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Natural slate for flooring is what I use for my caves and I have never had a problem. If you plan on using slate for aquascaping, the stuff sold in most LFSs, you want to watch out for a couple of things. Be careful of bits that are severely splintered as the edges can be very sharp. Also some slate is heavy in mineral deposits, you will see this as brownish coloured veins running through the slate. Slate/rocks heavy in mineral deposits can under the right conditions leach these deposits into the water to produce undesirable effects. Poorly buffered water with a PH in the acid range will exacerbate the problem.

Link attached containig some useful information.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/rock_metals.php

Regards.

Adam

The internal dimensions for the terracotta caves are also roughly 25mmx35mmx140mm. they are definate proven breeding dimensions as my zebra's have bred in them lol. I say roughly tho because they are not square inside so there are no corners. they are round/oval inside which makes the zeb feel a little more snug in there. i have also on some of them added an extra inch onto the entrance of the cave and opened it out a little so it creates a sort of overhang and "entrance lobby" to the lurve nest. lol
I havent made anymore yet other than for my own use and im going on holiday for 2 weeks now. when i get back i will make a few more and put them in a new topic for sale if Rob doesnt mind