DIY Pleco Cave ideas PLEASE!!

[Beach]

ok, so I've been trying to buy pleco caves online (the small square-opening clay ones) and having all kinds of problems. Bottom line, is that i was only able to get one. I have 6 adult L201's that have stopped breeding after adding more adults (more than a year now) - i've tried all the triggers, and the only thing I can think of , is more caves. It seems I have 2 females and 4 males.

So my question is: is there anything that I can rig up as caves that doesnt involve a tile cutter (which i dont have) - PVC is so white n bright that they dont really seem to want that. I have light tan sand and some fake plants - i have a large square sponge filter and while one male stays in the single pleco cave I have, the other 5 all hide behind the plants up on the sponge.

Any suggestions would be welcomed!

[yayfish24]

Plecocaves.com has some awesome caves for good prices. They have a bunch of sizes and styles too. Check them out.

[bekateen]

There are a lot of ideas listed in this thread: Home-made pleco spawning caves

Maybe it will be helpful.

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

Also, if you're on Facebook, search for "oak caves" made by Robert Pope. He's in the UK but I believe he ships to the USA. I have a couple of his caves and they are nice.

Cheers, Eric

[Shane]

I use a lot of bamboo section caves. Free if you have bamboo growing near you, but still cheap even if you have to buy it.
-Shane

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... hp?t=41081

[yayfish24]

Does it take awhile for bamboo to sink?

[Shane]

Just soak it for a week.
-Shane

[bekateen]

I cover 2-3 fresh bamboo pipes (side-by-side, about 1 inch apart) with a sheet of slate rock, creating an overhanging ledge above the mouths of the caves. The slate also weighs them down.

Cheers, Eric

[Linus_Cello]

Bamboo probably better, but clay pots another option?

[TwoTankAmin]

I did a bamboo cave or two and found they will start to rot after a couple of years. My first caves were pvc pipe with the end closed off using a stone or small slate siliconed in place. I have since worked with pvc glue and would use that with an end cap but I stopped using pvc.

Making caves requires tools and or equipment.
-For terracotta it must be fire in a kiln.
-For slate you need to cut it to size using a special saw. Even using slates tiles may require such cutting.
-Wood caves need to have a decent diameter opening. This takes tools to get out the wood.

Given the time it takes to make a cave, unless you are "in that business" this must also be taken into account. Most caves I use sell for $5 or $6. Since I have 7 pleco breeding tanks and 5 growout tanks, I have accumulated about 70 caves which are in use and another dozen spares. These are for temp tanks or replacements when I break one. I cannot imagine how much time and cost making them all myself might have been.

Bear in mind I am a small time hobby breeder. I cannot imagine making caves for 30, 40 or more tanks

Making a few caves out of curiosity is not a big deal, but I would not contemplate doing so if one needs a large number of them. If one factors in the value of one's time along with the materials, it is unusual for the DIY end cost to be cheaper than pre-made and purchased. I pretty much have come to see DIY as the way to have something you simply cannot buy either because it doesn't exist or else it is too expensive to afford.

as always, it is just one man's opinion here.

[bekateen]

I did a bamboo cave or two and found they will start to rot after a couple of years.

Absolutely true, and actually sooner in my tanks; I've had some caves wear out in less than one year (see below).

Without trying to be argumentative, I'd suggest that from a cost perspective, bamboo caves are a great option. I can buy 8 feet of bamboo pipe in various diameters for less than $10 USD. From one 8-foot pole, I can usually cut 6 caves about 6 inches deep, and also get about an equal number of pipes (open at both ends) which aren't good for spawning but are good hiding places.

In terms of durability, bamboo caves aren't good. But for what it's worth, I think bamboo caves are well worth the time and effort (to cut from a bigger pole) when you want a quick and easy cave for a small pleco, especially if you're keeping Panaqolus, which (I suspect) eat the insides of the caves when fry (alas, this does shorten the life of the caves I think). And the caves are easy to replace with more pipe a year or two later when they wear out.

Just my 2 cents.
Cheers, Eric

[Lycosid]

I can buy 8 feet of bamboo pipe in various diameters for less than $10 USD

I've had good luck getting bamboo for various projects completely free. If you live in the right climate people will plant it as an ornamental and then it will go nuts and get everywhere and either the people who planted it or the people whose yards it has run wild into will be happy for you to cut some down and take it away.

[Shane]

I usually get about two years from bamboo so not a permanent solution. However since I cut it for free in the creek behind my house it still seems worth the effort. Even if I had to pay a small amount I would still prefer it for many spp.
-Shane

[Mol_PMB]

Even with oak, my Panaqolus munch through it fairly quickly!
I have made a couple of dozen hardwood caves and sold more than half pretty quickly (I use the others myself). The problem is that it's a fair amount of work to acquire the materials and process them into caves. I'm a busy person and although there might be a small profit on paper, I'd be far better off spending a few more hours at work than making caves at home in the evening.

[Jobro]

Using a saw for slate is overkill. It's so easy to break it to a certain degree of precision. A hammer and a chisel are enough.

Maybe I will make a video next time I "cut" some slate. I fix the slate to the worktable with a wood lath and two clamps. Place the wood lath exactly next to the line, where you want to break it. Now move the chisel along the wood lath up and down the slate with some pressure in order to carve a line in there. Once the carve is 1-2mm deep (this goes pretty fast and easy in slate) just gentle hammer the chisel into the carve. Do it at some different spots along the carve and it will break nice and cleanly along that carve. Hope this is comprehensible without pictures.

[bekateen]

Using a saw for slate is overkill. It's so easy to break it to a certain degree of precision. A hammer and a chisel are enough.

Maybe I will make a video next time I "cut" some slate. I fix the slate to the worktable with a wood lath and two clamps. Place the wood lath exactly next to the line, where you want to break it. Now move the chisel along the wood lath up and down the slate with some pressure in order to carve a line in there. Once the carve is 1-2mm deep (this goes pretty fast and easy in slate) just gentle hammer the chisel into the carve. Do it at some different spots along the carve and it will break nice and cleanly along that carve. Hope this is comprehensible without pictures.

Nice info Johannes. I'm going to crosslink this to the ongoing thread about home-made DIY caves.

Thanks for sharing, Eric