I was too cheap to purchase coconut huts for my new apisto breeding groups so I decided to make my own. Coconuts were on special at the grocery store for $1.50 so it was not a risk of much money.
First I got together the tools I thought I would need.
-large C clamp
-drill
-small bit and large bit
-mallet
-chisel
-butter knife
-glass (for the coconut milk, mmmmmmm)
-pot of boiling water
-moss
-super glue
and most importantly the coconut!
First I used the small drill bit to drill a small hole (where i was anticipating putting the larger hole later) to drain the coconut milk.
I clamped the coconut in the c-clamp to hold it still and I then took my chisel and mallet and gently (and sometimes not so gently) made a groove around the perimeter of the coconut where I wanted it to seperate. This didn't really work that well, lol. I then gave it a few hard smacks with the mallet and chisel to break it in half. You can see it did not come out very even.
Next I used a butter knife to remove the coconut to save for later.
Next I used a drill bit to try and drilll a hole about the diameter of the pad of my thumb. One worked great, the other shattered....I am going to try and make it work anyway. You want the hole big enough for the female to go in and be able to comfortably defend her space once she has eggs. Too large and she will not be able to defend from the male properly and will not utilize the space.
I then boiled the coconut briefly to remove some tannins.
Next I took some superglue and some peacock moss and glued the moss on the top. This is optional but suits my aesthetic and adds another spot for infusoria to grow for when there are fry.
Then I put them in the tank, embedding them in the sand a little bit as the female apistos like to excavate.
From start to finish the whole project took me about 20 minutes, well worth the time I think. These are great for apistogrammas or small plecos.
First I got together the tools I thought I would need.
-large C clamp
-drill
-small bit and large bit
-mallet
-chisel
-butter knife
-glass (for the coconut milk, mmmmmmm)
-pot of boiling water
-moss
-super glue
and most importantly the coconut!
First I used the small drill bit to drill a small hole (where i was anticipating putting the larger hole later) to drain the coconut milk.
I clamped the coconut in the c-clamp to hold it still and I then took my chisel and mallet and gently (and sometimes not so gently) made a groove around the perimeter of the coconut where I wanted it to seperate. This didn't really work that well, lol. I then gave it a few hard smacks with the mallet and chisel to break it in half. You can see it did not come out very even.
Next I used a butter knife to remove the coconut to save for later.
Next I used a drill bit to try and drilll a hole about the diameter of the pad of my thumb. One worked great, the other shattered....I am going to try and make it work anyway. You want the hole big enough for the female to go in and be able to comfortably defend her space once she has eggs. Too large and she will not be able to defend from the male properly and will not utilize the space.
I then boiled the coconut briefly to remove some tannins.
Next I took some superglue and some peacock moss and glued the moss on the top. This is optional but suits my aesthetic and adds another spot for infusoria to grow for when there are fry.
Then I put them in the tank, embedding them in the sand a little bit as the female apistos like to excavate.
From start to finish the whole project took me about 20 minutes, well worth the time I think. These are great for apistogrammas or small plecos.
