# Can you have too many rocks?



## wadesdynasty (Oct 16, 2012)

Keep in mind this is a tall 110g.tank.this is not my normal arrangement. My rocks are normally stacked like skyscrapers on each end of the tank.But started having little gang wars over territory so i rearranged all the rocks and cut out the lights for the night to regain peace, and said wow i have a lot of rocks.I like having all the hiding places for the fish and fry.They have been in this tank for years and haven't had any issues (knock on wood) but just wanted a second or third opinion.


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## wadesdynasty (Oct 16, 2012)

sorry for not posting the picture yet,trying to figure it out. if anyone can help i would appreciate the help


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

If you have mbuna, I don't think you can have too many rocks. I find changing the stock solves "gang war" problems better than changing the aquascape.


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

DJRansome said:


> If you have mbuna, I don't think you can have too many rocks. I find changing the stock solves "gang war" problems better than changing the aquascape.


I disagree. I like to see some open areas in my tank. I think an all rock aquascape is drab. As far as "changing stock". I would rather get another plant or rock then buy more fish for an already aggressive tank.


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## Michael_M (May 31, 2012)

Unless you don't have enough fish; removal, substitution, replacement would be the stock changes DJ is referring to. Eg removing excess males, substituting a overly aggressive male for a more typically tempered one, replacing a non-ideal species with a better suited.

I agree that stock changes are the best solution to aggression in mbuna. They aren't like tangs where rock placement can be important, so long as you have plenty in there its going to be suitable.

Do you still have the same stock as your previous thread? 8 maingano + babies?

Odds are 4 are boys 4 are girls, and they'll fight over the limited supply of females. Since you've got juvies growing up what I would do was ID the males (from the original group) and identify the best looking/behaved and keep him and remove the others. Then later when your fry grow up, you can again start to ID males and remove them till you decide the tank is peaceful. I would imagine 3 males would be a good number eventually.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Michael_M is right, a stock change can mean adding fish.


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## wadesdynasty (Oct 16, 2012)

yes Micheal i still have the same stock, there really only 1 or 2 trouble makers though, changing the arrangement seems to have helped for the moment. i do enjoy having alot of rocks, plants ect. in my tank and the fish seem to enjoy having hiding places.


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## wadesdynasty (Oct 16, 2012)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] ... hotostream


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

Oooooh me likey. Very interesting look.


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## wadesdynasty (Oct 16, 2012)

thanks its my 1st Cichlid tank sure its not the last. Just found a new lps that has rooms of 400g tanks of Cichlids,Sharks etc. and i fell in love lol


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## nyccichlid (Mar 24, 2005)

I am considering this now. I have recently taken out about half of the work work from my 125g mbuna tank. I know they love rocks, but I found too many rocks conceals too much debris that gets missed in cleaning. I took all the rock out tonight, and was STUNNED at the amount of detritus hidden in hard/impossible to reach locations. I do a massive water change weekly, and vacuum 1-2 times per week. Once with the water change, and usually once mid week. And still, with all the rocks removed, the tank looked filthy.

I did a large water change tonight, and went with less rock work. The fish are just going to have to learn to live with it. I plan on spending sometime this coming Sunday re-doing the rock work. I re-did it tonight in a rush. I will look to find the middle ground between lots of rocks, and too many rocks.


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## wadesdynasty (Oct 16, 2012)

nyccichlid i do run across that issue but its not too bad and i like the look and it seems to cut down on territory battles.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

If you're not using it already, sand substrate doesn't let the detritus sink in. It comes with it's own problems, though.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Put the rocks on the glass bottom and substrate on top. Then no debris can get under the rocks.

With water changes, use a turkey baster to blast through the piles so you can suck up the debris with your python.

Have 10X hourly turnover from filters to keep all debris up in the water column where the filters can remove it. It's amazing what a difference even 3X extra hourly turnover makes to the amount of debris in the tanks.

Do not stack rocks against the glass or background in one continuous, impenetrable mountain.

That should take care of it pretty well. If I remove my rocks 1X annually it's a lot and the debris is not too bad. Of course, I do it with python hovering to remove any accumulation before it can swirl around.


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