R.I.P. Lyretail Swordtail..(Man I need a hood!!)

[Yeti]

I am almost angry with myself for this one.. almost every day I have my head in my tank lookin around at everything taking mental notes on my fish and inverts, etc.. I started straying from it assuming everything was fine, and I havent really payed a lot of attention to it in about a week.. well today I did a PWC and a DGV and I noticed something.. my bright orange lyretail swordtail was missing.. I know the fish in my tank arent big enough to have totally consumed him in that short of time.. I checked my filter nothing, under some decor.. nadda.. So I shrugged and assumed my fish had a snack (that sucks but it happens) and finished with my PWC/DGV. As I reached down to plug my filter back in, I noticed something down by the power strip.... there he was dead and dry on the floor..

so yeah Im almost angry with myself for not noticing this before, and I need to get a hood REAL BAD but im dirt poor for a while.. grr...

 

[papa_bear_21]

maybe a piece of plexi cut-to-fit? I think HD has sheets for 4 -10 buck...might be a cheap temp fix?

sorry to hear of your loss...

 

[black hills tj]

maybe you can pick up one of these:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=13818&N=2004+113765

 

[Yeti]

yeah they dont have those in 48" though.. I might just make my own out of plexi.. shouldnt cost too much to have a 48"x13" piece cut and then cut in half and then one of those in half again, then jerry rig some handles and hinges..

maybe drill tiny holes in it to allow for evaporation etc?

 

[papa_bear_21]

yeah they dont have those in 48" though.. I might just make my own out of plexi.. shouldnt cost too much to have a 48"x13" piece cut and then cut in half and then one of those in half again, then jerry rig some handles and hinges..

maybe drill tiny holes in it to allow for evaporation etc?

get a piece, cut it yourself, and get a stainless hinge that will screw in place. project cost would be roughly 15-20 I think...maybe less?

I'm tempted to make a new one for mine...

 

[Yeti]

except i dont have cutting tools, would be easier to have lowes/menards just cut it there.. I just drew up the specs so it shouldnt be hard..

 

[papa_bear_21]

yeah, the lack of cuttin tools could be a prollem...LOL

get it cut to spec, and get one of the long strip hinges, and screw that in place. I'd use stainless to keep the rust down, or you could use a few single style hinges, I recommeded the strip style to make it easier in lining things up.

Sorry about your loss again,

Bear

 

[Sidi]

I've made my own lids out of acrylic (plexiglass) and the problem is that it will sag over time unless it's reinforced. On my planted tank I basically used 1/8" plexi cut to fit, then put a 1/4"x1/2" strip across the middle that ran from back to front. That served as both a handle, and a brace to prevent sagging. It works very well, but if a light is resting on the strip it's heavy enough to start bending the lids (not a problem now that I have a hood set up). IYou could reinforce the edges, or just keep the center brace thin enough the light won't sit on it.

You can also get glass custom cut for fairly cheap at a glass place, and they'll have the rubber hinges so that you can lift once side (assuming you figure out a handle to glue on). I've done that in the past, but be careful of going too thick with the glass. I used 1/4" glass once for an oscar tank, when a cat kept jumping on top. The fluorescent light would heat it up, and one day the oscars splashed it and the thermal differential caused the glass to crack.

 

[Yeti]

yeah my tank has a little metal thing that wedges in the center it will help support the plexi.. all else fails i can flip it over and let it sag back into place (much like an old bookshelf)

 

[courtnee]

Sorry for your loss and hope one of these solutions works out for you!

 

[7Enigma]

Short-term fix is a piece of chicken wire. You can cut it with wire cutters to fit the space, fish will be hard-pressed to perfectly jump through the holes. It will allow the same amount of gas transfer and evaporation and shouldn't have an effect on the amount of light that gets through.

Simple and cheap.