Cichlid aggression and rescape?

[amcgee2842]

I am going to rescape my aquarium this weekend or next and I bought I bunch of cichlid stones to create a bunch more hiding spots to help cut down on aggression. However I have read the more hiding spots you have the more territorial they can be. So some have suggested placing 2 - 4 big rocks for decoration and to limit the hiding spots so the cichlid's want have territories to fight over. Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.

[Austy16414]

What kind of cichlids? You can try a pile of rocks at each end of the tank, one continuous pile, or if neither of these options produce desirable results, just remove all the rock

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[amcgee2842]

What kind of cichlids? You can try a pile of rocks at each end of the tank, one continuous pile, or if neither of these options produce desirable results, just remove all the rock

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its a 92 gallon corner tank I was thinking rocks on 2 sides and a small pill in middle. It will be mostly dwarf mbuna.

[morpheus]

you will never eliminate all aggression, but my mbuna tank is 75g has two large coral rocks essentially splitting the tank into thirds. then i put a large tree trunk shaped piece of driftwood in the middle so they can go under and through it. on the ends i put some more driftwood pieces as well, more linear but something else to swim around and under for smaller fish. i also went heavier on the fake plants to give some obstacles.

to this point everything seems content. i only have 9 fish in it (and 2 of those are plecos), so more so under stocked. little chasing here and there.

[rmalford]

A few large pieces would be best IMO. You want to have something in there otherwise one will be chased to death with no chance of losing the aggressor. Morpheus seems to have a great balance of aqua scape in his mbuna tank.

[amcgee2842]

y'all know of a good rock yard? I live in Katy near a living earth technology rock yard but the rocks there are more flat for landscaping like moss rock and flag stone. I was look for more bolder looking rocks anyone know of a good rock yard near katy or galleria area.

[Austy16414]

Natural earth products off 59 is a good spot. Champion stone off 249 or any Wayne's location

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[morpheus]

austy's suggestions are a good place to start depending on the rocks you want. the coral rock i bought at petsmart. i never went to any landscaping locations for smaller rocks, some people on here just give them away or sell in the market place


here is a link to my thread when i setup my mbuna landscape back in January. looks mostly the same now, minor tweaks and more fish added.

http://www.houstonfishbox.com/vforums/showthread.php?62027-New-75gal-Tank-Setup

[amcgee2842]

I saw this on another forum this is a 54 corner I think I'm going to use this for inspiration. You think I can find some rocks like that at whole earth products?

[Austy16414]

Champion stone carries black star rock usually. Call to check first

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[mnemenoi]

I'd check lots of stoneyard/landscaping spots, many will have a lot of options and it really up to your preference. I really like the layout in that tank, I'd just be a bit worried about a rockslide. You can always silicone them together and I always recommend diffusor crate underneath. Surprised they went with fake plants, live ones minimally placed are not hard and would look a lot better IMO.

[amcgee2842]

going with a few real plants and I already have a diffuser craete ready to go

[morpheus]

i like the real plant look a lot better too, but my cichlids always just tore everything up and i gave up trying. good call on the diffusor crate too. be sure to take pics when you are done :)

[mnemenoi]

Go with some of the larger Anubias and Java Fern or Bolbitas. They are tough and can stand up to most cichlids I have seen.

[amcgee2842]

I'm going to rescape this weekend. how long can I have my eheim filters unplugged before the bacteria starts to die?