Clay pots or clay that is safe to diy

Hi all,

Just a quick question - Where can i get clay pots that is safe for fishes?
or just any, as long as theres not pesticides been in contact with the pots.

Or which brand of Clay could I buy to make DIY housings.
the reason for this option is that, the commercial ones seems so (dull)
its been pressed by a mould. and alot of it are too small aswell.
I remember when I was younger, the clay that we did school projects with
were very strong in a "medical" smell, dont think this will be safe for fishes.

Any Direction would be great but prefer DIY over premade products.
(prefer in the Guateng area where I can get them)

 

I would also like to think that, but I have seen many kind of them.
I mean as mentioned, during school time, the clay used was very erm... smelly with a medical smell.
and then, in the foundry - the clay we use to stop melted metal from the furance is a differant grade.
so it still classed as "clay" which would be safe? dont wanna put them in and find all the fishes I have has died.

 

or am i on the mis guided path here? shall i say "terracotta" and where do i get these in Gauteng?
that is safe for fishes.

 

Your local nursary?

 

I dont really like our local nursary - the few to mention are like plantland (malansiens)
I drive pass 3 of them on a daily bases.
Zambizi drive has 2 of them and one in silverlakes/mooikloof
PFP - might be sprayed with pesticide.
Clay products also.
As I always see thier workers with these "poisin" and walking around and spraying
them on plants, its fine mist when they spray and they stop doing so when there are
us "customers" walking close. so I presume its just for safety.

 

Ohw okay our local nursary have these little pots indoors so there is no poisons or anyting near them.

 

Or if I get these potties, how do i treat them to be safe for fish?
just imagin they have these psn on them (to be safe will treat all pots then)
soak them in water for how long? and add what solutions to balance ?

 

I would think just give them a good cleaning and rinsing

 

Don't buy clay pots that are glossy(shinny).Just plain old clay pots,then take rock and scratch a hole in a then the brake that piece off or just drill a hole and keep cooling it then when it cracks only paste certain pieces back together,makes a nice place to plant plants or for nocturnal fish to hide in. Thats what I did

 

I've used many of the natural terra-cotta pots in the past with no ill effects whatsoever. I just rub the stickers off and rinse them under warm tap water. Sometimes use a nail brush and scrub them as well. (If you battle with the sticker then take a blob of peanut butter and rub them off with that, it really does work to get the sticker glue off.) I've seriously never had any issue at all with them. Some of them, I coat with marine silicon on the outside and roll them in my tank substrate to coat them, leave to dry for 24 hours, pop them in and the fish love them. I've bought from the same nurseries that you've mentioned, as well as builders in Zambizie. Never had an issue with poison or any other thing and never had fish deaths from them.

 

@mark d Thanks for the picture
@Barry.M hmm I will have a look at these nursary sometimes soon.

Thanks all for the advice

 

BBQ, another option is making coconut caves. Go to the DIY section and there's a sticky on how to do this. i like the coconuts as you can superglue java fern or moss or anubias to them and they look far more natural...

 

Just please watch out for those small drainage holes that are at the bottom of these pots. I have a female betta get stuck in one once, and the ONLY way I could get her out was to break the pot with screwdriver and pray I don't hurt her in the process. My prayers were answered, if if she was a little tattered and messed up around neck from being stuck in there.

 

Barry, I have coconuts I only have 1 in each tank now, supposely having 4 in each tank, dont know where
i misplaced the other 6. maybe the helper threw them away. Thinking me and wife had a hawaii party at home or something.

but question, how do you superglue java fern and moss to coconuts? arent they toxic? and will kill the fern/moss?
please provide more details with regards to this process.

I have also thought about making slate caves for the ancistrus but I belive silicon will not hold slate well.
and the problem is cutting the slate to the size i want I am not hands on with power tools. (never used one in my life)
as it will fall apart in few months. I really do wanna provide some nice decent size "things" that my fetherfin and BGK
and for later spawning of the ancistrus

 

@Zoom, should i cover it with some sort of plug? maybe plug a anubias nana thought it?
the stem seems big enough.
talking of which, I lost a Cory on saturday morning (while eating my breakfast) I was viewing my
tank and I saw the cory got stuck on the anubias roots and it was dead by the time i saved him/her.
i do belive it died a hour or so back I went to bed at about 3am on friday and woke up at 8.

 

Yeah, plug it, or convert to coconut shells with no holes.

 

Just normal terracotta pots are usable in the aquarium. Just find one that you know hasn't been in contact with pesticides and remember to soak it for a few hours before going into your tank.

 

BBQ I know that I did a post on the use of superglue in fish tanks before, just cant remember if it was on TASA or Aquatic Plant Central, Monster Fish Keepers or one of the other forums... So here's a bit of info on it and how I use it.

One of the uses of superglue was to close wounds and stop bleeding in the Vietnam war and is still used to suture wounds, we used it in Angola. The medics would clean the wound, apply a bead of glue and press the wound closed. Back at base camp, the doctors dissolved it with acetone and then could operate. It is also used in surgery in hospitals today. (It's people safe!)

Once it sets it is inert and waterproof, there are no bits of string or net for fish to get stuck under or swallow. I have and do use superglue to attach plants like fern, anubias, and moss (just not Riccia) with no problem. Just make sure the surface you are going to glue the plant to is clean. All I do is pat both gluing surfaces semi-dry, then put a little superglue onto the place where I want to attach the plant, press the plant on, wait 15 seconds and it's done. Don't over do the glue as once it is placed into your tank, the glue turns white and looks ugly. It does not kill plants.

Super glue is absolutely safe in both freshwater and salt. The marine guys have used it for ages to glue coral etc together.
George Farmer (Pro aquascaper, Google the name!) uses this method exclusively to attach all his plants to wood and rocks. It's just so much easier, quicker and neater than thread! Try use the highest quality superglue you can find. (Not from the corner shop or the stuff sold at the traffic intersections, that's rubbish!)

Oh, If you inadvertantly get some superglue on your fingers, soak them in acetone... It dissolves superglue!