Category Archives: Tropical Fish

about tropical fish and fish keeping

Amazing 30 Year Old Aquarium Filter Repairs

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One of the most amazing electrical-mechanical devices that I have ever owned is my Eheim 2213 canister filter. This is a water filter that I have used to help maintain water quality in my 55 gallon freshwater aquarium. This filter has been running continuously since I installed this aquarium probably around 1994 or 1995, close to 30 years ago. Every few months I cleaned out the media, but otherwise, it just runs and runs. About 10 years ago, I replaced the hoses that had gotten hard, but other than periodic cleaning, it has received no additional maintenance. A few years ago the pump started getting a bit noisy, but it kept running until a few days ago when it stopped. Inspection revealed that the impeller shaft and impeller were just plain worn out. A quick search on the internet revealed that replacement parts were still available with next-day delivery, so I ordered new parts.

The parts arrived the next day and I replaced the impeller and shaft. Turning it back on, it picked up again just where it left off. I am enormously impressed with this filter and the ability to get repair parts with one-day delivery.

I also have used an Optima A-807 air pump for a similar amount of time that has had its diaphragm replaced once. That has also been a pretty impressive run.

The only thing I can think of that that comes close in reliability is an Amana refrigerator that I replaced after 22 years of service. That refrigerator was replaced because of a remodeling of my kitchen that made that refrigerator unsuitable for the new layout, not because it failed.

I have a few other devices that are older and still work, but none of those are continuously operated and all of them have had multiple faults over the years.

My Favorite Tropical Fish Species

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Although I seldom put up blog posts concerning my tropical fish, I have been keeping tropical fish almost continuously since I was in junior high school. For the last few years, I have been maintaining a school of Convicts (Amatitlania nigrofasciata). A group of them inhabit a 55 gallon tank and I have another 10 gallon tank that I occasionally set up for breeding. That 55 gallon tank is too crowded for successful breeding. As I occasionally lose a fish, I keep an eye on the population in case numbers get too low. Lately I have been concerned about the number of females left in the 55 gallon tank, so I figured I should set up the spawning tank.

I put a female alone in the tank and adjusted the temperature to the mid 70’s. After about a week I added a similar sized male. That was something like 2 weeks ago and now we have had a spawning. That is about all it takes to get Convicts to spawn. You do have to keep an eye on the males, as when put in isolation with a single female, they can get tough on the female, but that is about the only thing to watch out for. In groups, this problem doesn’t appear as much, as the males tend to spend a lot of energy squabbling among themselves.

Female Convict Watching Over Spawn
Female Convict Watching Over Eggs

The Convicts have become one of my favorite species. They are hardy, not skittish and are extremely easy to breed. They have the typical Cichlid spawning behavior which is so much fun to watch. In my experience they are no more aggressive than other similarly sized Cichlids.

A great fish for everyone, from beginners on up.