Loaches Online Forum

Those shots are just wonderful Emma :-)
Now I just can't wait to see them in person, alas it will not be for a few weeks as the near future looks frantic with work and other commitments.
Our current Wui has been uncharacteristically active this evening, out and about chasing off shrimp and two Cheni fry in the tank with him. No chance of a photo though as we tend to keep a fair bit of algae on the glass in that tank as we are not convinced he is taking other food yet.
The new tank also suffered a set back yesterday :-( i was all set to stick the grid work to the surrounding plastic when i managed to knock the surround off the work bench causing it to break apart in a non-salvageable way. To say i felt completely hacked off would be putting it mildly, it had already taken me far longer than i had anticipated to get to that point. Out of plastic sheet i had to buy some more this morning but the weather prevented me from getting it all cut. *sigh* The manifold was supposed to be finished today but it looks like it will be at least another week before we fill the tank.
Why didn't I just stick with Martin's tried and tested design?

Thanks LES..

Sorry to hear of the disaster with the workbench today. Don't worry about how long it might be until you are ready for the S. wui, we'll hold them for as long as you need.

I'm sure this tank will be worth all the effort. These Tunze stream pumps are incredible and produce immense flow. Your hillstreams will love it!

Emma

I don't blame you LES.. for slapping your claim on these chaps. When i purchased my 4 i went back the next week for a couple more but they where all sold out. So i ended up with a few more Pseudogastromyzon fangi. I cant complain!

Good luck with the new tank. Like Emma say's. It will be worth it!

I feel sooooooooo sorry for you, Graeme. You couldn't get S. wui so you had to settle for P. fangi, a species you will probably be able to breed.
You poor chap.

LES; Maybe I missed this, but how are you setting up this new tank?

The plans are in motion, Jim. I just need to eradicate the egg/fry eaters.

Wow Emma, those Wui look lovely. LES.. alerted me to the pictures yesterday.

I did comment to him that they look about the same size as the larger one we originally had that died. The one we have left (it's hard to tell as he is so secretive ) seems to be somewhat smaller and have a slightly more pointy nose.

They will make wonderful companions for him/her.

Once 'Loach Heaven' has been established we will definitely be making a trip your way to find some new inhabitants for the tank. There may be some more P.Cheni youngsters coming with us too.

Jim Powers wrote:LES; Maybe I missed this, but how are you setting up this new tank?

Hi Jim,

With the new tank I'm trying to figure out how to get two Tunze Turbell Stream 6060s to work in a manifold form. If all goes to plan it will mean a 13000 lph circulation through the tank (the two streams and a fluval 405 external filter).

Given the fact you can't attach filters to the intakes of stream pumps I have had to reverse the flow in comparison to Martin's original design with the pumps on the intake end of the manifold, this then poses the problem of how to protect the fish from being sucked in. To solve that problem I am partitioning off one end of the tank with a large sponge screen and placing the pumps behind this screen. The manifold then routes back through the screen to the other end of the tank using 2" diameter push fit pipe work.

All this is being fitted into 48"x18"x16" tank so approximately a 55 US gal. I'm still not sure if it will really work that well as the outflow from the pumps will be very diffused so although I will have a very high turn over there will not be the concentrated high speed zones you get with Martin's design and traditional power heads. Worst case scenario I just see a water velocity of just over 1m per minute, still an order of magnitude off the natural environment.

Pictures will be posted once I am happy that my complete lack of fabricating skills won't embarrass me too much ;-)

Sounds interesting. I hope it works out for you and the fish.