Chuckmeister

Cichlid Jaws A cichlids mouth really is a multi purpose tool designed for maximum survival. Cichlids actually have two sets of jaws. There is an inner jaw that is used to mash its food leaving the outer jaw free to evolve specialized teeth which allows them to gather all different types of food available. Fine toothed rasps, designed to graze algae Interlocking and spiked teeth for catching prey. Chisel like teeth for algae grazing and small organisms These teeth are also of the grazing type but unlike algae grazers these are designed to graze scales off other fish. While of predatory nature, the prey survives the attack to regrow its scales for another meal to be had. The mouths of many cichlids also provide another function, that of spawning and rearing their fry. They lay their eggs on the ground or rock in a spawning ritual with the male. They collect the eggs off the ground or rock, some do so in mid water and the male fertilizes the egg whilst in the mothers mouth. The mother then carries the spawn in her mouth until fully developed at which point they are released. Cichlids have a strong nurturing parental nature and will look after their spawn even after they are released from the safety of their mouth. When danger is looming she will gather the fry in her mouth and seek safety, to release her fry again when the danger has passed. Cichlids also use their mouths for protecting territory from invading males. If two males mouths are of similar size then a competition will result over who is the dominant fish. They will lock jaws in combat, twisting and fighting until one of the males succumbs and a victor is presented. Quite often the mouth of the loser is damaged but they will survive, temporarily beaten until they challenge another. More often than not, a cichlid will not risk injury to itself if they are not well matched in size. Chuckmeister

This is an old article from my old web site. It is not mine. I dont have the original poster but I'll post it otherwise as good info.. Causes Q: Why is my fish sick and how do I prevent more illness? A: Probably 80-90% of diseases in captive fish can be prevented by avoiding stress. Stress weakens fishes immune systems, leading to increased susceptibility to disease. Actually, diseases and pathogens are almost always present in tanks, but a healthy fishs immune system will prevent them from being a problem. Some of the most common stressors for captive fish are: Poor water quality: measurable ammonia or nitrites, or very high nitrates. The water temperature is fluctuating more than 2 deg F/day Incompatible species in the tank. Too many fish in the tank (5 adult angelfish in 10g tank). The tank is too small for the fish (foot long fish in 10g tank). The water is too warm or too cold for the species (goldfish vs. tropicals). Wrong pH for species (Discus vs. African cichlids) pH fluctuations greater than 0.2 units/day. Insufficient cover or hiding places present. Wrong water hardness for the species (Discus vs. African cichlids). Insufficient oxygen in the water. Improper fish nutrition (wrong food, foods not varied). Keeping your tank free of disease Q: Do I need a quarantine tank for new fish? A: Quarantining new fish is a good habit for all aquaria, but is not absolutely necessary for success. Quarantining is simply keeping a fish in a separate tank for long enough to be certain that it is disease free. Many beginners do fine without a quarantine tank, and object to the cost of another setup. A quarantine tank does cost more, but if a hobbyist has hundreds of dollars invested in fish, it is cheaper to have a separate quarantine tank than to replace fish killed by a newly introduced disease. Also, many of us become attached to fish and do not want to expose our pets to diseases from newcomers, no matter what the cost. The purpose of quarantining is to avoid introducing new diseases to a stable system, and to be able to better observe new fish for signs of disease. A quarantine tank can also double as a hospital tank for sick fish. Hospital tanks are good because they lower the cost of using medicines and keep diseased fish separate from healthy ones. Quarantine is probably most important for saltwater tanks/reef systems because of the difficulty of treating diseases, or wild-caught freshwater fish because they are probably not disease-free. Quarantining itself can stress fish so be sure quarantine is as stress-free as possible. To set up a quarantine or hospital tank: Keep an extra filter a sponge filter is ideal or piece of filter floss in an established tank, so that you dont have to keep the quarantine tank set up at all times. Some people choose instead to keep the filter going with guppies or danios (for freshwater) or mollies (for saltwater). If you dont keep the tank running, use old tank water to fill the tank. So: old tank water + established filter = instant established tank. Add a spare airpump and heater. If you havent messed with the heater during storage, it should come to wherever you had it last time. Consider using Amquel or equivalent when medicating the tank in case the biological filter bacteria are sensitive to the medication. Sick fish are especially susceptible to ammonia. (Note that ammonia which has been bound with Amquel still shows up on a nessler ammonia test. So, if you are planning on testing for ammonia in that tank, you need to use a salicylate ammonia test.) For a hospital tank, do small, frequent water changes (even every day). If possible, quarantine all of your new fish for about three weeks. During that time, gradually acclimate the fish to your tanks parameters: hardness, pH, salinity, temperature, etc., and watch for and treat any signs of disease. Do not medicate quarantined fish just in case. Only treat evident, definitely identified diseases. Treating all quarantined fish with a bunch of medicines will just lead to weakened fish and antibiotic resistant bacteria. Once you are done with the quarantine, if you treated any especially nasty diseases, it is good to disinfect the tank and reestablish the filter. Chlorine bleach or strong saltwater (for freshwater) work well. Be sure all traces of bleach are rinsed off. Another good disinfectant is potassium permanganate (Jungles Clear Water is one commercial way to get it). If you choose not to quarantine, do not add store water to your tank with the new fish. Q: How about quarantining plants? A: Plants can carry diseases into a tank, too. It is a good idea to disinfect new plants if there were fish in the tank with them at the store. Q: How do I avoid introducing diseases in the first place? A: Never buy sick fish from a store. Especially do not buy fish or plants from a tank if *any* fish in the tank shows any signs of disease or if there is medicine in the water (water is colored yellow, green, or blue). Store people may say the fish are fine, but if they were, why is the medicine in the tank? Also ask how long the fish have been in the store. New arrivals may be carrying diseases that have not shown up yet. It is better to wait a couple of weeks before purchasing the fish. If you must have a fish that just came in, be especially sure to quarantine it properly. Diagnosis/common diseases or: How do I know the fish is sick? Most important: watch your fish and know what their normal behavior and appearance is. If you dont know what normal is, you cant know what sick is. Bad signs: Clamped fins (fins are held abnormally close to body) The fish refuses its usual food for more than 2 days. There are visible spots, lesions, or white patches on the fish. The fish gasps at the surface of the water. The fish floats, sinks, whirls, or swims sideways. The fish shimmies (moves from side to side without going forward). A normally active fish is still. A normally still fish is very active. The fish suddenly bloats up, and its not due to eggs or young. The fish is scratching against tank decorations. Aquarium medications to keep on hand I suggest setting up a fish medicine cabinet. It seems like fish always get sick when the store is closed.The following list of items should be kept on hand by all home aquariusts: Water quality test kits: pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate Aquarium salt (NOT table salt. Most table salts contain additives to keep them from clumping. Kosher or rock salt is OK). Malachite green/formalin ich remedy Methylene blue Chlorine bleach for disinfection Maybe one antibiotic (Kaynamycin or Furanace) Antibiotic-containing food Copper remedy for parasites And for fish big enough to handle: Q-tips Malachite green or mercurochrome Common diseases/problems or Whats wrong with my fish? Bad water quality Fish are gasping at the surface, or very inactive, but there are not visible lesions when it first starts. Their fins may be clamped. Many fish of different species are affected, and possibly the whole tank. If the water has been bad for a while, the fish may have finrot, or streaks of blood in their fins. If fish are gasping at the surface, or have purple gills: high ammonia or low dissolved O2 may be the problem; test ammonia, dissolved O2 If the main symptom is inactivity: test nitrites, pH, dissolved 02, nitrates Depending on your test results, try the following: Ammonia Change enough of the water to reduce ammonia levels to 1-2 ppm for freshwater or below 1 ppm for saltwater. If that means changing more than a third of the water, be sure the water you add is the same temperature, salinity, hardness and pH of the tank water. It is also okay to do multiple smaller water changes for a few days. Aerate, and make sure pH is at or below 7.0 for freshwater tanks. In addition to or instead of changing water, you can also add a dose of AmQuel to give fish immediate relief. Find out why ammonia is present and correct the problem. Nitrites Change enough of the water to bring nitrites down to below 2 ppm (as with ammonia, if this is a lot of water, match water parameters or do multiple water changes), add 1 tbsp/gallon salt (not all fish may tolerate this much start out with 1 tsp), and add supplemental aeration. Find out why the nitrite levels are high and correct the problem. Nitrates Change water and clean the filter. If your filter is dirty, there is more waste material present to break down into nitrate. Start feeding less and changing water more often. Low oxygen Run an airstone. If this helps a lot, the fish probably dont have enough oxygen in the water. Your tank may need cleaning, fewer fish, or additional water movement at the surface from a powerhead, airstone, or filter. Improper pH If pH is too low: make sure carbonate buffering is adequate at least 5dKH. In general, adding baking soda at 1 tsp. per 30 gal. raises dKH about 2 degrees. For a 10-20g tank that just needs the pH a little higher, try about a quarter teaspoonful. If that isnt enough, add up to a teaspoonful more. You can scale this up to 1 tsp/30 gal for larger tanks. If the pH is still too low and the KH is at least 5-6 dKH, clean the tank. For long-term buffering in saltwater and alkaline freshwater systems, add crushed coral. If pH is too high, pH down (phosphoric acid) can be added. Dont rely on this stuff, except in extreme situations like ammonia poisoning because it can cause excessive algal growth. To lower pH long-term, filter over peat, or use distilled or deionized water mixed with your tapwater. Freshwater Ich Symptoms: Fish look like they have little white salt grains on them and may scratch against objects in the tank. White spot disease (Ichthyopthirius multifiliis) is caused by a protozoan with a life cycle that includes a free-living stage. Ich grows on a fish > it falls off and attaches to gravel or tank glass > it reproduces to MANY parasites > these swarmers then attach to other fish. If the swarmers do not find a fish host, they die in about 3 days (depending on the water temperature). Therefore, to treat it, medicine must be added to the display tank to kill free-living parasites. If fish are removed to quarantine, parasites living in the tank will escape the treatment unless ALL fish are removed for about a week in freshwater or three weeks in saltwater systems. In a reef tank, where invertebrates are sensitive to ich medications, removing the fish is the only option. Some people think that ich is probably dormant in most tanks. It is most often triggered by temperature fluctuations. Remedy: For most fish, use a medication with formalin and malachite green. These are the active ingredients in many ich medications at fish shops. Some products are Kordons Rid Ich and Aquarium Products Quick Cure. Just read the label and you may find others. Check for temperature fluctuations in the tank and fix them to avoid recurrences. Note that tetras can be a little sensitive to malachite green, so use it at half the dose. Use these products as directed (usually a daily dose) until all of the fish are spot-free. Then dose every three days for a total of four more doses. This will kill any free-swimming parasites as they hatch out of cysts. Another remedy is to raise the tank temperature to about 90 deg F and add 1 tsp/gallon salt to the water. Not all fish tolerate this. Finally, one can treat ich with a transfer method. Fish are moved daily into a different tank with clean, conditioned, warmed water. Parasites that came off of the fish are left behind in the tank. After moving the fish daily for a week, the fish (presumably cured) can be put back into the main tank. The disadvantage of this method is that it stresses both fish and fishkeeper. Fin rot Symptoms: Fishes fins turn whitish and die back. Fin rot often follows damage or injury. It can also be caused by poor water quality. Remedy: First, fix the water and remove any fin-nipping fish. Change some water (25% is good) and add 1 tsp/gallon salt to promote healing. If bad water quality or an aggressive tankmate was the problem, that should be adequate. Healing will begin within a couple of days. If it worsens, decide first whether its fungal or bacterial. Fungal finrot looks like clumps of cotton on the fins and usually follows injury. It is commonly seen in African cichlids or fish that have injured themselves against decorations. Bacterial finrot is whitish, but not cottony (unless its columnaris), and can be contagious. The fish then need to be removed from the tank and medicated. Fungus: For fish large enough to handle, catch the fish, and dab malachite green directly on the fungus with a Q-tip. This is extremely effective. Repeat treatments may be necessary. For small fish, a commercial fungicide such as Maroxy may work. For severe infestations, try a bath in methylene blue (enough so you can barely see the fish) until the fungus turns blue or for 20 min. If you add methylene blue directly to a tank, you will kill plants and trash your biological filter. Bacterial: Antibiotic treatment in a quarantine tank. This is stressful for the fish, and doesnt always work, so be sure of what you are doing before you attempt it. If the fish is still eating, the best bet is an antibiotic food. Tetra makes one that works well just buy the one for bacterial diseases and follow the directions on the can. If the fish is not eating, a bath treatment is necessary. A combination of Kaynamycin and Furanace usually works, especially for Columnaris. Again, treat in a separate tank and aerate heavily. Injuries Cichlids and other scrappy fish may sustain injuries that are severe enough to draw blood from fighting. Other fish may run into tank decorations, walls, or rocks. Larger fish can be netted and their injuries dabbed with mercurochrome (available at drug stores) or Betadine (iodine-based antibiotic also available at drug stores) to help prevent infection. Be sure to keep these chemicals off of the gills and eyes. For really small fish, put the affected fish in dilute methylene blue (pale blue) and 1 tsp/gallon salt in a separate tank. If you want to keep the fish in the main tank just add salt, as methylene blue will trash your biological filter. Watch the fish to be sure injuries are healing cleanly, and repeat the mercurochrome dosage if necessary. If finrot or fungus sets in, see the above section on finrot. Dropsy Fish swells up like a balloon and may show popeyes. It may recover with no treatment and may die despite it. The swelling is because the fish is absorbing water faster than it can eliminate it, and it can be caused by many different problems. High nitrates are one thing to check. Internal bacterial infections, including fish TB, are other possibilities. If there are no water quality problems, you may want to attempt antibiotic treatment in a separate tank. Head and Lateral Line Erosion (hole-in-head disease) This disease can affect discus, other cichlids, and many saltwater fish. The fish develops holes in its head and sometimes along its lateral line. Causes are unclear but as in any disease, stress and poor water quality likely play a role. Fish in planted tanks rarely get HLLE, which supports the nutrition idea, since fish can nibble on the plants and obtain extra nutrition. Untergasser also observes that the protozoan Hexamita can be found in the lesions. Untreated cases can eventually prove disfiguring or fatal. Remedy: First, make sure water quality is optimal and reduce stress. Stopping carbon filtration may help as it can remove nutrients from the water. Then feed a vitamin-enriched food, paying particular attention to vitamin C supplementation. For stubborn cases, some books suggest metronidazole (Flagyl) to eliminate Hexamita (a mildly pathogenic protozoan) from the lesions. Your mileage may vary with that one. Metrozole and Hex-a-mit are commercial medications with metronidazole. Swim bladder disorders Fish floats upside-down or sideways. This is particularly common in fancy goldfish because of their bizarre body shapes. Dry food eaten quickly swells up in the fishs intestine and keeps the fish from controlling its swim bladder properly. To help, feed the fish pre-soaked or gel-based foods. Green foods are also helpful; peas in particular. As with finrot, these disorders can also be caused by bacterial infection. Treatment is much the same. Use antibiotic food if the fish is eating, or add antibiotic to the water in a quarantine tank if the fish is too sick to eat. Large external parasites (as opposed to ich) Add a copper remedy to the tank and monitor it with a copper test kit. Also, Mardels Maroxy works well. For anchor worms or leeches on pond fish, remove them from the affected fish with tweezers and swab the area with mercurochrome to prevent infection. Velvet Fish look like they have been finely dusted with flecks of gold. Fins may be clamped and the fish may shimmy. Treat with an anti-parasitic medication such as copper or formalin/malachite green. please discuss

Salt As Medication Salt is an under used treatment for many common freshwater fish parasites. Used properly, a saltwater bath can be very effective in eliminating ich, velvet, Trichodina, Chilodonella, and a number of less common parasites. Advantages. Salt treatments are: Very cheap - especially for large tanks or ponds. Safe for many species of fish Effective on many different parasites Unlikely to push sick fish over the edge. Unable to break down or get absorbed during treatment Hard to overdose. will not stain tank sealant Measurable ( Salt Level Test Kit) if really needed. Disadvantages. Salt treatments are: Dangerous to most plants Dangerous to certain fish (e.g. Corydoras catfish. Some loaches may tolerate short half doses - If in doubt please ask) Ineffective against gill flukes Removable only by water changes - will not get absorbed by carbon etc Best uses. Salt is a treatment of choice for most pond fish keepers,large aquariums and systems. It is very cost effective for use in large bodies of water. Also suitable for smaller bodies of water but of course scaled down. Dosage. Use one teaspoon of non-iodized (aquarium, canning, Kosher, rock salt, etc.) salt per gallon (roughly 5 litres) of water every 12 hours for a total of three treatments (total dose: 3 teaspoons per gallon (5 ltrs)). In cases where parasites are overwhelming fish, full dose may be added at once. Salt Dip - Add 1/2 cup of salt into 1 gallon (5litres) and place fish into the bath. DO NOT leave fish in for longer than 5 minutes or you may kill the fish. Time a few minutes (2 or 3) and remove the fish. Fish may float to the surface and tip on there side. This happens but make sure it is still moving. Remove fish otherwise.

These filters are incredibly easy to make, very cheap and work very well. (Its also fun eating and drinking the contents of the items required Items you will need are: 1a. An empty 4 lt ice cream container 1b. An empty 2 lt ice cream container 1c. An empty 500 gm round margarine container The options above are dependant on the size tank you want to filter and further on, you will also notice different size soft drink bottles needed to complement the above. The following pictures were taken of the 4lt container. You will also need: 2a and b. The neck of a 1.25lt or 2lt soft drink bottle 2c. The neck of a 600ml soft drink bottle 3. Two lengths of airline (total length to reach from the bottom of your tank to your air supply) 4. One adjustable air valve 5. Coral rubble, shellgrit, coral sand or any media of your choice keeping in mind that this filtration will also help buffer the water and will need to be cleaned/washed on a regular basis eg every 2-4 weeks. Filter wool is not recommended although filter matting can be used as a top layer. 6. An airstone (plastic candy striped ones are better than pumice - try Atlantis for some. They are invincible.) Preparation and assembly instructions: 1. You need to punch as many small holes into the lid of the container as possible. One larger hole needs to be placed into a corner for your airline and a larger hole needs to go into the centre of the lid to be able to accommodate/suit the neck of your soft drink bottle. 2. You also need to cut your drink bottle (keep the neck end and throw away the rest) at a height/length that will sit snugly in your container and suit the lid height also. The lid should eventually sit at the bottom of the thread on the neck of the bottle as this will keep it held in place. Punch two or three rows of small holes into the base of your drink bottle and again, a larger hole closer to the neck to accommodate the airline. If you are finding it difficult to punch these holes, you can cut Vs into the edge with a pair of scissors getting a \/\/\/\/\/ effect which also works well. You can now feed your airline through the hole and add your airstone. 3. Place your drink bottle top into the centre of your container making sure the airline sits facing a corner. You can now add the media of your choice up to the base of the bottle neck. 4. Feed your airline through the corner hole in the lid and push the lid into place on your container. Locate the filter in your tank and then add your air valve (just above the lid is good) and reconnect to your air supply. 5. Sit back and relax Remember, these are only a lightweight filter and are not designed for over populated or heavily fed tanks. Basically, they are a glorified corner filter at a fraction of the cost

thought I'd post a text version too.. This is a simple fry saver that I use for when my fish breed. The benifits of using a fry saver is that the fry can be allowed to grow for a few weeks in water that they are accustomed to without risk of shocking them with different water parameters when moving into a growout tank. Once the fish look strong and healthy is a good time to move your fry.. Mine are made from ice cream containers like the ones found at ice cream shops but any container or bucket may be used. First I get the container and cut out 4 windows on the sides and one each on the ends. These windows are important as they allow fresh,clean, oxygenated water to pass freely through. You then simply cut out some lengths of flywire that will cover your holes. It is better to make these oversize as they need to be siliconed over your windows to prevent your fry from escaping. Make sure they are sealed properly. You will then need to cut a ring of styrofoam to the size container you are using. I usually use foam that is around 20mm thick as this will allow for a strong floatation. This allows for you to put in a few rocks or cover for your fry to hide in when its in use. Once the flyscreen is dry its just a matter of sliding the foam on and a top down view

Now this is where it all starts coming together. You will need to grab one of your cans of spray foam and start joining everything together. Do everywhere.top,underneath down the joins and seams everywhere. It will look fairly ugly and you will think that you have taken a step backwards or done something wrong. Dont worry about it because the cement stage pulls everything together. As you can see in some images, I had foam drip by accident onto the piece. Just let it as they just look like small rocks when the concrete goes on. In fact I added small blobs onto the back and base just to add more texture. This is where I found my mistake that the two halves did not fit. I had to get an old bread knife,heat it on the BBQ and cut it so that I had quarters. It was a silly mistake caused from too many bevvies in the planning stage Anyway before I got onto the burning stage I cut and test fit into my tank to check for the final fit After the fit comes the burn.. I had 50mm foam so I had a bit to play with. If you have thinner foam, a little caution is needed as it melts quickly. Dont be shy though and burn in indentations etc. The ledges will shrink and twist a little and by the time you have finished the background looks considerably different to the perfection you had initially built. Again dont worry too much. In fact I burnt a few holes on the top of the base. I consider these a benefit as now my fish will not only be able to swim between the caves but also up through them as well. Just dont make the holes too big and you also dont want to burn any holes in the actual backing. Definitely dont want to see the back of the tank. Now that is done, its time for the final cementing. This is the most time consuming though I guess for a smaller tank its not so bad. Just on a note about the concrete mixing for anyone interested. I mixed a 4 to 1 ratio of sand(4) and cement (1),mixed in the binder/sealer into the water and made a fairly sloppy mix but not too thin as to make it watery. The binder is not needed if you dont want too and in fact I dont know if there will be any repercussions yet. You can also put in a few drops of dish washing liquid into the mix. This will help make a more creamy mixture like a render. There is no set way to apply the cement though a little playing around will soon show what you like. I stippled all my coats and this gave quite a textured finish. Brushing it on will give a smoother finish. I put on three coats of cement all up leaving half a day to dry between coats. The second coat I lightened the colour somewhat to hopefully resemble more closely the Woomera red rock that will be used forward of the background. You may tint up your cement lighter or darker if you want to add shadows and features but personally after viewing other peoples I dont think it makes much difference after the establishment of algae etc but hey its your creation, do as you will The toned up colour And a final shot with the Woomera rock that I will use.. also just on a final note that the back of the background facing the glass is not cemented or sealed. I hope that you guys are not daunted by this if you are interested. It really is extremely simple and a background the size of mine only takes a couple of days at most. Id like to see other peoples as its a bit of fun and takes away some of the seriousness that can sometimes consume the hobby. and just quickly on Price. the foam cost me around 100 dollars though I had half a sheet left over and the materials cost maybe around 150 dollars. All up around 250 bucks for a fairly kick butt background and a bit of fun making it. and to wrap up...some finished shots. these are not current though I still have the tank and background. Chuck

This is an old DIY project that I thought I'd repost here. Hopefully it may inspire a few people to have a play with their aquariums. Id been mulling over my background on my 8*3*2.5. I couldnt find any paper backgrounds that were 2.5 foot tall and really I wanted to do something special with this tank. These backgrounds are really easy to make and Id recommend anyone that likes to tinkle with things to give it a shot. There are many different ways to do a background ranging from flat if you are limited by space to something like I have done below. First you will need a few bits and pieces to get you going.. You will need some cement, expanding spray foam, some cement colouring, in this case red oxide, a couple of nice thick, stiff brushes, some blades,lots of toothpicks and a butane torch to give the textured effect on the foam. In the case of the brushes I found it hard to find something that was stiff enough to brush on the cement. In this case you can just cut the bristles of the brush shorter to stiffen it up a little. You will also need some foam. I bought 2 sheets of 8*4, 50mm thick items. I had the foam shop cut a sheet into a 8*3 sheet to fit my tank and then into halves to give me 2* 4*3 pieces. You will have to use your judgement as to the correct sizes as I made mine in halves and it didnt fit. I then had to hotknife it into 4 pieces to fit so make sure you have the dimensions properly measured So after I had the backing cut I had a whole sheet (the uncut piece) and what was left over from the backing. I will state now though that I was left with a 4*4 piece (or half a sheet) left over. First I started by hiding my plumbing. In this case the overflow box (top right) and the return (left side) that will be my Jet system that will be installed. Now the trick to attaching the foam to your background are toothpicks. Just place your foam where you would like it to be attached and hold in place by stabbing the toothpicks through at 45 degree angles. I used lots as the more you stab through the firmer it will stay in place. I then started on the cave system and base of the background. Remember to cut holes in the supports as this will allow water flow through and prevent dead spots. It will also allow your fish to frolic between caves If you break anything, no worries just pin it together and you can spray a little foam over it later to join it again. This and the cement you will coat it with will be ample. This is how it looks with the bracing and top of the base on note - everything is pinned on Then I made what will be my caves on the bottom of the structure. Most of this was scrap left over. To this stage I was still on the single sheet first sheet of styro. This includes the 700mm sheets on the back, so the 500mm left over basically got me here. It was then time to put on a few ledges.. Remember that it doesnt have to look too pretty as youll see later in the article.after the burn I then put in some ledges and overhangs and this is a shot at the end of the night of the complete backing, stuck together well with several hundred toothpicks Id also like to note that this produces lots of styro mess. This is after about 3 buckets of foam swept up so if you do this inside like I did make sure you have a patient partner Like I luckily do (sometimes)

These are something that come in really handy. Most store bought fry savers are a waist of money imo but these home made ones are really good and can be used for fry, holding mums, agressive or injured fish etc... a must have for myself anyway