PVC Piping for Convict Breeding Setup [Archive]

Rocketman

08-04-2003, 11:23 PM

I've read that Convicts enjoy PVC Piping to lay eggs in. Anyone have any pointers here? What type of PVC should it be, (3 inch, 4 inch, etc.) I was wondering if I would be able to use a Ghost House instead, (so I could see inside.) I was also wondering what I could put over the PVC piping, (in the event the Ghost House doesn't pan out,) that wouldn't be toxic to the fish. Anyone who has seen PVC Piping knows it isn't buetiful. Esspicially that blue lettering.

Oh yeah, and how long should the peice be, (this will be in a 20 Gallon High tank, by the way.)

There will only be one pair of Convicts in there, and the fry will be placed in a 15 Gallon at 2-4 weeks.

Frameshift

08-05-2003, 1:01 AM

My convicts always breed in a little sideways clay pot...looks better than PVC and no cutting required!

If you're feeling creative you can rub aquarium safe silicone over the pot/PVC and the rub it in sand/gravel to get a more natural look.

dave76

08-05-2003, 9:38 AM

I got some aquarium safe silicone and glued polished riverrocks to mine. If you can find black pvc piping that can help hide what it really is, and glue some of your sbutrate to it as well and you have a much more natural looking "cave". My fish all squabble over the use of it :D .

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_caves.php

theres where I got the idea.

Rocketman

08-05-2003, 11:52 AM

Dave, that cave looks TIGHT. How long did it take you? Do you think it would look alright if I just glued gravel over it instead of gravel and river rocks? Only because this will only be a breeding tank, not on display, in my basement. I would like to disguise the PVC tubing, but not if it takes hours to do.

What do you guys think of the Ghost House idea though? To small?

And how many inches for the PVC, (regardless of whether I use the Cave Idea or not.)

Anaxus

08-05-2003, 12:01 PM

What I did was take a clay pot and a large piece of lava rock with a large hole in it. I placed the clay pot behind the lava rocks hole so it looks like a natural cave. I then placed a few plactic twisted vallis on the side of the pot to kinda hide it.
To bad my firemouth doesn't even go in it anymore. My spotted raphael kicked him out of it.

Rocketman

08-05-2003, 12:04 PM

Good idea. The pet store I work at sells Lava Rock like you are talking about...I have some it in my 45 Gallon tank.

I've been planning on putting in Clay Pots...Since the 2 convicts will be the only fish, (along with their young,) how many pots should I have? And how large should they be? 3 inches across, maybe?

dave76

08-05-2003, 12:07 PM

That is not the one i made. the one i made did not look as good as that one did, as i could not find black pvc pipe. I used the largest piece of pvc I could find because I have a GT that pretty much claims it as home and I dont want him to outgrow it. I would think as long as you got a piece that was at least 3 " in diameter you would be ok with convicts. What I did instead of using the hot glue as suggested in article, I just pieced the river rocks on the aquarium a few at a time with aquaruim safe sillicone and left it alone to cure. It took me about a day or so but I was very satisfied with the results. I would suggest using at least average sized stones as it takes much less time to apply the bigger stones and less chance of your fish pulling it apart because of food resting on the cave, or them attempting to clean it at breeding time.

dave76

08-05-2003, 12:10 PM

Careful of true lavarock as it will leech sulfur into your aquarium. Feather rock on the other hand is safe and increases surface area for nitrifying bacteria to grow.

latazyo

08-05-2003, 12:47 PM

I use a lizard cave

Rocketman

08-05-2003, 1:17 PM

What's this about true Lava Rock?

Actually, now that I think about it, it makes good sense...in High School Bio we learned that all lava contains high amounts of Sulfer, (I must have been listening in Bio class? Hmm...) so it seems natural that true lava rock would leech that. So what is it that they sell at Pet Stores? Is that true Lava Rock or the the feather rock you speak of?

Anaxus

08-05-2003, 1:34 PM

I got my lava rock from a LFS and was deemed aquarium safe. I also have a piece of real lava rock from mount saint helens when it erupted. Real lava rock and the stuff at LFS looks similar but the rock at LFS is alot more pourous and not as solid as the real lava rock I have.
Is the lava rock at LFS just colored feather rock?
I found this on how to make a cave out of feather rock http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_featherrock.php

Rocketman

08-05-2003, 2:08 PM

A little complex, don't you think?

I will hunt around for black PVC tubing. It seems most ideas originate from this.

After that, I will try the lava rock idea in front of the PVC, the only problem is that I want the pipe to be as visable as possible as that is a possible shelter for the fry, and where they may spend a lot of their first week or two.

dave76

08-05-2003, 4:47 PM

yes the stuff at LFS is feather rock at least if the LFS knows what they are doing it is, heh.

Rocketman

08-11-2003, 10:00 PM

All I could find was A PVC Coupler. It's white, but almost acceptable without any further work; i.e., no writing, polished, etc. My Female Convict, (just added,) loves it because of the space.

I got some Aquarium Safe Silicon, (2 Tubes) and 1 Tube of Epoxy. I have half a bag of white gravel...you think I can just spreadt the silicone over the PVC, (once it's dry,) and put the gravel on?

MoJo

08-12-2003, 5:03 AM

They will breed on your hand if you leave it in the water long enough.

dave76

08-12-2003, 8:35 AM

the only problem with it is that sillicone doesnt bond so well right off the bat. I say its bonding ability is similar to elmers wood glue. but it might work better with gravel that doesnt wiegh so much. I was using polished river stones.

Rocketman

08-14-2003, 10:05 AM

You think I should just spread the silicone over the PVC and just place the stones, (gravel, I mean,) on the silicone after giving it ??? hours to dry? How long should I let it dry for before I put the gravel on?

I've never used Aquarium Silicone, so excuse my ignorance.

dave76

08-14-2003, 10:08 AM

what I did was placed the rocks on the pvc where they would sit and let it dry for about half an hour. then after that time it will be bonded pretty well. Then I just added more to the sides of the rocks that were already bonded and used them to keep the other rocks in place. The spots that were difficult to keep the rocks on I used masking tape to hold them in place while they bonded.

Rocketman

08-14-2003, 10:15 AM

wait, I don't understand the wording.

You put the silicone on, and let dry for 30 minutes? Or did you put the rocks on the PVC and attach them with silicone?

Should I cover the PVC in Silicone or just each rock? (Squirt some silicone on a rock and place it on the PVC.) It seems the first idea would be better.

dave76

08-14-2003, 11:08 AM

Sorry for the unclear response, I put sillicone on the rocks, then I attached them to the pvc pipe in a position where they would not slide off. If I could not position the PVC pipe where the rocks would not fall off then I used masking tape to hold it in place till it bonded enough to hold it in place. Now mind you half an hour is no where near enough time for the sillicone to cure, it is just enough time that it will hold the rocks in place. You should at least let your pipe sit for 24 hours before placing it in the aquarium. If you find the tape method not to your liking the website I got this from suggested using hot glue to hold it in place, but I was unsure of the possible toxins in hot glue so I decided not to use it.

Rocketman

08-14-2003, 11:58 AM

Thanks.

THe directions say that it should cure in 24 hours, safe for aquarium use in 48 hours.

If I am going to use gravel though, should I just put silicone on the PVC? Sorry I didn't make that clear earlier.

Mystroe_TheMyst

08-16-2003, 6:10 AM

man That feather rock sure looks and sound sweet...I use pvc...plain and bare. White with ink writing (hardly visible) and with concrete pipes leaning against it. Adds to the whole polluted stream effect (obivously my water is not polluted...hopefully :p jokes its crystal) I was thinking about additions orniment wise...and a crazy thought popped into my mind about adding an actually leather/rubber sole boot..it would look cool I reakon with a few holes in it. The fake ones look ok but real always beats fake. I understand this is ridiculous, but you tell me why?

p.s. I'm not actually going to do this, unless someone already has and recomends it. wow that is a crazy thought..yeah I guess i was bored

Rocketman

08-16-2003, 9:44 PM

Whew, just got power back today...and I spent about 50 hours in the basement, (cold! The only cold place...) putting smelly silicone on a PVC coupler. I used about 2.5 pounds of gravel, and it looks awesome now as the whole pipe is covered in gravel, (inside left bare.)

I'll take some pictures and upload them in about a week.

breaker87

08-21-2003, 10:24 AM

i went to the river to get my cons some rocks and when i got home they had already dug down to the glass bottom and spawned on that. this was a year ago and i now have 3 lage breeding pairs with about 200 fry each( 6th generation or sumthin lol) between then and now i have sold about 40 adults and left about 7 batches to be eaten by the tanks other inhabitants. my point is cons will breed on an old boot if it was in the water for more than 20 seconds.

id say good luck but with cons breeding isnt about luck, its about getting the little buggers to put off breeding long enough for you to set up ANOTHER fry tank. have fun

breaker

Rocketman

08-21-2003, 7:11 PM

Just out of curiousity...

This is a 20G High tank, and the female has been in there now for about 2 weeks. I have yet to get the male, but could there be a problem with the female becoming too attached to her territory if I add a male now?