I doubt lava rocks would work as well as what is considered the standard method of stacked plates with gaps between plates. This type of structure mimics bark peeling away from trees which is what SFS mainly use in nature for deposition of eggs. I am not sure current is all that beneficial for egg development UNLESS there are a lot of suspended solids in the water that can coat eggs and decrease or restrict DO movement into the single layers of developing eggs. Current would help keep water moving around the eggs. Lava rocks with the small divot like holes would collect adhesive eggs in the holes, although I question how much water movement and oxygenation the eggs would receive. Also I wonder if the SFS would even use the porous lava rock as a place to deposit eggs. May experience is the SFS are pretty instinctively selective as to where the male establishes a territory as a location for the egg laying ritual. Instinct can be pretty influential. Even the spacing gap of width of the crevice is critical to these fish. I have very good success with what has worked very well.
There is a small scale fish grower near me that produces SFS for the local bait and some pond stocking. He is on a learning curve adventure with this. When I need higher numbers of the SFS I go to him for 100s to 1,000s. . At this point he does not ship any stage of SFS as it it too much trouble collecting, boxing, and delivering the package to the shipper.
RAH you are very welcome to experiment with the lava rock idea and method. I am very interested in the test results.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 02/20/22 02:49 PM.
