Hi, currently cycling my tank so doing some research.

Its only a 10g tank and i've read that these can be kept in one, i have sand as a substrate which i know is appropriate.

How many can i keep in a 10g, i read they're fiercly territorial so i'm assuming only 1?

Will they eat ghost shrimp or freshwater clams? (i'd ideally like a shrimp or two..)

Will they eat flake food as a staple? Does it need to be sunk?

As they are aggresive i'm unsure about keeping them with other fish, is it possible? Does it make sense to just get a few top or middle dwellers to avoid conflict or doesn't it work like that?

So many questions!Still...better to research.

Is this the right forum for it? Just noticed there's a cichlid part.Sorry!

The are African Cichlids from Lake Tanganikya, more specifically shelldwellers. In a ten gallon a trio would work well 1male/2females, you'll soon have plenty of fry so I'd suggest having a plan to rehome/sell their offspring.

They are pretty territorial, so they should be the only fish in the tank. I'm not sure about shrimp, but I've heard of people having luck with apple snails. You'll want to make sure you have 2 to 3 times as many shells than fish (so for a trio 6-9 shells) so they can pic their territories, large escargot shells (can be ordered online or found at gourmet shops) work very well. Here's a couple of links for more info.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_multifasciatus.php
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/shel...ller_corner.php

What pH should they be kept at?
I like the idea of 3 but the fry thing scares me...reckon i could easily get rid?

Thank you.

This post has been edited by ollyhtafc: Oct 31 2007, 02:56 PM

They "prefer" a PH of 8.2 or higher, and very hard water.

Generally shelldweller fry is easy to sell/rehome as they are a bit more uncommon in the hobby, at least that's the way it is here. However, you could always ask around your local fish/pet shops and see if they would be interested in any resulting fry.

Thanks for the reply..much appreciated.
I assume water harder and pH chemicals are readily available?

What is your PH and hardness now? It's generally not a good idea to use chemicals to change your PH as they don't last long and tend to cause big swings in the PH. A steady PH is far more desirable than attaining the "perfect" level.

However, many cichlid keepers have found adding crushed coral to their filters, or using coral, limestone, or aragonite side as well as limestone or coral (not live rock) for decor helps to buffer your PH and KH. There are also buffers you can make or buy.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php

Thanks.
Need to find somewhere to get these now..my lfs told me i won't find any in shops.
They also said the cycling thing isn't worth doing...apparently if i start adding chemicals the tank will have to correct later.
So i just add water..and wait? It's been running for 2 weeks now and theres 0 nitrite and a reading of 20 nitrate (presumably partspermilion?)

What's that mean?

You will rarely find an LFS that knows what fishless cycling is, much less recommend it. There are a couple of reasons for this, first it's a relatively new process and information in most LFS isn't updated often, and secondly, they lose out on sales if you do a fishless cycle. Think about it, first you have to buy some "hardy" fish to cycle your tank, losses are inevitable, then you have to buy some more fish to replace the ones that died, equaling more sales. By contrast, fishless cycling allows you to add the fish you want without damaging them, and you're not stuck with a species you didn't want in the first place.

There's no "correcting" that needs to occur after a fishless cycle, and the only chemicals you add are ammonia (in a fish-in cycle the ammonia source is fish urine/feces), and dechlorinator, which you need anyways. You also don't have to deal with daily water changes to keep the ammonia/nitrite down enough to hopefully not kill your fish. So, all in all, fishless cycling is the way to go.