlid tank that needs a region in it to put the tumblers and the juveniles before they're big enough to be housed safely with their parents. The design I'd been considering using 7 mesh plastic canvas is probably not going to be able to withstand the adult cichlids pummeling it. This thicker sponge would be perfect.

Posted Image

http://diskusdream-h.../werkstatt.html

Speaking of, that'd probably be a good setup for an elassoma tank because you could stick a male and two females back there for a month, then pull them back into the main section and probably get fry using only one tank. That's genius.

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#134 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 18 February 2014 - 10:48 AM

Since max flow is not necessary or even desirable with the target species, I would suggest that instead of the standard setup which places the mattenfilter at one end of the tank to place it a couple inches off the back wall. It's a far more efficient use of the space esthetically speaking. It could make a very nice background. I know of two sources for material, one green and the other brown. The green is a bit garish for my tastes, but the brown is very natural looking. The green is readily available in pond supply places, the brown is available from http://www.firstrays.com/ Here's a pic of the brown in my paludarium:

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#135 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 18 February 2014 - 10:52 AM

I was thinking about it (trying to think up something good a mattenfilter can do that other filters can't), and I got it. Wow that would be so useful. It's a tank divider. Lol, I think I might actually have to install one now. I'm in the process of making a cichlid tank that needs a region in it to put the tumblers and the juveniles before they're big enough to be housed safely with their parents. The design I'd been considering using 7 mesh plastic canvas is probably not going to be able to withstand the adult cichlids pummeling it. This thicker sponge would be perfect.

http://diskusdream-h.../werkstatt.html

Speaking of, that'd probably be a good setup for an elassoma tank because you could stick a male and two females back there for a month, then pull them back into the main section and probably get fry using only one tank. That's genius.

You can grow submerged plants on a mattenfilter to a nice effect.