Very clever caving Methinks :)

Dan Steveo

Large Fish
Apr 1, 2006
707
0
0
32
South England UK
#1
*GOLDFISH*

Ok, i added these caves today, i used slate in the garden, smashed it up, chiselled it to round off sharp edges and get a better shape, then i rinsed, scrubbed and boiiled =]

Then i dried and used special aquarium silicone to bond the slate together and left for just under 48 hours (with a rinse at 24 hours) this made some rather interesting caves, makes a lovely addition to the tank and all the fish love em,

Best of all, i made one with a straight through hole so both ends are open then i placed this at the same height as the filter outlet so the current goes straight through this cave, I guessed plecs would love it.. At the exit of the cave i put another piece of slate to divert the water current round the tank to keep a current.

looks great to me,

Here's some pics...





There will be plants added on top and round too,
 

Dan Steveo

Large Fish
Apr 1, 2006
707
0
0
32
South England UK
#3
Thank you, I was impressed with my idea, it's secluded and has amazing water current, perfect for breeding plecs, even better is that the water coming out of the filter is pretty much crystal clear =]
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#4
My Badis badis breed in the same slate caves (mine is brown, not black/grey). Since they eggs stick to the roof of the cave mostly, makes it easy to move the fry to another tank if I want to raise fry alone.
 

Dan Steveo

Large Fish
Apr 1, 2006
707
0
0
32
South England UK
#5
Oooh, i have the bottom cave there with a detatchable roof but i think i'd let them hatch naturally anyways, but yeah that deffo makes it easier.. i've never had anything but livebearers breed before so this'd be great if my bristlenoses matured and spawned, or even better, i'm looking at getting 2 blue phantom plecs so it'd be awesome if they spawned...

=]
 

nanu156

Large Fish
Mar 8, 2010
745
0
0
Detroit, Mi
#6
if you are going to breed those bps i would be planning to rehome fry as soon as they hatch as they are tricky to get to spawn and it would be a shame to lose expensive plecos
 

Dan Steveo

Large Fish
Apr 1, 2006
707
0
0
32
South England UK
#7
Yeah i gotcha there,I'd let the Bristlenoses Breed naturally first time and if the yield was low i'd take the eggs out, or should i take them out anyway? i'm sure they're good parents and they'll look after them, the sponge for my filter should be turning up today. That'd put my mind at ease.

I'd have a spare 10 gallon by the time i start breeding the BP's i'll buy one (coming real soon) Then decide what sex it is then look for to other sex. I was thinking about it recently.. They are high value and its a life so every one would count.
 

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nanu156

Large Fish
Mar 8, 2010
745
0
0
Detroit, Mi
#8
i dont know what they go for in your area but in mine a four incher goes for about sixty usd

its hard to sex them with out a side by side comparison because the sexing is all in the head shape you should snap an overhead photo that is in real size then take a look at what you see in the tank i would almost think you should plan to buy three more so you for sure get a male female combo if you are really going to try your hand at breeding them

i would try to snag another larger tank for breeding them as well (not large large but bigger then ten gallons) toss all four in there and run it wet and dry (thats how i would try) honestly this is beyond my depth your best bet would be checking planet catfish and trying to buddy up with someone who got them to breed

my pleco lady (who spawns some fancy plecos) wasnt aware that there was even reported breeding of them so i am getting the impression that you would be pretty special if you can do it

on the bushies well my feelings are mixed there seems that if you got a pair that decided to make babies they are going to make a ton (like a platy) that being said i dont know if i wold make myself crazy trying to save every single one maybe just let them do it then take the survivors out of each clutch

from what i understand a few bushies can yield a few hundred babies in a very short time because we each only have so many lfs to sell baby plecos to there probably is no benifit in two hundred babies over say thirty to fifty as its unlikely that your lfs can handle more then a few at a time (flooding the market is also bad for prices)

im not sure what the market is like in england but here i can think of ten places that would take two to three babies at a time (but id have to drive fifty miles in each direction to hit all ten) that being said thirty babies would be easy enough to place but two hundred could turn into a pain in the neck (there is a single guy who does the guppy breeding in this area for instance he has some really nice color strains he only sells males and i would guess culls the females so the market doesn't get saturated and folks dont start messing with his strain) ) not that there arnt other guppies available but all of the nice ones come from the same guy honestly they are pretty enough to make a girl like me think of starting a guppy tank every time i come across his work
 

Dan Steveo

Large Fish
Apr 1, 2006
707
0
0
32
South England UK
#9
Wow sounds like he's doing good,
My local LFS sells bristlenoses for £4.50 but they run out often, i only got 1 when i went in 3 weeks ago, he was the only one, then a week later some lady brought some in and that's the only stock they still have now, only 2 left haha.

I'll deffo try and breed the BP's i've heard it's been done before, i'll just try and get a good few or become an expert at their sexing haha.

We'll have to see,
 

nanu156

Large Fish
Mar 8, 2010
745
0
0
Detroit, Mi
#10
yeah look under the green phantoms on planet cat there is a side by side of male and female greens they are the same fish just different colors so you will get an idea of what to look for
 

Dan Steveo

Large Fish
Apr 1, 2006
707
0
0
32
South England UK
#12
XD
Thanks i'll have a look nanu,

And thanks ak, it is a good thing i suppose, it's safer but you have to leave it for at least 24 hours, i did 48 to be sure, and one of them still smells like acetate so i'm leaving it out for longer.. Gotta be sure..

Works well though,.
 

nanu156

Large Fish
Mar 8, 2010
745
0
0
Detroit, Mi
#13
aakaakaak buy a big tank please!!!!!!!!! :)

come on your turn we will help you with stocking ideas and decor ideas :)

do africans you will love it!!!! or regular tropicals. or loaches. or something big and mean. :) come join the party you know you want to, everybody is doing it :)
 

aakaakaak

Superstar Fish
Sep 9, 2010
1,324
0
0
Chesapeake, Virginia
#15
Lol, Marcy. If my wife would let me I'd probably have one already. The goal with that tank is already dedicated to oddity fish. Black Knife, Elephantnose, etc. With the exception of a couple I've never been big on cichlids.

And seriously, I do put way more money than I should into my fish.
 

nanu156

Large Fish
Mar 8, 2010
745
0
0
Detroit, Mi
#16
eh.... unless you are thinking 240 there shouldn't be a knife in your future.... In my exp it is easier to ask for forgiveness then permission lol ;)

Elephants get to 14" too so you would need a humongous aquarium to house them in :( as you would need about 20" deep just for them to turn around (deep as in front to back) how big is big?

baby whales are pretty neat (google them they are not actually whales but are related to the elephant nose fish)
 

aakaakaak

Superstar Fish
Sep 9, 2010
1,324
0
0
Chesapeake, Virginia
#17
Yep, I've looked into it. I think you're thinking of a CLOWN knife, which is like, arowana sized. Black knife doesn't get half that big. Neither does the elephant nose. Yes, I know that baby whales are basically elephant noses without the nose, and more bland colored, generally speaking. I wouldn't be doing this in anything less than a 75 or greater. I'm thinking I'd get a group of gold dojo loaches for the bottom. It'd be a complete night tank. But alas, I'd be skewered in my sleep if I brought home something that big.
 

nanu156

Large Fish
Mar 8, 2010
745
0
0
Detroit, Mi
#18
the elephants get 14" long thats a really big fish... 14" means the tank needs 20" in width so they can turn. :) 14" is my finger tip to my elbow.

but yeah that would be a cool tank.

I always wanted a ray tank, but i don't have the floor space for an indoor pond or large shallow square tank