View Full Version : suggestions for hiding places
Does anyone have suggestions to give my cories better hiding places? They usually hide in a corner by the thermometer (which they get off the glass about once a day). I added a flat rock tilted on a smaller rock, but they only use it for jumping in the evening after lights out. Fun to watch, but I want them to be happy during the day. The step-kids just came back from summer break, so stress level due to traffic is up.
I find the readily available decorations (castles etc.) just hideous, and most rocks I have found in the strore do not provide caves as such for them to go into.
Please see previous post for pics. They were taken before I propped the stone up, but you'll get the idea.
Any ideas will be appreciated.
Thanks!:p
WaterBaby
08-26-2003, 1:48 PM
What my corys love is a terracotta (clean and never been used) planting pot.
Bury it a little on its side and put a low bushy plant in front of the mouth. Not directly in front, they need room to get around it but it will give them the feeling of being in a cave.
In the back of the pot, if the hole is big enough for them to go through and get stuck, bury the back into the gravel or sand a bit to cover the hole
PumaWard
08-26-2003, 2:00 PM
I nice piece of driftwood would also work nicely.
Plants! My cories love my water wisteria. They love to hide underneath and I also find them resting high up in the leaves, too.
alas...I am very good at making sure plants do not survive. I have managed to kill Basil, by putting it into a bigger pot...
Has anyone tried Coconuts?
WaterBaby
08-26-2003, 4:26 PM
Can't kill a fake plant ;)
Haggisman
08-26-2003, 6:07 PM
Yup coconut shell caves work well, my fish love them.
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/tandgall2/pics/new4.jpg
GoLdFiSh_GrL
08-26-2003, 6:28 PM
OOOOO!!!!!! i luv corys they're sooooooooooooo cute!!!!!!!!
Clownloach458
08-26-2003, 9:19 PM
here is what me and my cousin(sweedishfish) Love to do.. first u get 3 rocks,put 2 beside eachother. then put one on top. making like a pyramid, with some space between the two rock at the base, making some sort of a cave, i currently have 2 in my aquarium, the clownloaches and cories, rtbs, and flying fox.. Love them... er sorry.. cant find a pic
GoLdFiSh_GrL
08-26-2003, 9:22 PM
gr8 idea! cool, yet inexpensive...
Clownloach458
08-26-2003, 9:24 PM
Well. you can take a risk , u can also use rocks from outside. be sure to boil them. or whatever. and get the dirt off them. etc.
GoLdFiSh_GrL
08-26-2003, 9:39 PM
2 decontamin8 them yur supposed 2 scrub them w/ salt & let them sit in conditioned water 4 a day just 2 B safe. warm water wud B better!
Thanks for all the nice suggestions guys! I love my cories, but they are already so jumpy, I want to give them a hiding place they really like. I think I'll try the coconuts. Love eating it anyway...
:)
NJ Devils Fan
08-27-2003, 8:49 AM
Katz, I have all of the suggestions in my tank and my fish love them. A yo-yo loach has taken the coconut shell, the bristlenose pleco has taken the pot, the tiger peco has taken one of the holes in the driftwood, and a lot of the time, the cory and the common pleco are under the little rock cave. I will take some pictures of all of my hiding places for you.
yashinfan
08-28-2003, 7:06 PM
I know this is hideous, but it works: you know those hamster plastic tunnels?? Well fish seem to love 'em. Habitrail stuff, you know what I'm talking about, I hope... lol
ChilDawg
08-28-2003, 7:09 PM
Restructuring the gravel in the tank in order to give it some contours would be a good idea. Cories love it...mine always love when I mess up the gravel like that! :)
With all those objects burried in the gravel, how do you gravel thoroughly? Do you actually lift every objct in the tank? :eek:
Also, I hear few stories about anerobic bacteria growing in the gravel if you don't vac for too long, and by touching it, releases highly toxic chemicals causing the whole tank to go hell for the fish. Does this mean every once in a while I should gravel vac every corner of the tank?
NJ Devils Fan
08-28-2003, 7:43 PM
Ok, here are my main hiding spots:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/pbcd3616c931188999b03460517d72900/fb4039fe.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/p9ed97ebbbbc1af289696047005f6c1d0/fb403a01.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/p47d23f91d1161c0bd046e3d9746c59d6/fb4039f9.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/p5db4d5a204995749a5c938b476346346/fb4039f6.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/pae32c2acaadd018a1b33824a70c170e8/fb4039f3.jpg
And finally, the bristlenose decided he would hang out in the shell for awhile.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/p0da44400edb62e06b4403b1cf4ff8021/fb40397e.jpg
thanks so much for the nice pics. I have propped up my stone on two ends now, creating more of a bridge, and they do prefer that to the half-prop before. I will by a coconut this weekend. If I can find one with all the Harley Davidsons around.
Anyone coming to town to see the mayhem?