Pleco Breeding Cave Ideas?

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-13, 13:40

I've been on the hunt for some caves for my pleco breeding project. However, the majority of what I find are sold out. So I was considering buying these and hollowing out the centers of them to make my own breeding logs. What do you guys think? Or do you have any ideas of what else I could use. OTHER than the clay ones that I see every where that are horrible looking. lol. I'm looking for realistic as this is a planted tank they will be in.

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DMD123 2014-05-13, 13:57

Ive never bred plecos but I can say that those would look better than the clay ones they sell. That would be a very nice, natural look.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-13, 14:19

That's what I was thinking and I could stack them or place them in any which way and use them to plant anubias and stuff off of too. The plecos currently prefer a piece of driftwood to hang out around anyways. I figure win win this route.

**MRTom** 2014-05-13, 14:24

I am in love with this idea... now I wanna buy a bunch of manzanita branches to hollow them out and run my filter tubing through them as a way to camouflage them. Thx for posting!

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-13, 14:27

Oh that's a good idea too!

DMD123 2014-05-13, 14:29

ShortyKiloGyrl wrote:That's what I was thinking and I could stack them or place them in any which way and use them to plant anubias and stuff off of too. The plecos currently prefer a piece of driftwood to hang out around anyways. I figure win win this route.

Looks like you have a new money making business idea!

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-13, 14:32

That's true! I could sell them on ebay. Or on fish forums and they will easily fit in flat rate boxes too.

**Madness** 2014-05-13, 15:06

Get on it, what are you waiting for? Stop stalling, and move it. Wink

DMD123 2014-05-13, 15:11

Madness wrote:Get on it, what are you waiting for? Stop stalling, and move it.

I know, she had at least half an hour after she posted. She should have made at least a dozen by then and set up her web page to sell them! jocolor

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-13, 15:11

Yes, Sir.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-13, 15:12

DMD123 wrote:
Madness wrote:Get on it, what are you waiting for? Stop stalling, and move it.

I know, she had at least half an hour after she posted. She should have made at least a dozen by then and set up her web page to sell them!

Haha I know, just like the chicken waterers I need to get on making! I'm totally slacking!

**Madness** 2014-05-13, 16:45

DMD123 2014-05-13, 18:43

ShortyKiloGyrl wrote:just like the chicken waterers I need to get on making! I'm totally slacking!

Better get to it or else....
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ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-13, 19:01

haha I'm sure they've probably wanted to do that a time or two to me. But I already have them set up on their watering system that they love. I am going to start selling them to people now. Smile

oddballer 2014-05-13, 19:54

Thats a REALLY cool idea! I know id be interested. I use the clay tubular cave. I burry half of it so it emerges from the ground. But i agree that a more natural look would be great!

fishNAbowl 2014-05-13, 20:31

Those are neat pieces of woOd. I can't tell what type of wood that is but if I remember correctly isn't there stuff like sap in wood we have to worry about leaching in the waters? I like the wood idea so don't get me wrong here. By the pictures it looks like the wood is split by a bunch of cracks. You may want to double check the wood and make sure you can hollow them out without them falling apart. Some cracks look like they run the length of the wood and pretty deep

**PokeSephiroth** 2014-05-13, 20:37

Ooooh that's a neat idea! I wanna see pictures of the finished product! Very Happy

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-13, 21:52

fishNAbowl wrote:Those are neat pieces of woOd. I can't tell what type of wood that is but if I remember correctly isn't there stuff like sap in wood we have to worry about leaching in the waters? I like the wood idea so don't get me wrong here. By the pictures it looks like the wood is split by a bunch of cracks. You may want to double check the wood and make sure you can hollow them out without them falling apart. Some cracks look like they run the length of the wood and pretty deep

Oh very good point. I'll definitely look into it more!

**Betty** 2014-05-13, 21:57

If you try it, don't hollow them out all the way through. At least not all of them that you make. All of my bristlenose choose caves with only one opening.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-13, 22:04

I had noticed that all the clay caves online had covered backs and remembers you saying they liked the cichlid stones too. I think my boyfriend has a tool or 2 that would work for only partial holes.

fishNAbowl 2014-05-13, 22:38

ShortyKiloGyrl wrote:haha I'm sure they've probably wanted to do that a time or two to me. But I already have them set up on their watering system that they love. I am going to start selling them to people now.

Yum, fresh eggs.

Betty wrote:If you try it, don't hollow them out all the way through. At least not all of them that you make. All of my bristlenose choose caves with only one opening.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-13, 23:59

fishNAbowl wrote:
ShortyKiloGyrl wrote:haha I'm sure they've probably wanted to do that a time or two to me. But I already have them set up on their watering system that they love. I am going to start selling them to people now.
Yum, fresh eggs.

Mmmhmmm :)waaay better than store bought junk!

Nick_87 2014-05-14, 03:05

For a cheap cave I took some 3/4" and 1" PVC pipe and cut it into 4"-6" pieces and then heated one end of it over the kitchen stove and clamped it closed with a pair of pliers. It only cost a few cents and is well proven in my tank. And yes they sink.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-14, 10:37

My tank is planted so I'm trying to go with as natural looking as possible. That is definitely a great idea though and I wouldn't have thought of it!

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-14, 11:17

Hmmm so it's not specific as to what type of wood these pieces were. But that they did come from a river.

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pbmax 2014-05-14, 11:18

I use small clay pots cut in half. They don't look as nice as wood, but they do look better than PVC. Without the proper tools, however, they're a pain to cut that way. Shocked

I need a tile saw...

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-14, 11:20

haha I've often wondered how people cut them evenly without breaking them. I've used them before for other things like with cichlids but left them whole.

pbmax 2014-05-14, 11:25

One hacksaw blade per pot! cyclops

And these are little pots too... I did cut 3 or 4 with the spiral cutting bit for my dremel, but it's so dull now it won't cut anything. One of these days I'll try a real tile cutting bit.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-14, 11:38

We used to have a tile cutter my boyfriend borrowed for laying tile flooring in our bedroom. Unfortunately, that left a while ago. Sad

Clogstonian 2014-05-14, 12:08

Something I've done in the past which works well for plecos but it's a little labor intensive; you'll need a pair(or two) of cheap surgical gloves(hardware store item), take a capers jar or any glass/ceramic jar/vase of the appropriate size, squeeze out a healthy glob of silcon on a piece cardboard then roll the jar in it covering the top surface (as it lays flat like it would in your tank . .you don't need to go all the way around the jar if you set it into your substrate a little bit) make it a thick layer. Then roll the jar in a pile of your dry substrate. Set up something so you can let this sit and cure. You can hand sprinkle (use a clean pair of gloves at this point) some gravel over any spots that need it and over the front edge of the jar so the glass doesn't reflect the light.

I've found some nice cheap ceramic and glass vases at GoodWill type places.

Justa thought

pbmax 2014-05-14, 12:14

That's a neat idea.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-14, 12:20

Clogstonian wrote:Something I've done in the past which works well for plecos but it's a little labor intensive; you'll need a pair(or two) of cheap surgical gloves(hardware store item), take a capers jar or any glass/ceramic jar/vase of the appropriate size, squeeze out a healthy glob of silcon on a piece cardboard then roll the jar in it covering the top surface (as it lays flat like it would in your tank . .you don't need to go all the way around the jar if you set it into your substrate a little bit) make it a thick layer. Then roll the jar in a pile of your dry substrate. Set up something so you can let this sit and cure. You can hand sprinkle (use a clean pair of gloves at this point) some gravel over any spots that need it and over the front edge of the jar so the glass doesn't reflect the light.

I've found some nice cheap ceramic and glass vases at GoodWill type places.

Justa thought

That's freaking GENIUS!! I love this idea!! I think I will do this and try the hollowed out logs too!

DMD123 2014-05-14, 12:27

I had seen similar with the use of pvc pipe covered in silicone and then covered in rock. just make sure to use the type of silicone that does not have mold inhibitors so that its fish safe.

Clogstonian 2014-05-14, 12:40

it can be a little messy and the first one may not turn out great but once your set up you should prob make a couple and select the best one . . . have fun! . . .yes, ALWAYS use aquarium safe sealants.

DMD123 2014-05-14, 12:45

Ideas can be found for multiple cave too: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Clogstonian 2014-05-14, 12:52

That's freaking GENIUS!! I love this idea!! I think I will do this and try the hollowed out logs too![/quote]

. . thanks for that by the way!

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-14, 13:33

What is the best silicone to use? I would need to cap them so I can remove them from the breeding tank and into a fry tank before they release from the cave.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-14, 13:35

I'm thinking black pipe to blend in a bit and covered in rock, that I already have too much of and sitting around will be perfect! I could also use Nick_87's idea with making the end soft and pinching closed to create the sealed end instead of a cap too. This is why I love this site. A mash up of ideas can create great things!

Clogstonian 2014-05-14, 13:51

You should be able to find the aquarium safe silcon at the same hardware store as the latex gloves, it has a small pict. of an aquarium (how convenient) . . I think they charge a little more for the picture and the qualifying statement that it's aquarium safe but I don't know if it's actually any different, but as previously mentioned, make sure it does not contain a mold inhibitor.

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ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-14, 14:28

Awesome, wrote the two down and put it in my wallet so I've got it! Thank you so much for your help!

DMD123 2014-05-14, 14:45

ShortyKiloGyrl wrote:Awesome, wrote the two down and put it in my wallet so I've got it! Thank you so much for your help!

Now to find a store by you that carries silicone... Since you are in the middle of nowhere. Very Happy

fishNAbowl 2014-05-14, 16:20

The PVC thing is a cool idea. I did similar with 4-5 inch PVC cut down the middle , smeared silicone on to it, poured aquarium gravel in a box and rolled the PVC. If your project goes like mine did make sure you get a bunch of rags or paper towels handy this may turn out to be a messy project Smile

I also had to grab handfulls of gravel and press it into the silicone to cover the whole thing 100%.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-14, 16:25

DMD123 wrote:
ShortyKiloGyrl wrote:Awesome, wrote the two down and put it in my wallet so I've got it! Thank you so much for your help!

Now to find a store by you that carries silicone... Since you are in the middle of nowhere.

Haha Luckily we have 2 hardware stores between the two neighboring towns. One is an Ace and they will definitely have it. If not I work at a heating and air conditioning company and we do refrigeration I'm sure I can find some Wink

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-05-14, 16:26

fishNAbowl wrote:The PVC thing is a cool idea. I did similar with 4-5 inch PVC cut down the middle , smeared silicone on to it, poured aquarium gravel in a box and rolled the PVC. If your project goes like mine did make sure you get a bunch of rags or paper towels handy this may turn out to be a messy project :)I also had to grab handfulls of gravel and press it into the silicone to cover the whole thing 100%.

Yeah, that will probably be me too. Things that should go simple usually don't for me and I usually make a mess some how lol

Anthraxx 2014-05-14, 17:17

first off to cut terracota pots just soak them for a cpl of days before cutting. makes it much easier and you wont tear thru your ceramic hacksaw blades. secondly after a quick search of the Ozarks (where that wood u were looking at was from) id pass entirely. sure SOME of the trees there are okay in aquariums but they have a lot of trees that just wont sink, have tons of sap, etc. madrona makes for a good aquarium log, just has to soak and sink. youve got to find the super dense hardwoods to really be aquarium safe.

PS: i really love the idea of siliconing some wood "plugs" onto the intakes. if you leave a slight gap you might even be able to get away with planting them with like anubias or java ferns. GL with all your choices, manzanita is a great cheap alternative here, also cory has quite a few varieties of pleco cave available at his store.

pbmax 2014-05-14, 17:21

Anthraxx wrote:...makes it much easier and you wont tear thru your ceramic hacksaw blades.

That's my problem! cheers

I need carbide blades.

Anthraxx 2014-05-14, 17:22

yup those will def help lolz! lol!

pbmax 2014-05-14, 17:23

Anthraxx wrote:yup those will def help lolz!

I figured 1 blade per pot was a bit off. Suspect

Obviously I put a ton of thought into this before I did it... cyclops

Anthraxx 2014-05-14, 17:28

hey i had an old friend tell me to get the ceramic cutting blades so i already had a leg up. that plus a presoak really makes it a breeze to do.

pbmax 2014-05-14, 17:30

I read about the soaking part this morning - makes sense, and supposedly reduces chipping. Unfortunately I needed it done RIGHT THEN. Again, lots of forethought Wink

Regardless, thanks for the info!

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