Building Caves..Photos?

[F15H3R]

Im new here and pretty new to fish also. I started out with a 10 gallon @ 6 months ago and have now added a larger tank with a few African Cichlids since my husband had Cichlids years ago and really likes them...neat fish, I think im hooked.

I was wondering if anyone could share ideas for rock caves. What types of caves do they prefer? Best rocks to use? Do they prefer tunnel-like caves, or enclosed caves with a single opening?

We picked up a few rocks today and created a few caves using pieces of slate piled above rocks but it just doesnt look right. I would like to be able to safely create some height with the rocks somehow without risking a cave in or having them topple over. Ant ideas and especially photos would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Ferris]

I built some of my caves by digging out gravel to create a hole and then using slate pieces to stop the gravel from sliding back into the hole and then placing pieces of tuffa rock or rose quartz over the top leaving an entranceway for the fish to get in and out.

I also picked out a couple of pieces of tuffa rock that were already caves (bit lucky there). I made some more out of plant pots covered in gravel (using tank silicone) and added a couple of nice fake caves and tunnels. My Mbuna use all of them and seem quite happy with the combo of single entrance caves and tunnels.

Sorry no photos at the moment

 

[The-Wolf]

how about using exo terra caves that are made for reptiles?

this sort of thing
http/www.petsmart.com/global/product_det...282574488339168

I only used petsmart as an example, shop around for the best deal

 

[SarahBravo]

There are also some good ideas at cichlid breeding which I'm sure are DIY do-able!

Sarah

 

[F15H3R]

Thanks for the ideas. It seems there arent many caves out there for sale at my lfs in the area, even the huge PetSmart. Wolf, I walked right by the reptile section and it never crossed my mind to check out the caves for reptiles, thx. Looks like I may end up ordering some online.

One more question..I noticed on another site people were building displays out of cement. Is all cement safe for fish? I have a few bags of Quickrete in the garage I could experiment with, but I need to make sure it doesnt harm the fish. I was also thinking of stacking some rocks and using aquarium silicone to secure them together so they dont topple over.

Thx again

 

[Discomafia]

Just another thread that deserves to be pinned in the DIY forum, but isn't...
The kind of info you need, because the thread talks about using Silicone 1 and gluing sand to pvc pipes or anyother cave like structure.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=54359&hl=cave
HTH

 

[freddyk]

How you make your caves is personal opinion. I like to buy many various rocks and pile them up, as if they just toppled there. This creates a network of variously sized caves and tunnels, from tiny notches fry can inhabit, to caverns for the largest fish. I would never silicone them because I like to rearrange often, and it's easier to remove single rocks when it needs to be done. Color of rocks don't concern me, I like to esablish a healthy carpet of algae on the rocks so the fish can practice their inborn behavior of grazing in the aquarium.

The caves should always have two entrances, that way a chased fish will not be cornered. Also, when you do place the rocks, should you chose to go with them, put them right on the bottom of the aquarium. Placed on top of the substrate, the cichlids can dig under them and cause a potentially disasterous collapse.