my new tube tower block

[mickthefish]

here's a few pics of the unfinished tower block, within minutes of it being put in a few of the botias investigated it.
the finished thing will look a lot better than this hopefully and it will be better disguised as well.





cheers
mick

[piggy4]

Fantastic ! might have to put an order in nice shots of the Poro's .

[Diana]

What size pipe are you using?

[mickthefish]

1 1/4 inch diameter Diana, i want to get a larger bore in the future though.
this is only a trial tower, i'm going to use cable ties on the next one and seed the exterior of the tube with java moss and fern then see how that goes.

mick

[daspricey]

Looking great, Mick!

All your fish look fantastic!

[chefkeith]

Loaches sure do appreciate lots of pipes.

[Mad Duff]

Excellent Mick, I did something similar for my first 3 Emperors while they were in quarantine but they didn't like the elastic bands and bit through everyone and all the pipes floated off around the tank

[mickthefish]

I had a feeling that could happen Mark, so i tied three strings round it for the time being.
i defy them to get through them mate they're tied with a butchers knot.
that was my trade before i had to retire.

mick

[Bully]

I've often toyed with this idea, I just can't find a way of hiding them sufficiently in my tank without removing all the stones, they are obviously popular though.

Instead of Java Moss you may like to try Monosolenium tenerum, a few batches would make a feature of the pipes.

The picture doesn't do it justice though

http://www.tropica.com/productcard_picture.asp?id=002C


Love the pics of the striata, those are some great looking specimens, how large are they?

[Jim Powers]

High rise loach condos!!

[mickthefish]

bully i'm not a lover about having anything artificial in my tank but when you see the fish darting in and out it seems worthwhile.
eventually i hope to get the tower hidden more than it is at the moment.
the striata are'nt that big, i'd say the one in the last pic is around 2 1/2 inches SL.
the largest i have are in another tank they are all over 3 inches SL.

mick

[Graeme Robson]

Nice work Mick.

I nearly tried stacking these beauties up but got concerned about the bamboo decrypting in the long term.

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php ... amboo+pipe

[Bully]

I might have to try it out as an experiment, I have a few lengths of pipe left over from fitting the bathroom and kitchen this summer My striata have gone shy this past week and I cannot determine why, they are swimming about in the stone work to the rear of the tank, but not venturing to the front like they used to (except at feeding time of course ).

Your striata are great looking specimens. How long have you had the ones that are over 3 inches, did they take some time getting there?

[plecoperson]

Someone should make that in terra cotta. OK, who has a kiln?

[mickthefish]

Bully, i would love to say i grew the striata on myself but alas i bought them at that size at my mates shop as did Ashleigh.
i'm hoping the fish in the last pic will get near to that size though.

on the tubing i've had a thought how to camouflage the stack by using slate as the anchor weight and cladding the outside of the tubes with slate as well.
whats the thoughts on that idea.?

mick