10gal shellie tank

[ECH2005]

Ah, I'm still undecided on what I want to put on my nearly-cycled 10gal tank. Now I was thinking about shell dwellers awhile ago, but I found out that they need sand substrate. Darn, I thought, I had already set it up with gravel. So for the time being I had gave up on that idea. Yet after reading more into them, I'm considering them as an option again, even if it means changing to sand and nearly starting over. From what I've read, I could have 4-5 of the smallest type (anyone know which these are?) in a 10gal, with 2-3 shells for each fish.

Other than that, what else do I need to know about shellies? What are the different types that I can have in a small tank like mine? What kind of shells should I get? Does anyone have some pictures of a shellie tank so I can see how it's setup? Anything else you can share will be very helpful

 

[Gunnie]

I plan on setting up a 10 gal. shellie tank with multies in January. This is what I have found doing a little research, plus a thread I started on another forum:

Desktop cichlids

Shell Dweller Corner


Where the Shellies Go

Okay, you got me curious..........

 

[ECH2005]

How many are you going to put in it, and what ratio for male:female?

From what I've gathered they group into pairs, so would 4 (2m:2f) multies work?

 

[Icabob]

Nope, shellies are harem breeders, which means that a male has 6+ females in a group. In a 10 gallon I'd say get 1 Male: 4 females.

 

[ECH2005]

ah, cool, thanks

oh, and also, I've read that shell dwellers can live happily with other fish (non-bottomfeeders) so what fish can I put with them to fill out the top part of my tank?

 

[freddyk]

While multifasciatus is a harem breeder, they've been known to pair off. Their aggression is not fatal and you can have more then one male in the tank. I've actually found females more aggressive.

Schooling fish tend to make good tankmates for them. Danios, tougher types of tetra's...

 

[Icabob]

Yes, female Multis are very aggressive towards eachother, but after awhile that subsides and the male takes over. I think in a 10 gallon only 1 nice male is needed, too many others thinsg could get stressful.