im considering getting a heating coil system to help water movement through the substrate, my concern is in regards to the safety of my largest banjo cat (the smaller one is in a grow out tank). since he buries himself all day long im wondering if he will hurt himself on the heating coils should he come too close to them. it is not an option for me to get rid of him, so what should i do?
options iv come up with on my own so far are: 1: dont get heating coils 2: dont let the banjo catfish into this tank 3: get such a thick layer of sand the he cant reach them; but then again iv seen banjo catfish bury themselves in deep substrate and they tend to get pretty immersed in it. 4: instead of heating coils i could get 2 or 3 hydor mini heaters (which are very thin and can be placed in substrates) and bury them under bogwood and such where the banjo catfish cannot bury himself.
on the one hand if im going to get serious about this tank and planting it i might want to just leave the banjo in the 10 gallon he is presently in since i dont want to have to "fortify" ever thing i plant with rocks and such to keep him from uprooting them. an important question to be answered here is whether or not heating coils are really that important. the tank is a 20 long and the substrate will be very fine grained sand. im am liking the idea of making it a work in progress over the next few months to a year and turning it into a truly nice and well done planted tank so i want to do it right from the start... and ripping up the decor later to install coils is not my idea of fun.
p.s. if anyone has seen other posts of mine in the brackish forum, yes is this the same tank that was meant for the freshwater lionfish... that plan with that fish fell through last night and i am no longer going that direction, i thank you all for your help with that though.
p.p.s. sorry about any bad grammar or choppy sentences, im not an idiot i was just really tired when i wrote this.
options iv come up with on my own so far are: 1: dont get heating coils 2: dont let the banjo catfish into this tank 3: get such a thick layer of sand the he cant reach them; but then again iv seen banjo catfish bury themselves in deep substrate and they tend to get pretty immersed in it. 4: instead of heating coils i could get 2 or 3 hydor mini heaters (which are very thin and can be placed in substrates) and bury them under bogwood and such where the banjo catfish cannot bury himself.
on the one hand if im going to get serious about this tank and planting it i might want to just leave the banjo in the 10 gallon he is presently in since i dont want to have to "fortify" ever thing i plant with rocks and such to keep him from uprooting them. an important question to be answered here is whether or not heating coils are really that important. the tank is a 20 long and the substrate will be very fine grained sand. im am liking the idea of making it a work in progress over the next few months to a year and turning it into a truly nice and well done planted tank so i want to do it right from the start... and ripping up the decor later to install coils is not my idea of fun.
p.s. if anyone has seen other posts of mine in the brackish forum, yes is this the same tank that was meant for the freshwater lionfish... that plan with that fish fell through last night and i am no longer going that direction, i thank you all for your help with that though.
p.p.s. sorry about any bad grammar or choppy sentences, im not an idiot i was just really tired when i wrote this.
