could i ??
- Thread starter tirtguyll
- Start date
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
I do it all the time. Just be careful to use rock that is free of organic material and that does not contain minerals with toxic metals such as copper and lead. Since many sedimentary rocks contain compounds that can leech into your water, I would suggest curing any rock for awhile.
Roy
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Our O.s. that we videotape to record strikes are kept in homes that would probably work for you. The chambers are made from 1/4 inch black or gray PVC sheet. The pieces are 10" x 2" and are cemeted into a "C" configuration. The chamber can then be placed agains the glass of the aquarium and the viewing port covered with a black plastic card on the outside of the glass. To see the animal, we simply flip up the card. To make the chamber more stable and so the animal won't move it around, we sometimes use a wider base plate that can be covered with gravel and be held down with larger pieces of rock.
As long as you don't remove the cover too often, the animals live in these chambers just as they would pieces of pvc pipe.
I when viewing isn't critical, I use lengths of gray pvc electrical conduit corners. These come in a variety of diameters, from 3/4 to 3 inch and can be cut to the appropriate length to bury a curved burrow in the substrate. I've also used a plainer to slice off one side to expose the length of the burrow and placed the tube against the aquarium wall (buried to make a natrual burrow with two openings. To make a natural looking interior, smear the inside of the cut-away burrow with silicon aquarium cement (make sure it is non-toxic without the fungicide that is added to household cements) and pack the tube with clean, dry sand. After a couple of days when the cement is dry, shake it out, rinse and soak for a few days and install it in the aquarium. For permanent installations, it can be cemented in place, but with a deep sand bed, that really isn't necessary as long as the cut is smooth and straight. We've used this technique in making cutaway burrows for Pseudosquilla, Lysiosquilla, Hemisquilla and Squilla and it works well. As a rule of thumb, the burrow should be about 1.5 times the diameter of the animal and at least 4 or 5 times as long with the two entrances flush with the surface of the sand.
Roy
As long as you don't remove the cover too often, the animals live in these chambers just as they would pieces of pvc pipe.
I when viewing isn't critical, I use lengths of gray pvc electrical conduit corners. These come in a variety of diameters, from 3/4 to 3 inch and can be cut to the appropriate length to bury a curved burrow in the substrate. I've also used a plainer to slice off one side to expose the length of the burrow and placed the tube against the aquarium wall (buried to make a natrual burrow with two openings. To make a natural looking interior, smear the inside of the cut-away burrow with silicon aquarium cement (make sure it is non-toxic without the fungicide that is added to household cements) and pack the tube with clean, dry sand. After a couple of days when the cement is dry, shake it out, rinse and soak for a few days and install it in the aquarium. For permanent installations, it can be cemented in place, but with a deep sand bed, that really isn't necessary as long as the cut is smooth and straight. We've used this technique in making cutaway burrows for Pseudosquilla, Lysiosquilla, Hemisquilla and Squilla and it works well. As a rule of thumb, the burrow should be about 1.5 times the diameter of the animal and at least 4 or 5 times as long with the two entrances flush with the surface of the sand.
Roy
DensityMan
Active member
Along these lines, what would the 'ideal' burrow be like on the inside for a 2.5 inche G. smithi for instanse? 
If crafted from a piece of LR and drilled, should there be a larger area between the front and rear exits or would they prefer a tighter fit for the entire length of the burrow?
I just had an image of a simple hinged door, as well, built for mantis use... LOL
Trying to provide a more easily viewable and yet comfortable home for Tim sometime soon...
If crafted from a piece of LR and drilled, should there be a larger area between the front and rear exits or would they prefer a tighter fit for the entire length of the burrow?
I just had an image of a simple hinged door, as well, built for mantis use... LOL
Trying to provide a more easily viewable and yet comfortable home for Tim sometime soon...
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
A typical cavity for a G. smithii this size would be flask-shaped with an entrance around 1/2" ID. The cavity would be about 3" long and 1.5" in diameter. It would probably have just the single entrance. When I use artifical cavities in the lab, I often have a second small entrance that I block with a black rubber cork. That way if I need to get the animal out, I have a back door through which to prod it.
Our Artificial Cavities used in the field are made in two sections from concrete and are held toegether with twist tie or stainless steel wire (depending on how long they will be deployed). However, I would no recommend concrete for a home, recirculating aquarium. I have constructed artificial cavities from ceramic that we fired, but unless you have a potter for a friend, that would be hard to arrange..
Roy
Our Artificial Cavities used in the field are made in two sections from concrete and are held toegether with twist tie or stainless steel wire (depending on how long they will be deployed). However, I would no recommend concrete for a home, recirculating aquarium. I have constructed artificial cavities from ceramic that we fired, but unless you have a potter for a friend, that would be hard to arrange..
Roy
DensityMan
Active member
Thanks for the tips. Planning on using a drill on some LR and rework existing cavities...
