Cave Ideas?

by **Nath J** on Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:14 pm

Heyy.
Well my new juwel rio 240 is set up and 3/4 full and all is good. However i now have 4 pleco's instead of 3 because my friend has just given me his 5-6inch sailfin pleco as his tank was only 60 litres. But the problem is he has no where to hide or more to the point none of my hiding places are big enough and are already taken up by my two Bristlenose's and Gold Nugget. I've been looking on ebay but all the caves on their are two small, so i was wondering if any of you had any nifty ideas for him to hide in? I'm also going to get another pair of dwarf cichlid's on saturday so may need something suitable for them as well.

Sorry for the long story =[ but he doesnt seem happy at the moment.

Thanks

by **aly_starh** on Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:16 pm

Coconut caves or Slate caves could work well. Smile

by **Nath J** on Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:18 pm

I've been looking at them, i thnk i might get some of them for my cichlids and cory's but my plec wont fit in them =[

by **aly_starh** on Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:19 pm

A home made Slate Cave. Like the tiles that come off roofs. There big. Then just make a cave type thing with Aquarium Silicone.

by **aly_starh** on Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:20 pm

Something like this: Click here

by **Nath J** on Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:20 pm

Yeahh spose... like the upside down 'U' shaped roof tiles?

by **Nath J** on Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:23 pm

That would look good! Might have to get some slate at the weekend then. I can see my self making him a new one every year at this rate my friend got him when he was 1.5" 8 months ago so i think he is going to grow big quickly lol

by **aly_starh** on Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:26 pm

Will he be fine in your tank for all his life? i would have thought he'd outgrow that too.

by **Nath J** on Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:26 pm

Hopefully not it is 52 gallons and im in no hurry to go bigger lol

by **kizno1** on Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:48 pm

some big bits of wood will do fine or the slate caves. i would try and get rid of it as soon as you can because the bigger they get the harder they are to sell and they grow really quick i brought a 3" sailfin and then in 2 months it was 6" and they get terretorial with othe3r bottom dwellers.

by **Nath J** on Wed Dec 09, 2009 7:28 pm

I have a place for him to go when he gets bigger a lfs actually takes them and sells them on to people with very big tanks, but he is growing on me already and tbh if there is enough hiding places there will be no need for aggression over hiding places.

by **Assaye** on Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:41 am

As far as I know, the recommended minimum tank size for a full size sailfin is about 400 litres. Sorry =(

Imagine if he got to 2 foot long. He's need a tank that is about 3 foot deep just to turn around (and that's pushing it) and if he wasn't going to feel crowded, he'd need about a 6 foot tank as a minimun just to be able to swim naturally.

Normally I'd say you want about 6 x the length of the fish for it to swim, but plecs are notoriously inactive.

So it's not just about hiding places, but whether he'll fit in the tank comfortably. Hopefully you'll be able to keep him happy until you want to upgrade.

by **aly_starh** on Thu Dec 10, 2009 7:40 pm

Abit late in posting this site, had to ask permission first Very Happy

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This is a step-by-step guide, looks quite easy!

by **Nath J** on Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:31 pm

Thankyou!

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