# Cichlid Hiding Spaces



## JerseyGiant88 (Jun 17, 2009)

*** got a 75 gallon tank and im trying to get more decorations that my cichlids can swim into and hide in. i bought one skull ornament, which was immediately claimed by my most aggressive african cichlid, and he doesnt let any other fish in except my pleco to do house cleaning.

i went to a store today to see what i could find but they're ornament selection was quite lacking and they were selling rocks at $2 a pound, which i find to be an outrageous price. ornaments in general tend to be quite expensive it seems. i was wondering if anybody had any ideas on some affordable yet cool looking stuff to put in my tank.

also, if i just pick up some driftwood down by the river, is it ok to throw it in the tank?


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

i wouldnt use druftwood out of a river due to many parasites u could be introducing into your tank.....as far as rock goes just go rock hunting in ure backyard or elsewere...if u go to lanscaping stores they also have some pretty cheap rocks and a nice selection at that.


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

I would take a walk down by the river and see if you could find some smooth looking rocks or even some mid sized boulders like the size of a bowling ball and clump these together to form caves. In my opinion manufactured fish ornaments are way too expensive, not to mention unatural looking in a tank.

I wouldnt use any driftwood for the same reason as brant mentioned. If you want to use it, buy it from a pet store.


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

You can get limestone from most landscape depots for quite low prices. I think I paid nine bucks for about 60 pounds of rock - not everyone likes the looks of BIG pieces, but they provide some nice caves, and just as importantly, sight-line breaks. This is my 38 gallon: only a few true caves, lots of chasing, but no fights and no ripped fins on any fish:








And assuming you have Africans, it can only help with your buffering.

kevin


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

ridley25 said:


> - not everyone likes the looks of BIG pieces, but they provide some nice caves, and just as importantly, sight-line breaks.
> 
> I agree. I found that using fewer bigger rocks in my tank looked very natural as opposed to many smaller rocks in a pile.


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## JerseyGiant88 (Jun 17, 2009)

thanks for the suggestions. i actually did go down by the river and found a nice cracked piece of some old ceramic pipe which looked like it would provide a nice wide tunnel for the fish to swim through. i boiled it to make sure to get the dirt and mud off plus kill any parasites or bacteria. is there anything else i should do to make sure its ok?


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

that should do it :thumb:


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## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

make sure its not glazed or has any other sealants on the pipe. pour some vinegar on it it it bubbles ditch it.


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## gurvir19 (Apr 4, 2007)

I had a rock setup in my old tank 75g but now i have a 150 gallon and going with malaysian driftwood...only bad thing is you gotta let it soak in water 3-4 days to get all the tea color out


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## Addesyn (Jul 1, 2009)

Someone told me to put it in the dishwasher on hot (with no soap of course) for a few cycles and that will water-log it so it sinks and kill any thing on it.


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## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

it will help it wont do it all for you though. you will still probably have to sake the wood a little while.


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