Rock ? about what kind to use with Cichlid

[ADCISCO]

Ok my question is what is the best type of large rock to use in a cichlid tank? I have 9 african cichlid and I am about to go to a 55 gallon soon and I was wanted to know what is the best thing.....or is even an overly planted ( plastic ) tank be ok? Any suggestions???

Thanks,
Angie

 

[TankGirl]

Lace rock or Texas holey rock is good, as it has the hidey holes that Africans like. You can also use limestone, or really any kind of rock that you can stack and make cavelike structures. I have coral base rock, which buffers the water, but I also have some basalt from a mine we went to, and a few pieces of river rock.

I assume rock is easy to come by where you are!

 

[ADCISCO]

Well I found some great looking iron orr rocks. But I am sure that I cant use those. They are so cool! They would look great in a tank. I couldnt get tons of rock I just dont know what kind!LOL We went to a park today and I got a ton of iron orr rock in the creek....could have gotten alot of other rock too but didnt know what to get. I didnt know for sure at the time if it was acutally iron orr rock or not. But several years ago I had some huge peices of glass. I mean like rocks. All different shapes and colors and of course over the yrs I threw it away. I was just a kid when I got it and I got it out of a creek too!LOL Can you tell I like to play in the creek? I know that certain kinds of rocks leach into the water that will make sick fish. I just dont want to take a chance in getting some that will wipe out my buddies! The rock at the pet store is unreal in price......$4 a pound! I would say that they probably got it a Lowe's or somewhere I dont know. I'm cheap I like to use stuff that I can get in abundance that doesnt cost anything or very little!LOL but when it comes to my fish I have too much invested in the little guys!

 

[TankGirl]

Definitely avoid anything with iron or other metals in it - not good for the fish and it sounds like you already know what to look out for.

You can get limestone from a garden or landscape center, or a place like Home Depot or Lowe's, for relatively cheap and it will work in an African tank since it will buffer the water and increase pH and hardness, but not break the bank. Just be sure to scrub the heck out of it, of course!

 

[Menagerie]

I love lace rock, but it does add up!

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Landscape stores and nurseries often carry inexpensive shale, slate, limestone, etc. that work fine in an African tank. Just make sure they haven't been contaminated with any chemicals or pesticides and there aren't any sharp/jagged edges for the fish to injure themselves on.