Making caves...?

Question

Besides the little flower pots (I have some that I broke in 1/2 and some that I left whole...), what else could I use to make caves for my cichlids (2 Blue Rams and 2 Flag Cichlids) and bottom feeders (6 Cories) in my 3 foot, 58 gallon?

Also, how big should they be? I have the 4" flower pots in there now...will they work or do I need something bigger? My pet store suggested I have at least 15 caves, so I'm working on that...but I don't want to run out of room...lol.

Any other ideas for decorations? My other fish will be 3 Pearl Gouramis, 8 Cherry Barbs, and 8 Flame Tetras.

I will add details as people respond, so please check back once you respond (within a few mins.). Thanks!

Thanks for the help, yet again, MagicMan!! :) I was thinking of decorating my broken pots with rocks, but I didn't really know how to go about it. Thanks for the ideas!! The guy at the pet store was worried that if my cichlids mate, they might go after the cories...

Answer 1

PVC pip makes a great cave. Some people like to leave it plain, others decorate it. The most pleasing way I have every found to decorate it is to cover the outside of the pipe with silicon sealant and roll it in the same gravel you have in the tank. The sealant is available at hardware stores in a large tube near the paint section. Just be sure it says safe for aquariums. That can also be used to decorate flower pots as well as glue stuff together to build larger structures of caves and pipes.

15 caves is way over kill for the fish in your tank. Of the one's you list, only the Rams would make much use of them at all. So I would say 4-5 is plenty.

That size pot is good for Rams. For the PVC I would select about 3" pipe. Just enough for the fish to comfortably fit in it and 4-5 times longer than the fish would be the minimum size. On the other hand, if it's too large, the fish won't feel safe in it, so don't get pots that are too large.

MM

Answer 2

Go to yahoo images and search diy cichlid caves. There are two VERY great ones on there. One is made with a plastic drain and the other a pvc pipe. Both look great. 4 inches is the perfect size. These caves will also be fairly cheap. 15 is definetly over kill. 10 at the MOST would be great.

Answer 3

There are many kinds of rocks you can use to build your own caves with such as black onyx and slate and shale pieces. You can even use pieces of marble. As long as you stack them in such a way that they are sturdy you can use all kinds of rock and shale. This also means that your caves are not permanent and you can enjoy remaking them in as many different ways as you like in order to change things up every so often or to lessen territorial disputes.

The stones that I am using I bought from a local fish store that had a great selection and they cost a couple bucks a pound. Here is a picture of my 55 gal African cichlid tank to get an idea of the stones I speak of. There are other pictures viewable from this page that also show the caves and there are others that irrelevant so please ignore those.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10086005@N08/802792782/

Answer 4

Go to your local fish shop (not the big ones like petco or petsmart), and get some red shale rock. It shouldn't cost more than $2 a pound. If you have a Petland near you, they sell it for $1 a pound. It works great to make caves and other cool setups.

Here are some pics I took of my aquariums that have red shale.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z1/ryan98012/P1010028.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z1/ryan98012/P1010044.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z1/ryan98012/P1010036.jpg

Answer 5

Here is a link that shows you how to design your own aquarium caves made from PVC pipes.