As usual Bill Cody gives topnotch advice. I've never had the pvc pieces come apart in the water on me, as the entire cage holds it together anyway, and I use white duck tape (more water resistant) around all the joints. My cages are very large (I've made them as large as 10 by 10 by 4 feet deep, but now they are about 7 by 7 by 4 feet deep to get them out of the garage door after assembly. Round made be better, but my cages are rectangular. I'll scan a picture of one and email it to you as I promised.

You may have better luck feed training with a smaller cage that Bill Cody uses, as crowding can produce a competitive feeding response.

The plastic mesh really does last indefintely. I've actually taken cages completely apart and build different ones. I leave mine in the water indefintely even when I am not using them as they act as fish structure and I really have no place to store them. On land they are not that attractive and I believe the plastic may not last as long out of the water in direct sunlight although I could be wrong.

Cecil

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.