Do you have caves? Why or Why not?

[ChrisKSB]

Yes! Caves..tunnels, whatever! Love it. Envisioned hiding rocks under the sand and creating tunnels as well. We'll see!

 

[shaggydoo]

Caves/hiding spots for fish is a must. My whole scape in my current 60 cube was all about creating hiding places. It worked a little too well as any new person who wants to view my tank will see no fish. They all hide when an unknown intruder can be seen. But they are used to me by now at least so I can enjoy them.

 

[WvAquatics]

I def will be scaping caves.

 

[Tastee]

When I setup my first tank in 2017 I initially placed large rocks on the floor and built from there. After a few weeks I rearranged it to lift the bottom rocks up onto smaller ones to allow caves and water flow. Our Orchid Dottyback has since dug it’s own cave under one of the foundation rocks. Our Coral Banded Shrimp loves crawling around underneath the rocks. Everyone swims in and out of the caves.

In the new tank I am setting up I have arranged two structures with plenty of holes for swim-throughs as a starting point. This is just a starting point and I’m sure I’ll change it around before I start placing corals - fish will be first and corals will only start once I am happy it is stable. So +1 for lots of caves!

Apologies for the poor quality photo below.

 

[RickSanford]

Definitely a fan of caves. Two large ones at the bottom and numerous ones above in this 150lb moani aquascape.

 

[JoshO]

I have a few little caves and holes in mine to provide safe haven for fish if they feel scared or startled. Hopefully it helps to reduce stress!

 

[gotmesalty77]

I think caves are almost essantial to reefs fish need a good spot to chil out or hide. i havent had the chance to go through the entire post but was abyone against caves? they are a little harder to plan and execute in lower tanks but thats just my experiance.

 

[acropora4u]

Super nice aqua-scape!!!

thanks!

 

[WildChurchMonkeys]

Yes caves are a great thing to have for stress relief and sleeping areas. I found this hollowed out rock a while back with two entrance holes and my coral beauty loves it!

 

[CheckeredPants]

I don’t have enough “caves.” I went with a minimalist aquascape in my 140. There is one pile of rocks at the back of the peninsula and it’s been dubbed the “apartment complex” since everyone sleeps/hides in it. I’ve been thinking of making another “cave” at the other end especially if I want to add more fish.

Bottom line...caves are good.

 

[Arricefe]

My entire aquascape was based on caves, my fish can swim from one side of my tank to the other through the rocks, they can hang out in there and not be seen days at a time.

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

My entire tank is unconventional including the cave. Most of the rock is siliconed to the back and side glass with a background I made out of lighting diffuser, lava rocks, and sanded grout.

I went with the cave mostly because my 30" tall 220 has a ~24" center brace that makes it impossible to reach the back or bottom of the tank under the brace. I can reach the 18" gravel vac to clean the sand, but not my hands to clean the glass or place corals. So the cave creates a convenient spot that is otherwise not really accessible and also provides shade to prevent algae growing there. I also don't have any dead spots that are impossible to clean. Being able to clean detritus, or lack there of, I think is one of the downsides of scapes with traditional rocks and caves.

2 years later.

 

[RtomKinMad]

My entire tank is unconventional including the cave. Most of the rock is siliconed to the back and side glass with a background I made out of lighting diffuser, lava rocks, and sanded grout.

I went with the cave mostly because my 30" tall 220 has a ~24" center brace that makes it impossible to reach the back or bottom of the tank under the brace. I can reach the 18" gravel vac to clean the sand, but not my hands to clean the glass or place corals. So the cave creates a convenient spot that is otherwise not really accessible and also provides shade to prevent algae growing there. I also don't have any dead spots that are impossible to clean. Being able to clean detritus, or lack there of, I think is one of the downsides of scapes with traditional rocks and caves.

2 years later.

This awesome I’ve never seen anything like it before. It looks so natural and beautiful! I bet the fish and colors love it too! Thanks for sharing!

 

[BlennyKravitz]

Sorry to be THAT guy... but I feel sorry for fish living in minimal aquascapes with nowhere to hide/sleep.

caves not only keep territorial stress levels to a minimum, but they also provide shelter from the current so they can sleep.

I have 21 fish in a 110 gallon display and there are zero conflicts. I figure if I live with 20 housemates, do I want to all live in a gymnasium or a huge condominium with my own pad?

 

[sp1187]

my scape is all tunnels (pvc) with multiple openings at different levels and spots in the tank.
fun watching a fish enter at one spot and come out at another location half the tank away.
I have damsels that have taken up residence in some openings, one with one of my blood shrimp.
one of my BTA's has it's foot in the gap between two openings and moves from one opening to the other without changing it's anchor point.

 

[atoll]

Sorry to be THAT guy... but I feel sorry for fish living in minimal aquascapes with nowhere to hide/sleep.

caves not only keep territorial stress levels to a minimum, but they also provide shelter from the current so they can sleep.

I have 21 fish in a 110 gallon display and there are zero conflicts.

100% agree. I have always had lots of live rock in my tanks. However, with my current tank I thought I would try this new trend for minimalist reefscape. Tried it binned it. I believe ky fish are much happier with lots of rock, overhangs and caves. Happy fish = less stress, less stress = healthier fish.

 

[fcmatt]

I used to have pretty rock work with caves and stuff. It was awesome. Then I added 3 haddoni anemones over time and now it looks like a war zone. They can easily lift and push whatever they want in a tank it seems unless you have a major amount of heavy rock. The haddoni get pretty darn big as they grow and compared to ones in the wild mine are still small. Only 12 inch plus spread out when they feel like it. Not the 24 inch and bigger you can see in wild pics.

 

[Dragon174]

I have a ton of caves and places for the fish to swim in and out to hind at night and swim through during the day. My tangs and flame angel love the caves and dart in and out of them all of the time.

 

[C_mo97]

My entire tank is unconventional including the cave. Most of the rock is siliconed to the back and side glass with a background I made out of lighting diffuser, lava rocks, and sanded grout.

I went with the cave mostly because my 30" tall 220 has a ~24" center brace that makes it impossible to reach the back or bottom of the tank under the brace. I can reach the 18" gravel vac to clean the sand, but not my hands to clean the glass or place corals. So the cave creates a convenient spot that is otherwise not really accessible and also provides shade to prevent algae growing there. I also don't have any dead spots that are impossible to clean. Being able to clean detritus, or lack there of, I think is one of the downsides of scapes with traditional rocks and caves.

2 years later.

my scape is all tunnels (pvc) with multiple openings at different levels and spots in the tank.
fun watching a fish enter at one spot and come out at another location half the tank away.
I have damsels that have taken up residence in some openings, one with one of my blood shrimp.
one of my BTA's has it's foot in the gap between two openings and moves from one opening to the other without changing it's anchor point.

Holy crap!!! These scapes are insane. Love the attention to detail. A+ from me!!

 

[KrisReef]

Yup, fish need shelter on a reef to hide when they are feeling the need to take cover.

I used to have loosely placed rock piles until a purple tang got wedged underneath and perished. Now I have loosely placed rocks on the bottom of the tank where the fish tuck down next to them to hide. I hope to re-rockscape one day make better niches for the fishes.