my chiclid has been digging a hole underneith the back part of the over hang

[Gboy66]

I have a curved piece of rock to make sort of an over hang cave. Well my chiclid has been digging a hole underneith the back part of the over hang over the last few days.. Sound i be afraid of the rock falling and possibly crushing him tonight?

 

[Flossie]

I have a curved piece of rock to make sort of an over hang cave. Well my chiclid has been digging a hole underneith the back part of the over hang over the last few days.. Sound i be afraid of the rock falling and possibly crushing him tonight?

Cichlids dig like crazy!!! If it's possible that it could smash him u might want to move it

 

[Gboy66]

Do you think if i just put a little bit more sand under the sides he wouldnt just dig that out too? It sounds stupid but i dont want to mess up all of his hard work! Hahah

 

[Flossie]

Do you think if i just put a little bit more sand under the sides he wouldnt just dig that out too? It sounds stupid but i dont want to mess up all of his hard work! Hahah

I totally understand.... I liked the way all my rock work looked as well but the answer is yes he'll dig it out too! Haha its a kinda cute but annoying trait. Lol.

 

[Flossie]

Im fixing to have to fix my rock formation bc it's about to fall over... They are constantly digging

 

[Gboy66]

Ya it is amusing! I think i might put a couple small stones under the sides just to hold it up.. I doubt he can move those!

 

[kdpuffer]

Just a thought, you could make some fake rocks from foam coated in concrete or sikatop which are one solid piece preventing cave ins. Cichlids will dig, it's what they do. With a fake rock you would add stability plus you would eliminate pressure points on the floor of your tank. A fake rock coated in concrete would be easy to soak to Elimate leaching aswell.

 

[chrisne74]

What you should have done really was set all your rock up before putting your sand in then you have solid ground so to speak with the bottom of the tank and the rocks carnt move when they dig

 

[Gboy66]

True, seems like i will be battling with her (my fish) for a long time

 

[Flossie]

I'm in the same boat.. Real rocks on top of sand. Lol

 

[IvanMike]

always put the rockwork on the glass - period. Cichlids are amazing diggers, and if something can collapse, they will do it. they can also move much bigger rocks than you think....

speaking of - what kind of cichlid we talking here?

 

[kdpuffer]

Best thing is to put egg crate down then rocks on that then sand, it prevents stress points on the glass which can lead to a break.

 

[Oblivion]

i love the way they dig holes under rocks n stuff, they go nuts creating pockets in one spot and mounds in others