Artificial Den?

[TamiW]

My male royal gramma was kicked out of his den by a serpent star. Since then, he's been hanging out, hiding behind some rock, but its clearly not a den for him. So I was thinking of building him one, something that could (hopefully) be easily removed to get the eggs. I'm thinking pvc with a piece of rigid airline tubing as a handle so its easy to pull out.

Will something like this work? Or will removing the den make him not use it? And any suggestions on size? I was thinking of using 1 1/4 pvc with a reducing bushing to make the hole smaller, maybe 3/4s.

 

[ediaz]

RGs won't go for PVC as a spawning site.

A cuople of piled small rocks or better half a cinder block with a tile as roof and a 3/4" hole in it will work best. It is better to collect the larvae with this fish because of their spawning schedule.

Ed

 

[TamiW]

Really? What a bummer. What about pvc with rocks glued to it? Or does the inside need to be rocky?

Its the hatch cycle I thought that would make artificially incubating worth while. Since only some hatch each night, I thought collecting from a tumbler would be easier than in the tank. I have a fry collector that works pretty well, but its still pretty interactive - holding the light up, keeping the bangai cardinal from eating the eggs, etc . . .

 

[peregrinus]

what about a terracoda (SP?) pot?

 

[ediaz]

I did something similar with jawfish, pvc pipes burried in coral sand. I don't think the inside has has to be rocky, just appealing.

You can glue some rocks to it and trick him into it, I think it will work, get a clip on light and remove the bangai, if you are seriuous about bringing them up.



Ed

 

[TamiW]

If I could, I'd remove the grammas to their own tank to breed - but alas they, and the bangaii are much too quick / smart to catch in my reef without tearing it apart.

I'll try the rocks around a pvc tube, he doesn't seem to want to make his home elsewhere as his former den was the only real cave in the tank. He's hiding behind an intank refugium, but there isn't much cover.

BTW, is it normal for the males to be so shy?

 

[ediaz]

My fish are in bare tanks with the cinder block "den" I would not remenber when I had them in comunity tanks more than 10 years ago, I don't see mine unless from a distance, once i approach they hide, both of them.

Ed

 

[David M]

My gramma melcara made his own den. This guy can build like a jawfish, he builds sand castles around rock piles. Now if I can just find a healthy female

 

[Luis A M]

And yet I think you could use a 2" pvc pipe "a la Moe",i.e.capped at both ends and a small hole drilled in one cap.I had a royal gramma one nesting in one

 

[TamiW]

Well he seems to be making himself quite at home behind the refugium, even digging out the sand a bit. I'll probably leave him be and see if they spawn there since now he's in full view but seems to think he's hidden. I've just got to see if I can sneak a camera over there and get some pictures.

If that doesn't work, I'll try the den "a la moe", since most of his suggestions have worked quite well. (which book is that from?).

FWIW, the female is pretty outgoing - at least compared to the male. She'll hide if you've got your face pressed up against the glass, but if you're standing a few feet back, she'll stay out, cruising in and out of the rockwork. Perhaps the other fish act as dither fish.

 

[Luis A M]

Re: Artificial Den?

[i I'm thinking pvc with a piece of rigid airline tubing as a handle so its easy to pull out.

[/B]

Is that a feminine touch for a fancy look,or you really think you need a handle?
The book is "Breeding the orchid dottyback".
It can help to put some 4"pieces of green synthetic yarn in the tank.If the fish is in nesting mood,he will use them to build his nest.And they donÃ"šÃ‚´t decay like algae.(This hint was mine):lol:

 

[TamiW]

I may have to do the yarn thing. The gramma was responsible for spreading caulerpa which nearly destroyed my tank before my foxface decided to munch on it. Now there isn't a spec of algae. Synthetic yarn, is that something special, or something you can get from any craft/sewing store?

The handle idea was because its a 65 g tank and its really hard to reach the bottom.

 

[Luis A M]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7296633#post7296633 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FishGrrl
The handle idea was because its a 65 g tank and its really hard to reach the bottom.

Was just teasing you
Any yarn is OK as far as it doesnÃ"šÃ‚´t decay or leach.I dunno if the fish care for the green colour,but it helps to see the eggs against a dark background.