I really think someone or something is conspiring against me in keeping Africans.

I didn't get a chance to post about it, but yesterday I grabbed 5 Venustus inch longs at the fish farm to grow out and keep two or three females to go with my male. Now that it's warming up local fish stores are starting to order more they said.

I had them set up in a 20, with a rena xp1. The xp1 is as old as dirt and sort of cobbled together from parts and bits. The intake is a bare tube (it was a doner and never came with the screen guard end cap) that I have always kept a cube of really coarse filter sponge on to keep small things from going up the intake. (Mostly I was concerned about gravel)

This sponge block is also quite old, so the only thing I can think of is that it must have been tasty. Over the evening (last I checked on them was before dinner so from 6ish pm till 9am this morning) The little Venustus ripped apart the sponge and the lot of them, and most of the bits of the sponge ended up getting sucked inside the xp1. Nothing like starting your day to a clogged filter caused by chewed sponge and dead fish.

So I now have two left alive, since somehow they made it past the impeller and were alive in the canister. The guys up there laughing at me (My luck with africans is approaching legendary at this point ) and I'm wondering is this kinda crap normal for Africans? I know the SA's like to "remodel" their tanks but I've never had them eat a sponge off a filter before.

The only thing I've ever seen eat sponges is Apple Snails and it takes them some time, the sponge just gets smaller and smaller as the weeks go on..

For fish, I'm thinking I just need to stick to South American fish. At least I mostly don't have any trouble with them.

That is weird. I never heard of fish eating a sponge like that?

Only thing I can think of is the sponge was brittle. The fish was likely trying to eat algae off the sponge but got a little involved with it.

It amasing how many odd things happen when you keep fish.

You should see how many odd things happen in most of the stuff I do too. I'm an odd magnet.

It's my super hero secret power. That and having a small child show up the moment I let fly on any good string of profanity.

New one on me. Strange one I must say.

WYite

Must have been a teasty spong! Sorry to hear about your bad luck saint_felony.

Seems like the prize goes to MC.

I picked out a few of the bits left of the sponge in the tank, after putting some nylon screen over the intake, and the sponge bits just fell apart in my hand.

Maybe they didn't try eating it and it just awesome timing where it rotted apart and got sucked in. I totally admit to being lazy and if those sponges aren't visibly dirty or clogged I just leave them do their thing. I'm going to have to start testing them once every few months or something, because no matter what the cause, I do not want that shit happening again.

Well, shit happens