Hollow decorations . . .

[donttaptheglass]

This is more of a statement, I guess, than a question since I've solved the problem, but here ya go. I've got this cool little cave structure. . . .


Now, like many decorations, it has access holes on it to put in an airstone, as the one in the picture has, unfortunately this also leaves a large hole in the bottom for the fish to go INSIDE of the decoration. Now I understand the fish need to have someplace to hide or call their own little place home, but fish have this nasty habit of going inside the decoration and dying. Of course, from time to time, fish die . . . an unfortunate occurance of this hobby, but for some reason, they seem to want to go inside this particular decoration to do so.

Now, having said that, not all fish that go in there end up dying, its just that the ones that do die, seem to want to do it in there. Now since the hole in the bottom to access the airstone is plenty big enough for the fish to swim into, one would think it should be just as easy to retrieve said dead fish. Not so much. . . . .and if you think thats hard, try getting a LIVE 5" Pleco out of there . . .and have it STILL BE alive when you're done. (This took me 45 minutes and 2 beers one night)

In the case of this particular decoration, I've solved the issue by taking a wad of plastic plant pieces (you know, the ones that have segments so you can adjust the height) and stuffing them in the large holes. Keeps the fish from going in there without defeating the purpose of the ornament, which is for the fish to hide UNDER, not IN, while at the same time not looking too completely hideous.

The decoration now permanently resides in my QT tank (theres an ailing Betta somewhere under that thing). Anyone else have any tricks they use on decorations like this?

 

[jim532]

i had a the same problem, had 3 clown loaches all about 3 inches long decide to cram themselves inside a hollow decoration about the size of my fist. Couldn't figure out how to get them out. They were stuffed in there like sardeens. finally taking it out of the water for a couple seconds three times and dipping it back in, then shaking them out while in the water. I did the same as you after that and stuffed it with pieces of plastic plants.

Now all my hollow decorations have plant parts stuffed up in the deep crevices where they might get stuck, still alowing them to swim in the hole and out the other side.

 

[lovemybarbs]

I had a sort of castle for a couple of years. My pictus and pleco used to fight over it and sometimes they both used it. The pleco would hang on the roof of it and the pictus used the floor. Needless to say, it got awfully dirty in there awfully fast. It became a pain, so I got rid of it. I bought a sort of arched imitation driftwood that they can swim under without me losing sight of them. Now the pleco stays out more and the pictus used it when he gets worried, which is quite often.

 

[GouramiFanatic]

This is exactly why I'm afraid to use decor like this. I'm so paranoid that one of the fish will get hurt or stuck. It's also one of the reasons why I don't like *to* have to many plants and hiding spots. I like being able to do a head count to make sure everyone's still accounted for.

Good idea though! I'll definitely use it if I ever get brave enough to try something like that.

 

[Catalina]

Yeah, having that kind of thing in the tank with clown loaches can be a nightmare. We were in exactly the same situation as jim532 last week, after moving my loaches from their old tank to the new 55, in which I had placed a large, Penn Plax "tree stump". We did not see them again for over 3 days, and by that I don't just mean we'd see a flash of yellow and black disappearing again when we'd turn on the lights late at night; they vanished inside of that thing and did not come out once. (Actually, we saw one of them out the day after we put them in there, and I thought that in itself was a bad sign because they are always together.) On the third day, we lifed the stump to move it and realized all 3 of them (sized 4" to 5" each and FAT) were stuffed in its tinest leg. I thought they had gotten stuck in there and died.

My boyfriend had to get them out the same way you (jim) described when I was not home to be traumatized by the procedure. I was so worried that he was going to find them dead, but by slowly depriving them of water and gently tapping the stump against the glass, he got them all to swim out on their own. I don't think they were physically stuck inside of there, but more psychologically so. All 3 couldn't come out unless they reached some sort of consensus that one was going to leave and the others were going to follow (they had to swim backwards to get out, and maybe one of the smaller ones was blocking the largest one that they all follow) and as they're schooling fish that are highly dependent on one another, I don't think they were capable of doing this. I wouldn't put it past them to stay in there until they did actually die, and so we removed that thing from our tank and replaced it with a flower pot on its side, in which there is no way they can get stuck. They actually seemed kind of relieved when my bf got them out of there, not stressed out at all, which proves to me that they really didn't want to spend all their time hiding in the tiny leg of a stump, but actually became kind of psychologically paralyzed. They now spend little time in their flower pot cave at all, preferring to swim around the tank. While people with clown loaches need to provide some sort of cave, I definitely recommend one into which they can easily see if necessary, and also one which offers the loaches a view of the rest of the tank. They're easily skittish, and I think if they are able to hide themselves completely, they are less likely to feel that it's safe enough to come back out. I also think they need a hiding place that is spacious enough for them to pile on top of each other, as they will inevitably do, but also leave independently, since I think when they have to wait for one of the others to make a move to get out, they can become trapped. Really interesting stuff, this fish psychology!