Will my new lodger destroy my beloved Proxima plus and what can I do?

[MossMan]

View attachment 120866

Loving that there are rainbows in the tank alongside this cat - who looks surprisingly calm!

 

[Ady34]

Saw this and thought of you.....

Photo credit aquaowner.

 

[alto]

A not unfamiliar sight hereabouts

problem is ... Cat THINKS he is agile
IRL he is far from

 

[sciencefiction]

My cat loved to sleep on top of the tank cover...and absolutely loved frozen brineshrimp and frozen bloodworms.

 

[Marc Davis]

My cat just likes to drink from my tank, he's not the slightest bit interested in the fish. Glass is pretty hard, about a 6-7 on Moh's scale of hardness, and a cats claws aren't anywhere near hard enough to scratch it; probably not that much harder than finger nails, around 2.5-3 on Moh's scale. I'd be more worried about my soft furnishings and carpets

The only bugbear I have is that the furry little bar steward goes in to the garden takes dump buries it in the mud and then washes his paws in my tank. Then he tries to dry them by flicking the water away. Consequently, the walls adjacent to the tank get covered in water and mud and probably $h*t as well, and then it gets trailed throughout the house

I keep my study door closed (that's where the tank is) to keep him out, but someone usually goes in there to pilfer my stationary and inevitably leaves the door open; and being the consummate opportunist he's In Like Flint, and I have yet another mess to clear up...pets and kids who'd have them

Same here. My cat drinks from my open top tanks. Fine by me as its probably better for her than the tap water. And it means i dont have to do water changes as i'm topping the tank up every other day haha.

 

[HiNtZ]

Should be fine - I'd even go for an open top piranha tank

 

[MossMan]

So......I cant believe my three lodgers have been with me now over 6 months, including their lovely cat. I've been meaning to get around to posting the update to let you know how we are getting on!

I was worried with my corrugated plastic make shift condensation trap the cat might go for an explore, fall in and drown, so I set about making something a lot more robust. Started out with 5mm perspex, which clearly wasnt going to be strong enough to hold any weight as it was very floppy when cut into strips 1mtr long, so I re-inforced the edges with steel. Which I then painted in epoxy resin (I use epoxy in another hobby I have so had it handy) to try and prevent rust. Well, the steel rusted pretty quick tbh even with the coating, so as a make do temp measure I have since wrapped each of the three pains of plastic in clingfilm, and that actually has seemed to be pretty effective - although it doesnt give the best of finishes. Anyhow, the lid is solid - no cat will fall through that!

Please excuse the mucky lights - I hadnt realised they were that bad until now!

Front of tank shot:

So, here is how much notice the moggy takes.....

and final pic - this is my breeding tank that has a lid - dernale scapers tank that I have let go a bit - so please excuse the bb algea....

The lid on the proxima cost me about £50 in total (so well over budget), once I had bought the plastic and the steel edging x6, but I enjoyed the project, and had always meant to get round to adding something better lid wise. I am pleased to say that the lodgers themselves are a nice couple - they feed my fish whilst I am away and me and the cat get along nicely too!

Thanks all for your help - correct - there was no need for me to have any worries!

Kind regards
Richard

 

[MossMan]

I meant to include this pic too....of the pipework. Obvs the above and below shots are pre rust and clingfilm solution in case people are not sure.

Thanks again,
Rich