# new "cichlid stones"



## maxtmill (Jan 19, 2010)

Hi All! Has anyone bought the new ceramic "cichlid stones"? I bought a few size small, & put them in one of my tanks. The fish like them. They are rather expensive, though. I plan to set up my show tank within the next week & use Tahitian Black Moon sand - very pretty, but very expensive. My only concern with the cichlid stones is that they are a marbley gray kind of color - will this look funny with the black sand? My other thought was to use flat pieces of slate to build my caves/hiding places. I have a few pieces of slate, but will have to get some more. Of course, I will silicone the pieces together. The advantage if the cichlid stones is that they look realistic but are very lightweight & don not add tons of weight to the aquarium, plus they can be stacked & do not need to be siliconed. What does everyone think? :-?


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## joeshmoeterp (Feb 3, 2010)

I have some and mixed them in with my regular rocks. I think they look more natural this way and still look good with black sand.


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

Hi there. I have seen those cichlid stones you are referring to, although I do not own any, and they aren't bad looking at all. I don't think the stones that can be purchased in the gray color would look bad with the black sand. What color is your background going to be?

Personally, I am trying to make my tank look as natural as possible by making lots of nooks and hiding areas with the lace rock I have purchased. Don't forget that tanks are designed to hold a lot of weight!! HTH!


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

i toyed with the idea of cichlid stones but in the end i simply dumped a whole load of river stones along the back and i think the fish appreciate that and it seems more natural.


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## 748johnd (Jun 30, 2007)

I like them and once they get algae on them they blend in real well.


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## iCichlid (Sep 21, 2009)

Be careful with slate. The edges can be sharp and injure your :fish:


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## locomotive282 (Jun 2, 2009)

Check out the video link in my sig too see my cichlids stones. I love them; however, I wouldn't use them with a black substrate. A medium or light colored sand would be best, besides black substrate requires a lot more light than normal.


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## iCichlid (Sep 21, 2009)

Great video, Locomotive!

What plants are you using? Are your Mbuna's not interested in them?!


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## locomotive282 (Jun 2, 2009)

Anubias, Java Fern, Onion Plant, and Lucky Bamboo, and yes they are very rough on the plants. I haven't been very successful with plants in this tank.


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## LKO316 (Aug 31, 2009)

Where did you get those cichild stones from? I notice you in LA CA . Did you get them from lfs or online?


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## lil_flame33 (Mar 20, 2010)

They have them at dr foster and smiths aquatic online store..... 
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... atid=21383


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## 702Cichlid (Feb 28, 2010)

My question about cichlid stones is whether or not they have another opening or exit to let fresh water in and waste-loaded water out. In some of the DIY threads they say that you should always have another point open for flowing when making custom feather stone or limestone caves. Any cichlid stone owners notice any problems with them? I think they'd make a neat accent piece if they're functional!


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## joeshmoeterp (Feb 3, 2010)

They only have one opening.


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## 702Cichlid (Feb 28, 2010)

joeshmoeterp said:


> They only have one opening.


Kind of what i figured from looking at the website. Anyone notice any problems with that in their tank that use the cichlid stones?

If it's a ceramic do you think it could withstand a drilling from a masonry bit? I just feel a lot better with two points of egress for water.

Can anyone chime in on their own experience with the cichlid stones?


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## locomotive282 (Jun 2, 2009)

No driling them is out of the question. They would not stand up to that sort of abuse. I'm not really sure why you would need to drill them any way.


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## 702Cichlid (Feb 28, 2010)

locomotive282 said:


> No driling them is out of the question. They would not stand up to that sort of abuse. I'm not really sure why you would need to drill them any way.


Research i found said than when creating custom caves leaving only one entrance can lead to a build of 'bad' water within the structure. I know you have them from your video...have you had any problems with them?


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## nhra_20 (Mar 22, 2010)

I have cichlid stones in my tank. Never had any problems yet. My tank has been running now for a few months. I think they look pretty good too after some algae growth. Go good too with some natural rocks or slate. Nice thing about them is that there is no sharp edges for fish to get hurt on. Just hope in the future they make some bigger sizes for the fish oyt there.. They also have a few wood looking pieces and some other decorations that have multiple openings


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## planetnicolas (Mar 16, 2010)

I use some rocks I gathered from streams over the years they are flat and very smooth. They have nice grooves in them from ears o water running over them. They look nice and very natural I'd try that.


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## mekks (Mar 29, 2010)

I just bought a box with 15 of these in it. only looked at a few so far and you can see pretty big brush marks from where it was stained/painted. kinda turned me off on them.


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## firstx (Apr 4, 2010)

I set up a new African Cichlid tank and put those ceramic stones in it, the fish seem to like them. I have a piece of African driftwood too and they really like that as well.


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## master chi (Jan 3, 2010)

CichMomma said:


> Hi there. I have seen those cichlid stones you are referring to, although I do not own any, and they aren't bad looking at all. I don't think the stones that can be purchased in the gray color would look bad with the black sand. What color is your background going to be?
> 
> Personally, I am trying to make my tank look as natural as possible by making lots of nooks and hiding areas with the lace rock I have purchased. Don't forget that tanks are designed to hold a lot of weight!! HTH!


 yeah that's a common response to someone who hasn't tried them but moving them around when cleaning and stuff is much easier than with real rocks so for the beginner it's a pretty solid choice to go plus the cave spawners will use them alot.


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