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Anyone selling/making slate caves?
Posted: 01 Apr 2007, 20:18
by drpleco
I saw some on aquabid but didn't like them. These might be for breeding eventually but for now are just homes for my pleco collection. I have several sp. of hypancistrus up to 3.5" and asst. others up to 5". I would probably need 8-10 caves and appearance is important (I have a touch of OCD,
).
Shipping is fine. Please let me know what you have. Thanks!!
Andy
Posted: 02 Apr 2007, 10:54
by MatsP
If you need that many, it may be better if you make them yourself. A (own-brand) tile-cutter from the local DIY-place shouldn't set you back much over $50, and some bits of slate isn't very difficult to get for not very much money (off-cuts from the local tile/slate-shop is obvious choice here). All you need then is some aquarium silicone and a few moments of spare time. Oh, and a marker pen to mark where you want to cut the slate
--
Mats
Posted: 06 Apr 2007, 21:56
by Gozza
I've made a few slate caves before. one thing I would recommend is to use roofing slate rather than floor tiles as the thickness of roof tiles seems to be far more consistent. This makes assembling the caves far more straight forward. Oase make a product called "edmp-fix" which you use in a mastic gun, again it is easier to use than silicon and dries far faster. theres probably a propriety version availible. Building the caves is very easy and once you've knocked a couple up you're laughing.
Posted: 07 Apr 2007, 16:29
by bronzefry
Andy,
Definitely go for the more expensive tile cutter. I went for the $20 tile cutter. I went through 3 or 4 blades quite quickly. About 6 months later, I broke the cutter in half, literally. It was a tile that was thicker than the others(one of the inconsistant floor tiles). The tile remained whole. The cutter did not. On my "wish" list is the more expensive tile cutter. A bit of advise, too: uh, it's a good idea to cut the tiles away from the tanks, preferrably in another room....(silly me
)
I have a clay cave for an Ancistrus(3)sp.tank(20 long): (1) male, (3) females. The male took possession of it quite quickly, even though he's a sub-adult. None of the females can get near it without being chased away. It seems like he's "playing" at the moment. But, his snout is getting bushier by the day.
Amanda