Cat-proofing tanks

[arrow crab]

Hi. I'm guessing a lot of you have cats. How do you all cat proof your tanks? I'm ruling out plexiglass/acrylic because they would jump up there all the time and continually terrorize the fish. Are regular netted lids enough so that they won't like getting on top of it?

 

[Tim'sReef]

My cat liked to dip her toes into the water to play with it. Very annoying cause they have dirty feet. But I got her to stop by one day by setting up my qt tank with tap water and without livestock. When she went playing with the water I gave her a little push and she fell in.

Hasn't done it even since!

 

[HBtank]

My cat liked to dip her toes into the water to play with it. Very annoying cause they have dirty feet. But I got her to stop by one day by setting up my qt tank with tap water and without livestock. When she went playing with the water I gave her a little push and she fell in.

Hasn't done it even since!

Evil, smart, and hilarious!

 

[Wallace11]

The first week I set up my 30 Gal in the basement I found our cat using the mesh top as a hammock. Fortunately he didn't fall in and after the lights went up he's left it alone. I have all the dosing lines tucked away so he can't play with them or bite through them. He does still like to use the freshwater tank as his own personal water fountain!

 

[HBtank]

The first week I set up my 30 Gal in the basement I found our cat using the mesh top as a hammock. Fortunately he didn't fall in and after the lights went up he's left it alone. I have all the dosing lines tucked away so he can't play with them or bite through them. He does still like to use the freshwater tank as his own personal water fountain!

We had a cat that just loved “mystery water”, anything but the actual water dish!

 

[killer2001]

My dumb cat doesn't pay any attention to the tank, but if I leave a container or cup of saltwater out he will start drinking out of it... Come on man!

 

[MillennialReefer]

I use a glass lid to prevent this issue. My cat has never tried to jump into the tank, but I use the lid a precaution. He loves looking at the snails working on the glass at night and sits on the couch next to the tank mesmerized. The only work around I see if the cat is too curious and wont listen is having having one of those large canopies that enclose the entire top of the aquarium.

 

[dstockwell]

Re-home the cat.

 

[Slocke]

On a serious note I'd go with glass and put tinfoil on it or use a spray spray bottle. What actually worked for me though was the cat falling in so...

 

[Wallace11]

Depending on where your tank is a scat mat around the tank may work.

 

[Peace River]

I have always taken the – they’ll figure it out approach. Most of our cats over the years have ignored my tanks but a couple fell in and another one tried to go through the front glass to get to a fish. Those situations always seem to work as a strong deterrent for a future interaction with the tanks and no harm was done.

 

[StatelineReefer]

I use cat psychology. I tell the cats I want them to jump up on the tank, I tell them to bite the dosing line, and encourage them to get into the Adaptive Reef box.


They all avoid the area the tank is in, because cat psychology is 'If they want me to do something, it's no fun'

 

[kierstin1993]

I’m with those who said glass. The mesh makes me worried the cat will break it. My glass lids seem to do a good job of keeping kitty out!

 

[jft]

I cat proofed my tanks BY NOT HAVING CATS HAHA I have dogs though LOL!!!

 

[BaghdadBean]

For all the folks who suggested tinfoil… it just seemed to amplify the evil on my cat. Don’t do it!

 

[Sean Clark]

Re-home the cat.

I suport this method.
Step 1: remove cat
Step 2: enjoy your home

 

[Dan_P]

Hi. I'm guessing a lot of you have cats. How do you all cat proof your tanks? I'm ruling out plexiglass/acrylic because they would jump up there all the time and continually terrorize the fish. Are regular netted lids enough so that they won't like getting on top of it?

I use a glass lid just in case. The lid is a couple inches narrower than the opening of the aquarium for air exchange. Over the years, most of my cats didn’t find the aquarium interesting. A few used it to get somewhere else.

 

[afrokobe]

For all the folks who suggested tinfoil… it just seemed to amplify the evil on my cat. Don’t do it!

double sided tape usually works better

 

[GHOSTLY]

Kept freshwater before. Started messing around with my asian arowana and I clapped my hands loudly and he fell in. Didn't go within 3ft of the tank after that...

 

[BaghdadBean]

double sided tape usually works better

We tried that too. All she did was pick it off her paws and then disdainfully dropped it on top of the dogs as they fled past her ire on the forbidden counter. Pretty sure that cat is made of pure evil, which might be why she’s 17 and looks like a kitten. A hateful, mostly toothless kitten.