My clown loach thinks he's a navy seal

[sliderfish]

I have had 3 clown loaches in my tank for about 3 months now. They are very healthy and 2 of them dance about the tank wonderfully. However the third and biggest of the three (about 3 1/2 inches) is constantly hiding out inside one of my fixtures in the tank. It is a tree like ornament about 14 inches tall that has mushroom like appendages that stick out and give some shelter. It is hollow and the loaches have claimed the inside for themselves. This is fine, but they have figured out that the mushrooms that stick out from the tree are hollow as well and the biggest lodges himself in there and gets stuck. I found this out one day while cleaning the tank. He usually seems to get himself out and I try not to interfer with the process in order to keep from hurting him or one of the others. As he grows, it is going to get harder to get out of the small creveces in the tree and the other 2 will get big enough to get stuck as well. I don't want to remove the ornament as it is not only their favorite spot but the others like to swim under and around it. I don't want to stress out the little fellas and I am wondering if the is any way to fill the creveces without putting a harmful product in the tank. If you can help fire away!

Thanks
Derek

 

[mom2reds]

is there a way you can seal it off with aquarium safe silicone?

 

[Etunes]

Honestly i think what mom2reds said would be the best way but if by crevices you mean the the mushrooms that stick out from the tree you could do something as simple as finding some rocks that fit in the holes or block the intrense, nice then that could also be a simple fix.

 

[sliderfish]

I think that is the best bet...Do you know of any off hand? Can I get it at a hardware store or am I gonna have to do some searching?

 

[JustOneMore20]

Home Depot usually carries some silicone made by DAP that says aquariums on it. Its usually a small tube. If you can't find that, GE Silicone I for windows and doors is safe for aquariums. It will say on it "do not use in aquariums" but its 100% silicone and people use it alot to reseal tanks. I've used it on decorations with no problem.

 

[Etunes]

Honestly be REALLY careful about buying silicone from homedepot. I would hate taking the risk. You could do it and put the ordament back in the tank, go to bed, then wake up and all your fish are dead. That would be horrible and dippreasing. So be careful. Last time i went to pick some up i bought this at petco and it works just fine..All-Glass Aquarium Silicone Aquarium Sealant at PETCO

 

[hacket]

Putting silicone on would be a permanent thing am I right? Keep that in mind as well...personally I wouldn't use silicone. I'd just find a rock that would fit in the opening. Or secure a screen or pantyhose over as well.

 

[sliderfish]

I have had experience with silicone in other fields and I know some forms can be quite toxic. I can't just block of the entire entrance to the tree because there are 7 and 3 are at the top. I think I need to check into the "safe" silicone before using it. I'd hate to kill off fish to save a hiding spot...If anyone has any experience in this sort of thing I'd like to know what you used. I will check out the all-glass aquarium silicone first...

 

[sliderfish]

Hacket-I'm looking for a permanent fix since it would be only affecting the inside of one ornament. I want to seal off some of the small appendages without sealing the entire inside of the piece...nothing is being attached to the tank or anything else

 

[FishEggs]

i would just shove some filter floss into the holes where you dont want them to go.

 

[mom2reds]

I got my aquarium silicone at my LFS it was like 6 buck for a sm to med size tube. I think that it might be worth a try to do what Fisheggs said.

 

[sliderfish]

I ended up simply stuffing the holes with a washcloth...it was a perfect fit and my pleco loves the green algae that grows on it...I try to change it often and replace it and it's been working great! Glad I didn't need to use silicone or anything

Thanks

 

[AdamHorton]

I had a similar problem when I had to drill a hole in a decoration to get a fish out from inside. I eventually fixed it by buying the kind of screen you put on a screen door (fiberglass something) and hot-gluing a piece over the hole. Haven't seen any problems and it's been in there for several weeks. It's ugly, but it's hidden nicely so you can only see it if you are looking for it. The trick here was that it was part of a decoration that used an air stone, and this opening is where the bubbles had to come out, so plugging it up didn't work.