Underwater gallery cichlid stones

These things?

Underwater Galleries Cichlid Stone Kit, (From Chewy.com)
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We've been seeing pictures of those in members tanks. And well, they all seem to like 'em okay.
I dunno.... I'm more of a natural stone, aquarium furnisher. But, with a coat of algae to soften the look and maybe more (natural) stones to sort of bury and surround them....?

Auballagh said:

These things?
View attachment 147704
Underwater Galleries Cichlid Stone Kit, (From Chewy.com)
-
We've been seeing pictures of those things in members tanks. And well, they all seem to like 'em okay.
I dunno.... I'm more of a natural stone, aquarium furnisher. But, with a coat of algae to soften the look and maybe more (natural) stones to sort of bury and surround them....

Click to expand...

I have some and I have used regular (real rocks) in the past.
Each has pros and cons.

The pros of the artificial stones are:
1) Fish love them. Not just mbuna Or other cichlids. Any fish that appreciates hiding places. Plecos, loaches, etc.
2) If you turn the hole away from the front of the aquarium they look very natural, especially when algae starts growing on them.
3) They are light so redecorating or cleaning under them is easy.
4) They are shaped so that it’s easy to build them into rock piles. Because of the light weight, you don’t have to permanently fix them together to avoid a disaster if one falls….but i have never had one fall because of their shape. They fit together almost like a jigsaw puzzle.

Of course, there are cons too.
1) Way more expensive than real rocks.
2)Very fragile when out of water. If you drop them, they will break if they land on a hard floor.
3) They are a lot smaller than they look. Only the medium and larger sizes work well for most mbuna.
4) Fish love them. Why is that also a con? Because fish that are too large try to cram themselves into rocks that are too small. I have ne had any get stuck, but I know someone who has. But I had that happen with a real rock too. Just something to be aware of.

Overall, I really like them. I got lucky and found most of mine used for a really cheap price. I only had to buy a few more new ones for enough.