firefish Posted October 27, 2007 Report Share Posted October 27, 2007 This might have been done before but I thought I'd share my idea of how to get a cheap cave. First to prepare the coconut. It is best to get the biggest one possible (I got mine from New World for $2) Poke the holes to get the juice out. get a saw and saw it in half. If you want a big cave only cut a little bit off, but if it is for small fish cutting it exactly in half could get you 2 caves. It took me about 2hrs to saw it in half but I'm not very good at sawing... :oops: Then take the coconut flesh out and boil the shell for about 1 hr. After this they should be good to put in a tank. If you want it as a lying down actual cave you need to put another cut in it to create an opening. I got sick of sawing so I went outside and (still holding on) I hit it on the concrete - there is a possibility of stuffing it up but it worked for me The best thing about these caves is that they are cheep, interesting to make and look natural. This is one of the caves with a bronze cory in front of it: And here it shows the natural look: (bottom right hand corner) This is another version of the 'Cave' (this one does not need an entrance hole) There is another picture of the standing up cave in my photobucket, link is in sig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted October 27, 2007 Report Share Posted October 27, 2007 looks cool. How big is that tank? The albino rainbowshark looks huge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted October 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2007 it's 100 litres... the shark is about 4 yrs old and probably about 13cm... It was one of the first fish I got and he's my favourite fish... who I called Margulies. Thanks for the feed back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted October 27, 2007 Report Share Posted October 27, 2007 What a lovely bunch of coconuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted October 27, 2007 Report Share Posted October 27, 2007 What a lovely bunch of coconuts :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: What a neat idea? How long have you had them in the tanks? Will/did anything leech out? I checked out your other pics on photobucket See you're a fan of ER as well Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted October 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2007 Yup i'm a big ER fan.. not sure if I like fish better or not I've had the one in the little tank for about 1 yr (not really sure tho) The other proper cave I put in about 1 week ago. Stuff leeches out when boiling but nothing that i've noticed has come out while in the tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilson Posted October 27, 2007 Report Share Posted October 27, 2007 looks cool ill need to try it 4 my kribs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted October 28, 2007 Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 firefish, did you have to weight them down? Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted October 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 no I didn't weight them down, just stuck them in the gravel and they seem to stay.. always have.. but the one in the little tank has some gravel in it to weight it down (thats visible in the photo) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlid7 Posted October 28, 2007 Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 Ive been breeding my Bristlenoses in coconut cave for about 2 years i cut it in half and drilled a 1 inch hole in it. ive had 100's of baby b/n's from it The other good thing about the coconut shell is the Bristlenoses LOVE to eat the outside layer here a a couple of pics 8) my new pair on the cave My male in the hole(i think He's guarding eggs at the moment) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted October 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 Thats a cool way of doing it 8) I had a feeling someone else out there would have done it before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted November 1, 2007 Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 What would be a good sized hole for kribs. I brought a coconut today, so going to try it out. I'll do a 25mm hole for BN's, is that correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlid7 Posted November 1, 2007 Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 I'll do a 25mm hole for BN's, is that correct? Yep that what i did for mine Im not sure about the kribs WATCH OUT when you are drilling the hole as it might crack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted November 1, 2007 Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 WATCH OUT when you are drilling the hole as it might crack Will do. I'll use a spade bit and take it slow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackadder Posted November 1, 2007 Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 I've done the coconut cave in the past too. I found you could crack the coconut straight down the middle if you hit it on the concrete after you've removed the liquid. You sometimes have to bounce (yes some of them will bounce) the coconut quite hard before it will break and it doesn't always work, but its quick if you don't want to saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollergirl Posted November 1, 2007 Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 Cool idea... Must have a go at that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 What's the easiest way to get the meat out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted November 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 I took the meat out with a knife - it came out in little pieces - so i'm sure there's an easier way to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormalicious Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Scraping it out like the islanders do is easiest - I use a vice with a rounded chisel held fast in it and run the coconut back and forth scraping the guts out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sub.z Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Hey, i thought the coconut was a great idea so decided id try to do it aswell Ive been to 4 supermarkets today and none had any Is it not the season for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 I've got a coconut. I'm just trying to figure out what to do with it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 These look really cool, good idea. I'm definitely going to try to make a few. When I stop being lazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editkid Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Hmm interesting. I've been looking for a sturdy substructure for a rock cave. I might use coconut for a base cave and build rocks around it to make it look like a rock cave. Would be great to grow plants on top of with all the crack and holes and wood underneath. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sub.z Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Hmm interesting. I've been looking for a sturdy substructure for a rock cave. I might use coconut for a base cave and build rocks around it to make it look like a rock cave. Would be great to grow plants on top of with all the crack and holes and wood underneath. Thanks! That sounds cool I still havent found a coconut yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Got my sister to get me a coconut Found my holesaw kit and drilled a 1" or so hole in one side and took the milk and meat out, dunked it in boiling water for a few minutes, then gave it a scrub and a scrape. Have just put it into my community planted tank this evening and it looks cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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