The purpose of an egg tumbler is to allow fresh water to circulate over cichlid eggs that have been separated from the parents. A fresh supply of clean water allow the eggs to develop in an oxygen rich environment where mould and fungus development is suppressed without the need for chemicals.
All the parts you will need
An original article by Andy Miller ©2002.
These are the required parts. Most of it comes in an Under Gravel uplift tube pack.
First take the bottom widened section, cover
it with
fly screen or netting
and secure with a rubber
band or three. I do this so fish
cannot get close
enough to the eggs to suck them
through the mesh. Cut off an
inch or so
of tube and put it in the top of that
part. Put a piece of netting on
top of the
tube and one of the joiners over the
netting to create the “bed” for
the eggs
while keeping them in full view the
whole time.
Cut a length of tube 3 to 4 inches long and
place it in
the top of the joiner,
making sure it seats
firmly into the
joiner.
Attach a suction cap (heater holders are the best).
You can make the rest of the tumbler before
this next
step, but I’ll show
you it anyway. Once the
first section is made, you can
attach it to the
inside of the tank with an inch
or so protruding from the
water. Strip the female
(or if it was an
accident, collect the eggs) and place
the eggs / fry in a drinking
glass, filled with
tank water. Gently pour the eggs
along with the water into
the tumbler. Don’t
panic and tip them in too quickly.
Do it gently and if they
don’t all come out, add
a bit more water to the glass
and try again.
Next make the top half of the tumbler. Cut
another 3 or 4
inch length of tube
and place a piece of netting
between it and another
joiner.
Attach another suction cap to this top half.
Take a length of airline and pass it through
the air
exhaust piece, and
place an airstone at the end
that will be inside the
tumbler.
Place the airline, airstone and exhaust piece onto the top piece of tube.
Place the top half onto the bottom half (with
the eggs in
it) gently, and slide
the whole lot down the
glass until the top of the tumbler
is at least an inch
under the surface. Turn on
the air and adjust the distance
between the top
of the tumbler and the airstone.
The exhaust piece airline hole
should be a
snug fit around the airline. If not,
wrap a rubber band around the
airline
when the airstone is adjusted. The
higher up in the tube the airstone
is, the
less water will be dragged across the
eggs. Adjust the airstone height
until the eggs are constantly moving, but not
lifting up into the air (well not
up into the water!)
Here is a completed tumbler. Easy! Notice
that the exhaust
is facing away
from the suction caps. You want
the air to escape into the open
tank, not up against the glass.
Once the fry hatch, you can leave them in the
tumbler
until
their egg sacs are gone. Ensure to remove
any unfertilised
eggs from the
tube or you will risk killing the hatched fry.
Unfertilised eggs will turn white
and grow fungi if left alone.
