Whats the best kind of gravel for a african cichlid tank? rock, sand, crushed coral, anything else?

Question

Whats the best kind of gravel for a african cichlid tank? rock, sand, crushed coral, anything else?

Answer 1

gravel or sand which ever one looks the best in your aquarium

Answer 2

Mix some crushed coral (aka CCS, crushed coral sand) with natural gravel.  Cichlids love sand for digging so the crushed coral should do fine.  Keep an eye on your PH levels though.

The crushed coral contains buffers that can make your PH resistant to acid, so if you need to reduce your PH you could run into problems.  With the right mix this should be less of a problem.

Answer 3

I think you should be all set just when you bye it make shore that you check wit a pro so yer sher

Answer 4

Anything would work. I would Prefer Sand cause it looks better and wastes dont get to the bottom of it like coral or gravel. But again, Thats just my Opinion. Good Luck with your Fish!

Answer 5

Gravel, sand, rocks, etc - all are fine.

I would steer clear of crushed coral unless your water has extremely low PH - crushed coral will raise the PH in your tank quite a bit, and could cause problems for your fish down the line.

Many cichlids like to re-arrange their surroundings, so using smaller things like gravel and sand will prevent your fish from running a large rock into the side of your tank and scratching (or worse) the glass. If you're keeping bigger cichlids, this is a bit more crucial than if you're keeping fish that stay smaller.

"Tank Busters" such as Oscars can get a bit overexhuberant with their arrangements.