White Sponge?

[Gone Fishing]

Hi All,
Since fry will die going for the black sponge, would I have much luck covering my BLACK sponge filter with a light coloured material like filter material or some white foam?

Many Fishy Regards
Jason

[Matt15]

Yes mate thats proberly the easiest way. For some reason all the air powered filters come with black sponges, but these can be replaced with lighter coloured ones from clarke rubber or somewhere simular. However the easiest way to solve this problem would be to use filter wool which is white to cover it with.

[Gone Fishing]

Hi Matt,
Problem now is, now my tank was fully cycled, I'm finding I've had to recycle it again, due to ammonia increasing like it's cycling. I moved the breeding pair back to the community tank.

Any ideas?

Many Kindly Fishy Regards
Jason

[ILLUSN]

I dont think your tank was cycled to begin with.

how did you cycle it?

you'll have to build up the bactria colony to handel the biolad of the pair + 100 odd fry.

try a couple of dead prawns in the tank for a moth, after that a 100% water change and you should be ok.

[AHC]

Hey guys can you please confirm this? - Once your fish are back in the tank and they have laid eggs (tank is cycled) another option is to remove the Sponge filter once the fry have hatched (I havent done this properly yet but ive been told its common practice). Dont feed your fish for the first 8 days or so. This way your fry wont go for the dark filter and your not feeding so there wont be lots of waste. Then you can put the sponge filter back in the tank once the fry are big enough and feeding of the pair. Make sure you feed the pair lots of protein food before they lay eggs so they make a nice slime coat for the fry to feed off.

[ILLUSN]

8 days is a long time, i hold off feed for 36hours once the fry hatch, 2 days max.

you dont NEED a filter in a breeding tank at all, most professional breeders make do with just an air stone.

you NEED regular water changes. I change 80-200% the day before the eggs hatch, i drain down to the eggs, then refill, then drain again, then refill, then drain again so the eggs are covered by about an inch of water. at this point i hold off feeding for 2 days untill the fry are free swimming once they attach i start feeding the parents again.

once the fry are attached i change about 75% daily some times 150 if i need to give the tank a wipe down and continue this untill i move the fry out. (yes, i go through 500L aday of aged water, I am the reason sydneys previous water shortage)

[AHC]

hehehe, okay great process.

[Gone Fishing]

Hi ILLUSN,
From day one I put a part of my beef heart mix(which has prawn, salmon, beef heart, deep sea fish, carrot, peas, spirilina, garlic) and some noodles from my community tank filter as well as some gravel from my community tank and put them all on or near the sponge filter INITIALLY and as I said, only when the ammonia went up and down and the nitrite went up and down (this was about a month and a half), did I put the white filter over the black sponge and put the fish in.

Many Kindly Fishy Regards
Jason

[ILLUSN]

no worries gone fishing, something must have upset the filter

[Gone Fishing]

I did do a 80% water change and squezed the sponge filter to get the majority of the excess rubbish out.
I suppose I shouldn't have squezed the sponge at all and probably should have started the initial water cycle with the white sponge on already...aye!

[ILLUSN]

proably, squeezing the sponge sent the bacterial pop too low to keep up with the fish.

no real harm done, you'll know for next time.

[ozarowana]

You shouldn't need to remove the sponge filter unless your breeders are light coloured. Even with light parents the fry should still attach by simply lowering the water level. If they still have trouble attaching maybe then you need to remove black objects like the filter.

I have been told problems attaching are usually water quality related.

[Hollowman]

Ok, back to the simple answer to the first question in the thread, just get a ladies white stocking/tights, cut a piece out of the leg, and place over the sponge, it makes the sponge much lighter, allows water flow through it and works.

hth

Hollowman :wink:

[AHC]

Excellent idea. Simple and effective sounding. I have a pair of Marlboros with eggs at the moment. I will get some white stockings and try it out. You could also try the filter wool i suppose. Stockings sound easier.

Cheers Hollowman.

[Hollowman]

No problem :)