Building a rock hide

[Meerna]

I've seen some pictures of various rock hides for axolotls, but I wonder if people are building or buying them. I figured rather than asking the individual people that post the pictures, I'll ask everyone at once. I'd like to build my own hides out of large smooth rocks, but what do I need to do to make sure the rocks are safe to use? Are certain types of rock bad? Is there a good way to seal rocks that would normally be considered bad to make them safe? What kind of substance (some sort of epoxy?) could I use to keep the rocks together so I don't have to worry about them falling and squishing my axy? I'm the type of person that worries about everything, so I'd always rather be safe than sorry.

 

[onyx2011]

I used aquarium safe silicone to build my little rock igloo! I used polished river rocks, river pebbles, and quartz rocks that were in my garden. Some rocks are not aquarium safe, such as fossils because of the base mineral, but pretty much every rock in the quartz family is axolotl safe! I'm waiting until I get Java moss before I add the hide to my tank, because I think that would be a fun addition for the roof.

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[Meerna]

The rocks I'm thinking of using are somewhat porous, if I remember correctly. I don't know what type of rocks they are, but I read somewhere lava rocks were safe to use and they are far more porous than the ones I'm wanting to use. Do you think they would be okay? I know I could just seal the whole thing to be extra safe, but if I don't have to that's just one less thing to buy.

 

[Meerna]

The rocks weren't as porous as I thought. I soaked them in steaming hot water, scrubbed, let dry, and put them together. My original plan was to create 2 hides, but the little rocks didn't hold the big ones up high enough in my opinion. It would have worked for the young one I'm going to get, but I would have had to adjust it for an adult. So I only had enough little rocks to build one, but I think I like it better this way.

 

[IWishIWasAFish]

I like the idea of stacking the rocks with multiple openings like that. Will have to give it a try with some slate pieces I have.

I happened to just have seen directions about rock safety over here - Axolotl Sanctuary in case anyone else is looking. I'm not quite that level of perfectionist, but they do sound thorough. ;-)