best rock deco for tang tank

[ukpoduk]

hi, im looking at setting a tang tank, i have decided to use silver sand mixed with some crushed coral for substance but wanted to know whats the best type of rock to use?,
i was thinking of red lava rock but unsure , please advise.. thanks

 

[bolty]

i use red lavalock with my tangs and they do fine, my brichardi have layed on them and the synos hang out under/over them so if you like it go 4it, i also use it in my malawi set-up along with coral sand, plus lava rock is nice and light so you can pile it up in the tank

 

[ukpoduk]

i found a post on another site that said lava rock could damage the mouths of some fish due to it being rough , is this possible or are the risks minamal ?
thanks very much for your reply

 

[Oddball]

Tangs, like Tropheus, graze by scraping rock. Lava rock can hurt them. I use Texas holey rock, cretaceous fossil blocks, quarried coral base rock, lace rock, moose/elk/deer antlers, and aragonite in my tanganyikan tanks. It all keeps the pH up for the tangs and doesn't hurt them.

 

[Taz2478]

yeah, smooth rocks are best. My 30G (L) has 4 smooth peices and 1 center lava rock. Looks great and gives lots of hideing spots.
I have brichardi and calvus in with no damages.

how big is your tank?

 

[bolty]

mine have no damage and the fish are doing fine in there!

i have a trio of fronts
2x calvus
2x Compressiceps
4x brichardi
1x tang syno
6x ? syno's

the best pics i have and you can (maby LoL) see the fish are good shape as in the body and mouth.

my fronts are the 1's that pick of off the rock the most, i have not had Tropheus but i no they will have more mouth to rock than any of mine

each to there own... . . . and im staying with the red rock

 

[ukpoduk]

well ive cleaned my tank out and put the sand and crushed corla in , and have bought some ocean rock and lava rock , i will be just puttiong in the ocean rock first then if needed i will add the lava rock , thanks every one for your thoughts

 

[Super G]

They work nice.

 

[Oddball]

All the fish posted so far will be fine around lava rock. Note that my recommendation to not use it is for algae grazing species like Tropheus sp.

 

[grottosandfins]

I always prefer smooth rock as fish can injure themselves if they scrape against sharp edges.