I plan on building a cave or two carved into a large rock for cichlid breeding. From what I understand, cichlids like to build their own "caves". Will a ready-made cave work?
Cichlid Caves
- Thread starter grottosandfins
- Start date
Both times she spawned my A. Cacatuoides found the smallest little cave in a piece of bogwood. I think they like the confinement. Most of the breeders I've seen use flowerpots. I think caves made out of shale in the side of a hill of gravel look more natural. If you pay more than a couple dollors on the cave the fish will surely snub it. (Murphy's Law)
You can make a cave out of anything really. I made several caves in my 55 gallon cichlid tank from limestone. I arranged the rocks so you can see the fish hiding in their caves.
http://enginecontrol.dyn.ee/Images/Jag/Jag0001.jpg
Its not the best pic, but you get the idea. The limestone is a lot bigger than it looks. The jag in the pic is at least 8".
When the fish dig, its not really a cave but can still be used as a spawing site. All the larger south/central american cichlids I kept spawned in nests they have dug out in the gravel. The african cichlids seem to like flower pots and caves more. Even if you have south or central american cichlids, the cave is still really cool.
http://enginecontrol.dyn.ee/Images/Jag/Jag0001.jpg
Its not the best pic, but you get the idea. The limestone is a lot bigger than it looks. The jag in the pic is at least 8".
When the fish dig, its not really a cave but can still be used as a spawing site. All the larger south/central american cichlids I kept spawned in nests they have dug out in the gravel. The african cichlids seem to like flower pots and caves more. Even if you have south or central american cichlids, the cave is still really cool.
Grottosandfin
What kind of cichlids are you going to breed? I'm sure Limestone works great for Jonathan's africans. Just in case you are keeping south american cichlids, limestone and some other types of rock will cause ph to rise (good for african's, bad for south americans). I know that shale will not alter ph. Bog wood lowers ph (a little) and my apistogramma love that (see above post)
What kind of cichlids are you going to breed? I'm sure Limestone works great for Jonathan's africans. Just in case you are keeping south american cichlids, limestone and some other types of rock will cause ph to rise (good for african's, bad for south americans). I know that shale will not alter ph. Bog wood lowers ph (a little) and my apistogramma love that (see above post)
cyberbeer65
Scratch Glass!
cyberbeer65 said:
Agreed. I naddition, my tap ph is 8.7 so the limestone won't make much of a difference. The ph will always be that high since its my tap ph. I got the limestone from the woods around my house and cleaned it up. There is lots of limestone nearby so I have a really high ph. It really makes great rocks for the aquaroium though. There are all kinds of fossils in the rocks.
The tank with the limestone has a jag (from central america). He has been in there for 5+ years. Right now he is sick, but it has nothing to do with the limestone. As soon as my web site gets back up, you can see the pic. The web host seems to be doing maintenance right now.
I agree fish, if given a stable ph over a perfect ph fish will do better, but if he's trying to breed them, he should try to emulate their natural water conditions. Hardness and ph can both be affected by the type of rocks used in a tank. Both ph and hardness can affect egg fecundity, sex ratio, and the general funkalishis mood :dance that you would want to create in a breeding situation. Shale/bogwood/flowerpots for SA cichlids, limestone for Africans.
cyberbeer65 said:
Not so...
And if you didnt have to, why would you? Make your tank to suit your fish... they are after all supposed to be the reason for the tank in the first place... why not try to make them happy?
grottosandfins, what type of cichlid are you breeding? Some need caves and some dont... and the size of the fish also needs to be taken into consideration. Also, make sure its nothing that can collapse on your fish because they will most likely 'dig' around and re-arrange things to how they like.
-Diana