PlanetCatfish.com

Im sure this has been talked about, but Im interested in ways people get their veggies to stay on bottom.
I came up with a cheap plan that works well for me.
Im a fisherman, so I have some unpainted lead head jigs. I cut the hook off and whats left is the jig head which has a barb on it. This I can then stick in the veggie and it holds it on bottom. It also has a hook eye on it so I tie fish line on that. That way I can easily pull the whole deal out after a day or two without getting wet or using the net.

I usually use plant weights to hold my food down. There is a link for a Screwcumber in your top right corner and I guess some people use that for holding down a big piece of cucumber.

Being a Amateur Luddite, I just drop a rock on it.

If I may pose a vaguely related question. I've been stuffing about with tanks for 16 years now, and I vaguely remember reading way back then that metal in a tank produces a toxin that disagree's with fish - eg, it kills them. And so my policy has always been: Absolutely No Metals (albeit stainless steel sissors get a showing).

Now lead weight was mentioned above, and I've seen many Aquarium outlets that have wire to keep plants bundled, and this is often in tanks with fish. I have come across what seems to be ordinary small gauge wire (2 or 3 mm), and I've also seen stuff that is obviously lead alloy - maybe solder?

Now, I'm not a complete dill (contrary to popular belief), I know lead is a toxic substance, and I understand Iron would react to water differently to say, Stainless Steel.

So any thoughts? - What's toxic in the tank? What's safe?

I just stick a teaspoon through it.

Grubby Sculpin, you've come up with an excellent idea. maybe those screwcumber people could create a loop on one end of the device to tie a line to.

Kana3, i think metal dissolving in the aquarium is only a problem when the water is very acid (< pH 5 perhaps?).

Having said, that i wouldn't use lead or copper in my tanks, just in case.

I am cheap too. I get a big rock and use a small rubber band to hold the veggie to the rock. It seems to work well.

Fugley: Gave your teaspoon trick a shot last light. Worked a treat - certainly someone had a good nibble. Although I skewered the Zucchini lengthways, just under the skin, so that the soft flesh faced upwards.

Grubby: You say you leave the barb in the vege. Is there any risk in this?


Addendum: I retrieved the spoon in under 48hrs, I never saw the Zucchini or any trace of it again...

Many times if I want some cucumber of other veggie to sink, I just take a small rock that is longer than it is wide and stick it through the vegetable. The rock is from my tank so I can just leave it there after the cucumber is eaten.

Racoll: I agree, lead and copper will only dissolve at any noticable rate if the pH is LOW, and probably needs to be so low that keeping average species of fish will no longer work. I also agree with "no lead or copper in the tank" principle, as it's "better safe than sorry".

I personally use teaspoons in all my tanks. Works great. I bought a set specifically for the fish-tank. Cost 99p (around US$1.60) for a pack of 8 stainless steel ones.

A piece of wire bent to form a hook is great to pick the spoon back up, and since I have "dedicated" spoons, I have bent the spoon so that the they are easier to pick up (spoon-end bent down 45 degrees, if you hold the spoon horizontally).

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Mats

I've found the Screwcumber quite useful. Shipped quickly, too. (L-147 not included)

I slice the cucumber lengthwise and stick a stainless steel fork into it with the tines pointing downwards.

I bought a twin pack of Screwcumbers. First time I ordered from overseas and it came very fast.

I found a small rock and tied some Stren fishing line to it long enough to reach the bottom of the tank and have the end hang out the top cover.

Then I make a hole in the zucchini right under the ring of skin where it's tough. I pass the stren through it once, making a loop - and lower the rock in.

In the morning, you just pull it out & replace the zucchini.

Obviously, it's best to do this in a corner, so your fishes aren't running into the line.

If you want a screw cumber just go to your local hardware store and ask for springs. Just stretch them and you have a screw cumber. But what I do is go to Goodwill and some other second hand store and I check out the utensils. The old stuff has good weight to it unlike the juke or today. Most of the time a just put a fork through it. When the veggie comes off the fork and floats to the top it's about time for it to come out before it starts to go bad. But is there any good evidence that lead is bad for pleco's? Thanks MIKE

If it's bad for humans.....

That's true mostly for children but you have to ingest the lead. But we are talking about lead anchors in a tank. See what I"m saying? They aren't eating it and with the water changes the water doesn't contaminate with it. MIKE

That's true mostly for children but you have to ingest the lead. But we are talking about lead anchors in a tank. See what I"m saying? They aren't eating it and with the water changes the water doesn't contaminate with it. MIKE

Very quick search and found this this site....

http://www.lenntech.com/aquatic/metals-lead.htm


Exposure of the freshwater fish Anabas testudineus to a sublethal (5 ppm) concentration of lead nitrate for a period of 30 days during the preparatory phase of its annual reproductive cycle reduced the total lipids, phospholipids, and cholesterol levels in the liver and ovary tissue.

In solution it is quite toxic to most vertebrates. In the UK, lead is banned for use in small fishing weights, as many swans died as a result during the 1980's.

As you say, with water changes it probably wouldn't be a problem, but i wouldn't take the chance!

Good info. Most the animals injested the lead. I'm use a little as a temp weight for the food I give my plecos. What do you suggest that a heavy medal that is a good weight for the water but won't rust and not Gold?

Sorry my typing is faster then my brain when it comes to spelling

Most dechlorinators have an ingredient (EDTA or similar) which chelates heavy metals, in effect detoxifying them.

I picked up 3 old wine bottle openers (the screw type.) I cut the screws out and I now have 3 stainless steel screwcumbers of my own.

mmcm1997 wrote:Good info. Most the animals injested the lead. I'm use a little as a temp weight for the food I give my pl*cos. What do you suggest that a heavy medal that is a good weight for the water but won't rust and not Gold?

How about stainless steel? It doesn't rust, it's about 6-7 times heavier than water, so heavy enough to sink most vegetables. Cork or other very bouyant(sp?) materials would probably not sink without a significant amount of steel, but then I've never heard of anyone feeding corks to their fish [although I think Panaque spp. would love it].

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Mats

I just use a piece of stainless steel wire with a kink near one end (the end that gets poked through the veggie). The kink prevents the veggie from riding up the wire. The veggie end also has an extra inch or so, which stakes the veggie in place through the gravel. Since the wire is longer than the depth of the tank, it keeps hands out of the tank. Works great.

-P

here's a variation on the rock and rubberband method...

Makes you wonder where those two Pizza's ended up!

Kana3 wrote:Makes you wonder where those two Pizza's ended up!

they were delicious, thank you.