Follow-up on Caves and Line of sight

[wbzorker]

I'm in the process of setting up a 20L for a pair of A. viejita Rio Meta that will arrive in a week or so. The cave/decoration information that has already been posted has helped a bunch but I have a few follow-up questions.

Will the fish care if the cave is actually a tunnel with two (or more) openings? I purchased small sections of PVC pipe for the new arrivals. Should they all be positioned against a tank wall or with foliage blocking the back or side opening? I normally maintain a thin layer of substrate. How could I keep the pipes from floating? I thought about wedging pipes at angles in one of the larger castle decorations that are commonly for sale. This would convert the castle into condos. Would that be better received by the fish than several distinct areas? There would have to be two sets of condos since there will be two Rio Metas.

In regards to the "line of sight" blocking that needs to be done- Are we talking about a solid hedge type blockage or a looser Morman Poplar type blockage? Should the blockage be the entire depth of the tank or just blocking the cave fronts so that the fish, if inside, can't see the other cave openings?

Thank you for your time,

Wendy

 

[Mike Wise]

When I use pipe for breeding caves (mostly waterlogged bamboo in my case) I bury one end in the sand so that there is only 1 opening. If your plastic pipe floats, it probably is the black polybutyl type - not the white PVC which is heavier than water. If it floats put some sand in it or put a rock on it.

Line of site boundaries do not need to be continuous dense walls of plants. As long as there are visual boundaries that the fish recognize, territorial fights are not as common. For most fish the use of a few plants, rocks & wood delineate visual boundaries around their personal territory. Leave an open area toward the front for communal feeding. If this open area has no acceptable boundary markers, apistos usually will not claim it as a territory (every fish is different to some extent).

 

[wbzorker]

Thanks, Mike.

Wendy

 

[curviceps]

Hi Mike, a stupid question here. I have 1-inch diameter PVC pipes which I intend to use as caves. If I seal one end, eg with sand, then how does the firsh come out again? It seems too small for the fish (especially the males) to turn around, so do they reverse out?

cheers

 

[Mike Wise]

For breeding purposes, the male doesn't need to get in the cave (pipe). He will simply release his sperm in front of the open end and fan it in. Most females can easily turn around in a 1"/2.5cm diameter pipe. If not they back in tail first. Most of my pipe is ½-¾"/12-18mm.