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Now in grocery stores coconuts are often on sale. They are relatively inexpensive, their pulp and milk have a pleasant taste, but to reach them is not easy: the shell of the nut is solid and strong, ordinary kitchen utensils can not cope with it. At the same time for the aquarist this factor is of value, almost more than the internal contents of the nut. The shell is not susceptible to putrefaction in water, has a negative buoyancy and high decorative properties. So do not rush to grab the hammer and vice, carrying the shell to small pieces. Better a little later, enjoy the "tender pulp of coconut", but then use it without waste and at the same time get excellent blanks for decorating the aquarium.
In my opinion, the most accurate tool for opening a nut is a metal hacksaw. In order to separate the shell from the nut, it is sufficient to make two longitudinal cuts along the sides of the nut from the blunt vertex to the pointed one. You can make a full cut, but then you must first pick a soft knife or screwdriver with a soft nail tip (it is located on the blunt top) and merge the milk.
Now you have two halves of a shell on your hands. What to do with them further? No preliminary preparation for the coconut shell is required. It does not need to boil, burn, soak, etc. In principle, there is no need even to eliminate the "shaggy" of the outer surface of the coconut and polish it. On the contrary, the hairs impart an additional decorative and refinement to the shell. The only thing that needs to be done is to scrape off the remains of the pulp from the inside of the shell (peel off and rinse). But if you have ancistrus, pseudostomus, panaki and others living in the aquarium, they will do it without you, and with great pleasure.
Most of the time, the shells are simply placed on the bottom, using as a shelter for fishes leading a bottom-line lifestyle and in need of shelters for settling the nest and laying eggs. Laz in such a shelter can be done with pliers, breaking apart pieces of shell to the formation of the desired size and profile of the entrance. This, so to speak, the most traditional application of coconut shell, but not the only one.
I, for example, make hanging flower pots out of shell. It's not a secret that in high aquariums some plants grow well only when placed near the water surface, where there is more light and the water pressure is less.
Various kinds of shelves, plastic and ceramic pots disrupt the decorative integrity of the reservoir. Coconuts also fit perfectly into the aquarium, not only not spoiling its naturalness, but even adding an extra charm.
It is not difficult to make such a pot. I use for it a quarter of a shell. By its internal profile I saw a piece of plexiglass sheet 2 - 3 mm thick - this is the future back wall of the pot - and I drill in it a few peripheral holes with a diameter of 1 2 mm for water intake. In the geometric center of the workpiece, one more hole must be drilled, the diameter of which is a little less than or equal to the diameter of the cylindrical lug of the sucker (it is desirable that there be a fixing flange at the end of the protrusion).
It remains to insert the suction cup into place and fix the plexiglass in the shell with epoxy glue. After a day, when the glue hardens, I rinse the pot under a stream of cold water. Now it is ready for operation. However, if you want the product to have the most natural appearance, I advise you to puff a little over the neck of the pot. Formed with a saw blade, it has too regular outlines. I recommend it a bit "combed" with pliers, giving a certain unevenness - and the pot in the aquarium will look much better.
Even when it is filled with gravel, this pot is not very heavy, and one sucker is enough for its reliable fixation on the wall of the aquarium. If the distance from the water mirror in the aquarium to the lamps of the luminaire allows, you can place the pot so that it is only partially submerged in water and put in it paludarium or moisture-loving indoor plants.


V. Safronov Moscow