since i will have some semi-aggressive/aggressive cichlids in my tank and still wanted to at least try getting the BGK since all cichlids will be very small to begin with, i thought i could get several pvc pipes and hide them underneath the horizontal driftwood piece that is going into the tank, and several of these little hidden hiding tunnels throughout the bottom of the wood to give the BGK plenty of room to get away from the other fish if he has to but since the water wont be able to circulate down into these pipes would this create deadzones in there that would be harmful to the knife? let me know what you guys think and if it would be harmful, what kinds of hiding places do you guys have for your knives that could prevent dead spots and still enable them to fully get away from the other fish in the tank
Will PVC hiding spots create dead spots?
- Thread starter Sarah88
- Start date
i don't fully understand how dead spots can be created from pvc or any other item used for hiding, in a well-circulated tank. maybe there is something else missing. there might be some areas in a tank that might not have any water movement, but i'm not sure it's a total dead spot. you always should have slight movement of water. i have less movement in the 2 front corners of my tank, but there is movement.
yeah if the tube is above ground then not a problem, but what im wanting to do is put it under the drift wood at an angle so one end would be down in the sand
ohhhhh. Ok. i get it....hmmm. that's an interesting idea and should work for a nice hiding spot. you're creating a hiding hole in your substrate. i say go for it. it won't hurt your knife. he will still get good healthy circulation in the hole. just not as much. plus, he will come out. he won't be there all day, everyday. i have a BGK, CK and RCK. They do like to hide out but they come out a lot and do socialize. when you're i'd like to see pics of your hideaway holes.
ok good yeah i just wanted to check i thought would be good way to have nice hiding spots and have them hidden so no white plastic tubes messing up decor of tank lol and will def put up pics once i have it set up (still moving my tank though so it will be like 2 weeks before this will happen) and sostoudt good idea about vaccuming it during water change will def do that, and then i can change out for bigger tubes as he grows so he can still go in but none of the other fish can get at him
didnt feel like making a whole new thread so am just posting this question in this one, exactly how fast do these guys grow? im not sure what size BGK my lfs has but if they have little 1inchers thats what i would have to get so how long would i have to wait before adding the cichlids i want (which will be about 2-3in most likely) so in other words how long would it take for a 1in BGK to grow to 3-4in in length?
It will cause a dead spot as water will not really flow throw it. Just flip it once in awhile when you vacuum. As for the growth of a BGK, it can grow pretty quickly to about 5"-6" (about 1" per month) and then it slows down to maybe 1/2" per month.
