Ideas for a natural looking cave

[ctaggart]

I need to add a cave into my aquarium for my future Cockatoo dwarf cichlid to live in. I would like to keep the theme of my tank as natural as possible. Plastic decorations are definately out of the question. What's a natural way to setup a cave in a tank that will look nice? Rocks leaned up against each other..driftwood arranged in a certain way...how have YOU done it?

[Crispy]

Clay pots and flagstone. Fairly cheap too if you look around. Works for my bigger cichlids. Good spawning areas too!

[Dave66]

I used to use black PVC pipes pushed horizontally into banks of dark gravel, but nowdays I use unglazed earthernware caves to my design made for me by a local pottery. I believe there are such caves online. If you google pleco caves and cichlid caves you'll probably find them.
I like the earthenware caves as they are easy to blend into a layout and in a few months will be colonized by mosses you put on them and whatnot and look perfectly natural. I still push them into banks of gravel though.

Dave

[ctaggart]

Some of those pottery caves are pretty awesome. I think I've found the answer I was looking for. Thank you!

[Northernguy]

Some driftwood is always a nice additon as well especially if you have or are considering a pleco.:22: