Critique on setup
- Thread starter rrcoolj
- Start date
What type of cichlids are they? Tangs, Aulonocara, Mbuna, Haps? I am just going to guess Mbuna going by your avatar. I would spread the rocks out more, making some flush with the sand, and some stand verticle like you have now. The only thing i see about having the rock setup at the moment is that you may not see your fish as often because they maybe on the other side of the rock. My 2c.
rrcoolj;3435655; said:
Seriously, it looks way better. Looks like there's a lot more for the fish inside the rocks, which IMO is really important. Lets have some fish in there as well now.
I'm assuming a mbuna is another name for an african cichlid? Can someone explain this to me please? I'm a noob.
I liked the rock formation in the top one better. That one actually looks a bit hazardous. My friend has a 1 1/2" cichlid, and it keeps digging out the rocks... He has it set up so theres little caves for them to hide in, but this one cichlid keeps ruining it all. Almost every day he has to re-arrange the rocks because they become loose in the sand from his fish digging it out. Is this normal behavior?
If so, I'd be scared to keep a rock formation like you have.
I liked the rock formation in the top one better. That one actually looks a bit hazardous. My friend has a 1 1/2" cichlid, and it keeps digging out the rocks... He has it set up so theres little caves for them to hide in, but this one cichlid keeps ruining it all. Almost every day he has to re-arrange the rocks because they become loose in the sand from his fish digging it out. Is this normal behavior?
If so, I'd be scared to keep a rock formation like you have.
Mbuna are just one type of africans, meaning rock dwellers or some such.
The way you set up the rockwork is by not doing it directly on top of the substrate but rather directly on the bottom glass (or eggcrate if you're using it), and only after you've set it up do you add the substrate. This'll prevent rock slides or toppling from happening when the fish start digging.
The digging is pretty common among most cichlids.
BTW the whole point of putting rocks in the tank is to make caves for the fish, not to make it aesthetically pleasing for the keeper (though I'd personally do piles of rock in any tank
).
The way you set up the rockwork is by not doing it directly on top of the substrate but rather directly on the bottom glass (or eggcrate if you're using it), and only after you've set it up do you add the substrate. This'll prevent rock slides or toppling from happening when the fish start digging.
The digging is pretty common among most cichlids.
BTW the whole point of putting rocks in the tank is to make caves for the fish, not to make it aesthetically pleasing for the keeper (though I'd personally do piles of rock in any tank
).Yeah we have caves for the fish, but I'd be scared to have a huge setup like the one itt and have it topple over with the fish inside. Thanks for the tip about decorating, next time we do a water change I'll mention it. We have huge rocks in there lol, don't want them falling on them.
Thanks for being so aptient guys. I have been real busy. I rearraged the rocks just before I put the fish in so that all rocks touch the sand and is stacked against eachother with the largest in the back and the smallest in the front. The fish love the setup and there are tons of places to hide. It came out very well I think. Here are the long awaited pics. Bear with me on the quality .
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