Dwarfs Cichlids

[fish_face]

Hi guys,

I am about to get some dwarf cichlids (i'm thinking agazzasiz, cockatoo and lemon) to go with my two angelfish and catfish. I have a 350 litre tank (75 imperial gal) so will probably get a few.

I have read that they need caves for cover and was wondering if anyone had any ideas about how to go about making one. I have some large and small pieces of lava rock as its quite light, and have used silicone to make a couple to caves so far (not sure if they'll stay together though).

+ Does anyone have any general tips on the care of these fish. I've done some reading and will probably feed them on a staple diet of varied cichlid food with frozen food as a supplement once or twice a week.

Oh and does anyone know any potential problems or challenges with these fish?

Thanks everyone

 

[freddyk]

It really doesn't matter how you form the cave as long as you have one. You can use something as simple as a flower pot or pcv pipe. I like the natural look so I just pile up some rocks to form the cave - a few small river rocks would do the trick and look good.

 

[lucky62]

PVC pipe can be concealed by using rocks around it , same for clay flower pots .

Or as said simply place rocks and/or slate in a way to make crevices big enough for fish to hide , IME even if it looks too small the fish find a way in .Dwarfs may not dig to the extent larger cichlids do , but still be sure the structure is stable

I've also cut in half , scraped clean and boiled several times ........cocnut shells . these will slowly break down in water over time , and will leach into the water whatever is in the shell [ tannins ] , I boiled and drained mine quite a few times before placing them in my tank and have had no problems .


Or for a price ready made caves can be purchased .


As freddy said , as long as you have something . [ NOTHING WITH SHARP EDGES ]

As the saying goes here , the more places you have for your fish to hide , the more you seem to see them .

 

[Seb R]

I personally use shells for my apistos. They're good because the female can swim round inside them and gaurd the entrance- perfect for any fry or eggs.

I also use flower pots alot, but it will blunt every sharp tool you got if you want to get clean cuts.

Coconuts are good too, to be honest I havnt uswed PVC pipes, but when I get a bigger tank I might try to make a network of caves etc, but with rocks and stuff joined togther ontop, so you dont notice the pipes (I actually am quite excited about doing it )

 

[pnyklr3]

I have both pvc pipes and terra cotta pots in my tank (all covered with substrate to "blend in"). I flipped the pots over and chipped away at the rim to make an entrance into the cave. PVC is great because it comes in all different shapes and sizes. You can also have a tunnel with both ends open, or you can get an end-cap and have only one opening.

 

[fish_face]

Thanks everyone for all the great advice!

I've just finished refurbishing the tank and will try to post some piccies of the cave later. I had already used silicone to make two caves, which form the base for the larger structure (all lava rock). I then used some other bonding agent stuff that you can use under water to finish it off. Theres now loads of caves for them all!