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Hi,

what type of caves are used, and what is there position in the Aqua? does they face the current, against the current, sideways or all of them?

Thanks

Hi Panda

Check out these posts, hopefully they will answer some ofyour questions.

http://www.zebrapleco.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=93

http://www.zebrapleco.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23

if not, ask away!!

rob

Thanks, and what about caves material and shapes/size

Hi Panda

The material I use is either flooring slates, or old roofing slates. The roofing slates are far lighter to work with and easire to cut.

The sizes can vary per fish, but my caves average out at 2" wide, 1" tall and 4" long.

Barbie has a good rule of thumb..another post.

My tile zebra caves are 1.5 times the males body width (no fins included) and just over 1 times the height, and twice the males length (not including fins again).

rob

thanks

Might I also suggest using obsidian. My zebras absolutely adore the stuff. I have one cave made of it and the subdominant males just sits on it in plain view all day long. I can't say that it's inspired any breeding yet but with two males, we haven't really been trying.

Check out a picture, it's pretty sweet.
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/attachm ... tid=194913

Hi Prune Tracy,

What is Obsidian?.Never heard of that before.

Des

I'm glad you asked Des, I would like to know too.

acording to what i know obsidian is a gem how do you build a cave with it?

Hi.

I want to make some caves tomorrow. Where can I get some slate roofing tiles from?

Many thanks

Tom

Wow, I totally forgot that I was speaking on a primarily European forum. Where to start?

Obsidian isn't a gem per ce. I'd qualify it as a semi precious stone similar to marble (in this part of the world marble is by far more expensive). Obsidian is a slightly transparent black volcanic glass. Here in the ring of fire it's quite common along with other volcanic stones such as amyphst and pumice (pumice is a stone which will actually float). Within 200km of my hometown there is a cindercone called Glass Mountain that is made entirely of obsidian.

Obsidian has a long history in the Americas. Because it is by all qualifications a glass it can be chipped to obtain very sharp edges. Volcanic heating reduces the impurities, of manmade glass, so obsidian is less fragile. American Indians used obsidian to make arrowheads, spearheads, knives, and jewelry. This more accurately represents the availability of obsidian. However, now that I think about it, it won't be so common in Europe for obvious reasons. However, if one so desires I'm certain that a generous amount could be obtained at a modest price (to people willing to purchase fish valued at $100+). Most likely, the biggest obstacle would be the cost of shipping rocks.

Obsidian can be sharp but a lite tumbling should be enough to make it safe for an aquarium. It can be found only in chunks (sorry, no convenient slate) so making a cave is a bit like playing a puzzle game. To be honest, the cave I have I designed with a cichlid in mind and would not imagine any bottom dweller taking by choice. Still, the asthetic value of a zebra camoflaguing itself against the impurities of obsidian is priceless. In the future I do plan to design a species tank for zebras using obsidian and black sand exculsively.

Post a Photo

will try my luck with clay

Tom 26000,
I bought some roof slate today frm a roof merchants called Asphaltic supplies in North Cheam, London.They were £1.25 + vat each. There must be some roof supplies company near you.Mke sure it is the natural slate not the synthethic stuff which is not suitable.You can also use pottery tiles available at a tile store..
I am making my second batch of caves using Roof slate. I made my first batch out of black natural flooring slate tiles from B&Q.However you need a electric diamond wheel tile cutter to cut these.I bought one from the same store made by a company called Tile It.
Regards,
Des.

Hi Des

Many thanks for your info. I have managed to source a tile merchants today, I might try and go tomorrow and pick up some tiles. I'm picking up some L333s and L260s on Sunday so caves are the order of the day!!

Cheers

Tom