Rockscaping

[Polly91]

Any tips for having an awsome rock display in a cichlid tank?

 

[Bl80]

Depends on the look your going for. I have rocks I have found locally as well as slate from my best friends dads in Vermont and fossil slate my dad got from the mine years ago. ( the fossils POP in the water ) I also have some terra cotta pots and halves mixed in for breeding purposes. Just depends on what look your going for and how much u want to spend. As far as substrate I use fine black blasting sand . I think the preferred is pool filter sand if not using the cichlid substrate.

 

[Polly91]

Well I don't have Africans, I have firemouths and kribs etc.
I really like the look of plenty of rocks with lots of holes,but not an overcrowded tank of rocks.

 

[Herotilapia_Multispinosa]

Kribs are african...

 

[Polly91]

Oh really.what about brasiliensis and severum and blue acara?

 

[Patterson333]

All of those that you just listed are South Americans.

Going back to your original question though, in my African Cichlid tank, I stacked flagstone using the following method: I got large, flat pieces, and stacked them all right on top of each other to make "pillars," I made four of these pillars (in my 5 ft tank), and then I used long pieces to make bridges connecting these pillars, which ended up making massive caves between them. I also added some more flagstone atop the highest layer of bridges, creating smaller caves for some of the smaller fish.

That said, it's my understanding that most people who keep American Cichlids use driftwood and plants to decorate their tanks, as opposed to the rock structures typical of African tanks. I don't know if it's an aesthetic choice or if it's done for the sake of the fish, but I would ask around to see if someone more knowledgeable could sort that out for you.

Attached is a photo of the result of using the "pillar and bridges" method. I find that it creates some really stable structures.

 

[Ralphie126]

very cool Patterson I like it.... I am upgrading to a 55 soon so hopefully I can do that

 

[Bl80]

I've utilized live and fake plants in with various rocks. My son did my newest 125 gal....

 

[Ralphie126]

Cool man sounds good

 

[mfdrookie516]

The method patterson used is a bit more stable, but I always liked the more natural 'jumbled' look. Here's mine back when I had it going...

 

[Gboy66]

The method patterson used is a bit more stable, but I always liked the more natural 'jumbled' look. Here's mine back when I had it going...

Ya that is so cool especially for chiclids dude. Low maitenence too

 

[Polly91]

Expensive for all those rocks??I thought something like yhat would be high maintenance because u would need to clean under them sometime?

 

[mfdrookie516]

cheapest place to get rocks is a creek... they're free. As far as cleaning, I would just re-arrange them every now and then and clean, but they were pretty good about pushing all the debris out front for cleaning

 

[Polly91]

Nice.so rocks from creeks won't be harmful to the aquarium.I'm sure u throughly clean them before putting them in...

 

[Patterson333]

Yea as far as the way it looks, I also kind of like the jumbled stacking. I ended up coming up with the pillar and bridge method for two reasons though:

1. Stability
2. Functionality-- as my fish were fairly large (4" and up), I wanted them to be able to swim through the caves, so the pillar and bridge method allowed for that.

So I guess you need to ask yourself what you want out of your rock formation. Either way both look really nice IMO

Here's the first tank I did using that method. It was my friends' tank and they wanted help with their rocks, so I volunteered. As you can see their fish are rather large and they wanted them to be able to swim through the caves so that's when this method occurred to me (though I'm sure others have used it long before). Btw the tank was all cloudy because they had just added sand lol

 

[Gboy66]

Expensive for all those rocks??I thought something like yhat would be high maintenance because u would need to clean under them sometime?

Yea i guess, but i sort of like the mossy look

 

[mdawg75]

I love those creations with rock with my 75 I threw in some "Cichlid stones" ceramics to look like rocks with holes in them. My Peacocks like them when they are holding or if they are the focus of some agression and get tired they would retreat to them. Im sure the clay pots do the same thing.
Did yall start by placing the stones on the glass and adding the substrate or on top of the substrate?

 

[Polly91]

Substrate first...well that's how I do it

 

[IvanMike]

Substrate first...well that's how I do it

that's a recipe for a rockslide....especially when cichlids start digging in the gravel underneath the rocks.

FWIW, one of the favorite methods of ACA members to make some cool rock formations was to glue the rocks together using aquarium silicone sealant. (obviously make sure it cures and dries completely before adding the formation to the tank). This can help with larger cichlids who are more than capable of throwing these things around and accidentally hurting themselves, other fish, or breaking important things like heaters and the glass sides of the tank.....

 

[Patterson333]

Yea ideally you would want to put the stones in first and then work the substrate around. You could do it the other way too though, if you can manage to do a good job digging your stones deep into the substrate (and even then you're at risk of having your cichlids dig)

And the glue could be really helpful for holding your formation together, just remember you wouldn't be able to rearrange the rock formation if you're faced with an aggression problem.