Apisto Breeding Caves - indian lamp

[KWLee]

Saw some ceramic lamp in indian shop that can be used for apisto breeding cave. The price is really cheap only 1 buck but I will have to do some DIY cut off and not sure can be done or not. Anyone can advise is it easy to make cuts or hole on this indian ceramic lamp?

[illumnae]

a fellow member of this forum has been drilling holes in these lamps and selling them as apisto breeding caves for quite some time now...i can testify it works well as my first pair of apistos bred twice in them within a span of 8 days

be warned that you'll probably end up losing alot of the lamps to find the best place/way to drill the hole

[Cacatuoides]

Not all indian lamps can be used because of the materials used to make the lamps....some are too hard to make a decent hole while other material are too soft that it breaks down in water after sometime....

I've been using indian lamps for breeding purposes for a long time...the ones I used are so far the best in my humble opinion, after trying out many different types....sometimes cheap doesn't mean it works well too

my two cents

[KWLee]

I managed to make a hole with a pincer and needle file. It need some patience . Draw a circle with the pincer then continuously use the pincer to scrap along the circle. Until you made a decent circle groove, just concentrate on one area to scrap off until it pierce through, then follow the thru hole area to cut along the circle path. Use the needle file to make the hole bigger.

I have just put it into my caca tank...hope it will not break down as what Eman advise.

[Cacatuoides]

Here's a picture of what I've been using

[CacaManiac]

i used a hammer and split mine in half so that it makes an arched cave. Sanded down the sharp edges and put it in place.



View from top of the tank.. can't see into the cave from the from since the Hairgrass has grown wild!

[cueball]

anyone knows where i can get small ceramic / clay pots for 1ft cube tank, to act as caves?

[fisherw]

I bought the clay lamps shown in the various photographs at a small Indian shop in Block 146 Potong Pasir Ave 2. The ones without handles come in 3 sizes. I bought the smallest at 20 cents each.

Soaked it in water and used a metal file to make a small doorway of sorts. Requires patience. Tried using a pair of pliers and broke one. Used it anyway. The cacas prefer the one with the doorway.

[illumnae]

I got small flowerpots from teo's farm..those work really well as breeding caves

[cueball]

I got small flowerpots from teo's farm..those work really well as breeding caves

hi thx for the replies... where is this teo's farm? btw,... can fit 1 ft cube tank?

[illumnae]

i have 2 in my 1ft cube tank and it barely even seems to take up space

you can look up teo's farm in the LFS directory. it's at Lim Chu Kang farm area

[jljx]

Well... I got a nice small Chinese Teapot for about $4. Put it partially submerged into the gravel with the chinese words on the teapot exposed... then placed the lid a little distance away... looked like it dropped into a pond kinda effect and my Caca used it as its nest. Looks uber cool when some green algae decided to settle into the chinese characters... which meant cool wind.

[KWLee]

The one I got is from serangoon north, just around the petmart, you have to walk towards the 7-11 store. The indian shop is just behind the 315 bus stop.

[cueball]

thanks for sharing guys.. will check it out ..

[iwishweallcouldwin]

thanks guys, this thread has been pretty useful to me as well.

[sen_jie]

Not all indian lamps can be used because of the materials used to make the lamps....some are too hard to make a decent hole while other material are too soft that it breaks down in water after sometime....

I've been using indian lamps for breeding purposes for a long time...the ones I used are so far the best in my humble opinion, after trying out many different types....sometimes cheap doesn't mean it works well too

my two cents

hi there, i saw your indian lamp, very nicely done, sorry but i may sound like a newbie, but can explain why you find that it is the best? is there any points to take note of? cause i also need 1 for my rams. maybe i never got the best. thus my ram always eat up the eggs everytime they spawn

[Cacatuoides]

rams eating up their eggs are not due to the caves but its due to their parenting behaviour, maybe they are still young or they might have been frightened?

the material used to make the lamps differs and sometimes result in not able to make a proper hole, maybe because it is to hard or sometimes breakdowns down after a while due to its softness.....i've been using the same type of clay lamps for a long time, they work well for me

[iwishweallcouldwin]

hey bro sen jie, maybe your rams are simply too frightened by your power cannister!!!!!! nothing to do with your not best caves or eman's best caves.... so you can stick to your normal not best cave without worries... eman's best caves are not that easy to DIY you know... besides your power rams also don't have the habit of using caves... anyway you should be happy with your best L14, which you got for a even more best price!!

[Cacatuoides]

By the way, rams are substrate spawners....
meaning they don't need a cave to spawn,
they can lay their eggs on dw or directly on your sand too!

[iwishweallcouldwin]

i'm sure sen jie knows that......