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Here are some recent photos of my setup...

And before anybody asks... Yes that is a Fluval FX5 connected to that tank. And no my fish are not adults yet.

"I like hiding"

"I am going to take a sneaky look for some food"

"DAMN! YOU CAUGHT ME!"

My tank

nice picture!

does yours come out into the open on a regular basis? how many are in there? mine usually chill between the slate pieces and sometimes come to the ledge to see what im putting in the tank but thats it.

There are 5 in the tank all 11 months old. They come out all the time... I have lots of photos of them because of this.

I think that F1's over time get used to associating you with food and after a while (6 months in my case) they don't really care anymore, if there is food in the tank or if I sit too close to the tank they will be out sniffing around.

maybe i have to many hiding spots in my tank, occasionally they come out but very sneaky though.

also is that the water change reminder on the bottom left corner?

You can never have too many hiding places. They will get used to associating you with food, and if you try feeding during the day too they soon get used to foraging. The downside is that water changes need to be done weekly with my regime... but who's complaining, atleast I see them.

Some rules do apply, if they come out while I am sitting next to the tank I can't make any sharp movements. They know I'm there but they get spooked if I move too fast.

That is a Hagen Marina temprature alarm (digital thermometer), I have it set to 27-34... good bit of kit... it saved my fish last week when my heater failed (pictured). Needless to say I bought an aluminuim one with an external thermostat this time. Heater technology is so caveman. There is no point having the smartest filter if we have dumb heaters.

Since you seem so keen. I am going to post some more pictures. Kind of like when you go to grandma's and she gets the family album out!

thanks for the input.

i have been feeding mine before the lights go out and just checking bellies in the morning so i have yet to see them eat. maybe i should start feeding during the day to get them use to it.

You tank looks scary. Like somthing might fall and crush these valubale little guys...

I love your filter that tank.... it is just GIANTNORMOUS.....

@KevinR

Yes, scary indeed! LoL everything in that tank is secure... I don't care about the cost of the zebz anymore, I love them like family now. A death would mean a full blown funeral procession! And an inquest similar to Scotland yard cases!

@n00dl3

Yes she is a beast... I call her Bertha, if you've never seen one in the flesh then the FX5 can only be described as dustbin sized. The greatest thing is that I haven't needed to clean the filter at all! Everytime I open it up I am disappointed to see that the sponges are still clean (ish), ok maybe a little brown but I get the feeling that this filter won't need cleaning for atleast another 6 months...

Another thing; who needs a powerhead when the filter is so powerful that it could create a typhoon all by itself! River tank anyone?

Nice set up you have there I take it that you dont have the FX5 on full flow. Those things can run a tank of at least 7ft by 2ft!!! We have one on our 300gallon tank at work. Its an absolute beast of a filter turning over 3500 litres per hour on full flow.

I have FX5's in 2 of my tanks full flow and surprisingly its not as powerfull as I thought it would be, but the zebs seem to like it and being able to point the dual outputs at different angles is very handy.

Has anyone had any problems with these filters? as I have had to had the motor changed on one of my filters twice now due to a loud grinding noise.

My mate at work has one running on his 7ft by 2ft tank and he says that it is almost silent. Apparently he has'nt cleaned it for 11 months and its still blasting out a good rate of flow!!!

I myself am getting one in a week to go on my new zebra system. The system is going to be in my bedroom so i hope its not that noisy

There is no way I would run this baby at full chat I run it at 1/3... LOL

I can't say that I have had any problems with mine... Seems indestructible. I would also say that it is reasonably quiet. Although there is a faint hum to put up with. Not intrusive.

I overfed a couple of times and all that is necessary is to run it for 5 minutes on 1/2 power... Captain