So per topic title this is about caves. I have noticed various types of caves out there which when I bought my L25 was when I became over whelmed. Oh caves should be this size but make sure there not gonna get stuck to rough edges oh this long for now and then conflicting info online it's just a hot mess. Also the best caves out there are made of slate which are kinda unsightly in my opinion. So I decided to make my own out of acrylic. Used solid black acrylic. 12x7x4 its smooth so no chance of the pleco's fins getting caught wide enough for it to turn around inside surprisingly.
Issues with it was its light weight so super easy for the pleco's to literally move there house around which using some suction cups or a heavy rock on top prevents this sometimes. Well I didn't mind fixing it every so often. My biggest concern was the cave is deeper then the fish is long. I wouldn't see nothing in days. At night I am at work during lights off so when I get home there is light and the fish is hidden. I sometimes thought maybe it died in there and a quick check by putting my hand in there and getting bumped out would put my mind at ease.
Okay so there has to be a better solution for this. Well in my case I figured I would make a new cave same sizes except one side wall would be clear acrylic the rest would be all black like the old one. I wasn't sure how this would work out. I got this idea when thinking how sometimes I would see my old pleco's hide in driftwood in a side crevice versus a actual cave type opening. Figured it would still provide a dark spot its secure and now I could see my fish. At most I'm out a few bucks if it doesn't work.
Well glad to say it works. Fish seems to enjoy its new cave occasionally seeing it hanging from the top upside down. It's still dark inside the cave which is awesome but I could still see my pleco is alive and well. I will add pics of the old cave and new one as soon as I get them uploaded from my phone. I know this isn't gonna be an option for multiple pleco's and caves but for people with one or two pleco's this is a good idea to keep in mind.
Issues with it was its light weight so super easy for the pleco's to literally move there house around which using some suction cups or a heavy rock on top prevents this sometimes. Well I didn't mind fixing it every so often. My biggest concern was the cave is deeper then the fish is long. I wouldn't see nothing in days. At night I am at work during lights off so when I get home there is light and the fish is hidden. I sometimes thought maybe it died in there and a quick check by putting my hand in there and getting bumped out would put my mind at ease.
Okay so there has to be a better solution for this. Well in my case I figured I would make a new cave same sizes except one side wall would be clear acrylic the rest would be all black like the old one. I wasn't sure how this would work out. I got this idea when thinking how sometimes I would see my old pleco's hide in driftwood in a side crevice versus a actual cave type opening. Figured it would still provide a dark spot its secure and now I could see my fish. At most I'm out a few bucks if it doesn't work.
Well glad to say it works. Fish seems to enjoy its new cave occasionally seeing it hanging from the top upside down. It's still dark inside the cave which is awesome but I could still see my pleco is alive and well. I will add pics of the old cave and new one as soon as I get them uploaded from my phone. I know this isn't gonna be an option for multiple pleco's and caves but for people with one or two pleco's this is a good idea to keep in mind.
