DIY clay shrimp shelter

[Rich Lewis]

Hi everyone

Perhaps this topic has been approached before, nonetheless I decided to try and make my own cheap shrimp shelters.

For about 2.25 pounds I picked up a pack of FIMO modelling clay from a craft shop. It comes in a variety of different colours and can be baked in a kitchen oven (110 celcius for 30 mins).

Back to school for a moment. Assuming you would want a shelter diameter of 2cm, I calculated the circumference of the 'tube' I would need to make for the clay. C=2 x pi x r where C is the circumference, r is the radius (half the diameter) and pi is about 3.14.

Based on this, I made a square of clay 6.5 cm wide (the circumference) and about 7-8cm long. I found that one pack of FIMO should make 4 tubes. I used a pencil as a sort of roller to flatten out the clay, and then folded it over as best as I could to make a tube. Then, whilst resting the clay tube in my hand, I rolled the pencil around inside to try and make it as round as possible. I stuck them together in pairs, as i didn't want them to roll around in the tank.

Into the the oven as per the instructions on the packet and viola. The great thing is that the colour doesn't seem to change after baking. I'm going to set up a shrimp tank in a few weeks to test them out.

See pics with 1 pound coin for scale.

Richard

 

[imak]

So, is fimo really safe for shrimp?

 

[Rich Lewis]

Well, I'm not sure. I can't see why it would be usafe. I'm going to set up a shrimp tank in a couple of weeks so we'll see

 

[zozo]

FIMO modelling clay

Is actualy not clay as we might think it is.. It's a polymer fake clay made from PVC softened and processed to make it a gel like substance you can mold into shape, the product by itself should be completely inert and non toxic. The only thing is even if it is hardened and or baked it probably will still take up water and over time will degrade and become soft again or fall apart.. About the same as the polymer kits oftenly used in aquariums especialy in the marine hobby these kits are popular to build marine landscapes and even cures under water. But the manufacturer of thos kits state "Since it will still take up small ammount of water even after fully hardened and constantly submersed it is not suitable as silicone kit replacement and should not be used to essamble glass rimless aquarium. With a glass to glass construction it will eventualy loos it's bonding capacities.

Anyway, you might see you pvc pipes change color over time then you know about enough..

 

[Rich Lewis]

Well, so far so good! I eventually took the FIMO tubes out, they did get 'slimey' on the surface but didn't seem to degrade, however I found that the shrimp seemed to prefer coconut shells for shelters instead. I didn't notice any toxic effects on the shrimp from the FIMO. I'll post a pic of the tank once I've done a water change and a moss trim.

Cheers