natural lookin tank for my cichlids

**bmx4life** · 03-06-2010, 05:28 AM

im tryin to set up a 100 gal tank with a natural look i got the live sand and driftwood and i was wondering what type of rocks to get to setup up good hidding spots for my fish

**thatcichlidguy** · 03-06-2010, 06:13 AM

Depends on the fish and what type of water parameters they prefer. If it's African or central American cichlids (or any other CA fish) including some amount of carbonate rock such as Holey rock or crushed coral in the set up with buffer the PH higher as they would prefer. For most everything else, straight silicate rock is best . Just avoid anything with metalic sparkles. Most likely it'd be iron pyrite and that's toxic to the fish. Other than that it's up to you. I use sand stone.

**MCHRKiller** · 03-06-2010, 06:15 AM

For a sa/ca tank I like natural river stones along the bottom...gives a nice natural river bottom look to the tank. Plus they go well with most colors of sand and compliment driftwood well.

**phxl** · 03-08-2010, 05:00 AM

This was a temporary tank for my Oscar and 2 Jack Dempseys. The larger rocks I purchased at a garden center, but could easily be found in nature. The small river rocks came in a bag, as did the sand. Mix of artificial plants along with some amazon swords... Which the oscars would insist should be floating. He always gets the final word when it comes to plant placement.

**bmx4life** · 03-08-2010, 09:10 AM

im goin to get sum sa/ca cichlids and i want to have alot of hidin spot so they are less likely to fight is lava rock a possibility

**The Shield** · 03-08-2010, 09:21 AM

I have all large river rock and gravel in mine, but slate looks great also, especially with sand.

**The Curious** · 03-11-2010, 05:21 PM

Slate does look awesome, lava rock will do the trick for you, but actually going out to a river/creek and findin your own river rock is very rewarding, Aslo you might find treasures...hehe.

I was looking for river rock to put in my tank a year or so ago in a local creek and I found some great pieces of rock. The creek was right next to where a mill had apparantly been built in the late 1800s. I found a good amount of the brick blocks they used to build the mill, which is now gone except for these random pieces laying around in the substrate. They are great building blocks that I have used in many different ways...plus the fish love using it for a hiding place.

Now obviously you are not gonna find the same stuff that I have found, but the point is that there is alot more awesome decor out there than what the lfs has in stock.

Good luck and post some pics up once you get what you are looking for.

**Cliff** · 03-12-2010, 01:03 AM

You can even find great rocks for your tank in places that you might not think of. I used larger rocks (2 to 3”) I bought from the floral section of my local Wal-Mart. These are natural river rocks meant to be placed in the bottom of vases to accent the flowers. Only cost $2.00 per a 3 lb bag. 3 bags were a nice accent to my tank for a reasonable cost. Most of them are near the back of the tank but you can see what I mean if you take a look at my tank. It might help to make your hinding spots more natural.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fish...ser=24262&sl=c

**bmx4life** · 03-16-2010, 02:12 AM

the curious that pretty cool what you did with those bricks and thanks for the insight imma have to go to a river or creek when it gets warmer out and look for decors

**rhonin** · 03-16-2010, 03:48 AM

Careful with the lava rock as a large percentage is high in metal content (iron and other).

If your looking for natural try youtube for some videos of video of their habitat. You will likely find quite a bit and it will give you a look at their natural surroundings...

Just a thought....