Hillstream loach stones?

[lynn]

Hi Freshwater aquarium, 400 Litre tank 2 x external filters 1 filters 750 l/h and the other 1000 l/h so large amount of aeration in tank, large surface area... My PROBLEM.... what stone is best for my Hillstream loaches 5 of them... Originally had two but have upgraded tank and i have another 3 on the way... need stone that will not effect chemistry but will attract algae and bed great for loaches to sit on... any help here greatly appreciated lynn

[bookpage]

I think I have seen pictures of hillstream on smooth round river rocks. Here is a link that may be of help:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5765582_clean-river-rocks.html

[Martin Thoene]

Firstly I have to ask where you live. That can have a huge effect on availability of stones. In a rural location you may be able to use suitable pebbles depending on local geology, or in a city you may be stuck with what a local garden cetre stocks.
You are already aware of the fact that you need relatively inert stones so you are looking at non-calciferous types of stone.

This guy's sitting on a granite boulder collected off the shores of Lake Superior in Canada. Granite type stones can be found in various parts of the world.



The deep red is aform of algae growing on the rock.

The rocks in these pictures are granite collected from the same shoreline.







You'll note that plants like Anubius can root onto this stone.





Martin.

[lynn]

Hi Martin thanks, unfortunately i am the latter, so Builders merchants and DIY shops, Aquarium shops etc.

Granite costs an absolute fortune around here as does most igneous rock, which is what i believe i need. So i wanted alternatives that would still grow Algae... I believe i can use terracotta, slate and pebbles (not from the sea, DIY shops). I was wondering if Glass paper weights could be used, something different....

Thank you for your relply Lynn