20g Shellie Tank Help

[mislisa]

I've just gotten my own office at work and was thinking of putting a nice little 10g in there (it's been tentatively ok'd) i still need to test the water for ph & hardness etc, but was wondering if anyone can suggest the stocking? i'm looking for something a little different than your average community.

Any ideas?

 

[Blitz]

Mmmm... You can possibly keep two german gold rams. I'm not sure if the blue rams can be kept together. Here are choices:
-Pair of gold rams
-12 cherry shrimp
-10 cherry shrimp and 2 dwarf gouramis
-3 platies (too plain?)
-ONE freshwater crayfish with betta (Wouldn't go with anything super tiny like guppies or endler's live bearers, the crayfish can easily attack it and kill it.)
-4 ADF's (need strong filter, I heard, they're quite messy buggers)
-Could keep a molly, only ONE, though

Ok.. that's all I've got. Ran out of ideas.

 

[webbie]

Lake Tanganyikan shell dwellers a small colony can be kept in a tank that size , Multis would be my 1st choice,no plants to bother with just sand, shells and a bit of rockwork,I started with 6 in a 10 gal tank and they were quite happy and bred a few times as well

 

[mislisa]

Lake Tanganyikan shell dwellers a small colony can be kept in a tank that size , Multis would be my 1st choice,no plants to bother with just sand, shells and a bit of rockwork,I started with 6 in a 10 gal tank and they were quite happy and bred a few times as well

I really like this idea.... i still have to figure out exactly where i'd put the tank, and if i have room i may get a 20g instead.... I still have to chech the water chemistry though, but this is the best idea i've gotten so far!

Any other interesting ideas? I'm all ears!

 

[webbie]

20 gal would be even better tho 10 gal is fine for shellies ,google lamprologus multifaciatus :multis,or L.Ocellatus or L. Brevis and L.Similis ,but in my opinion Multis are the best,you honestly will not regret setting up a shellie tank if you go down that route

 

[mislisa]

Well, i'll definitely be going with at least a 20g. i have a 32" (could be made ~35") gap in my office that i can fill with a nice tank . I believe i will try the multis, as they seem to be fairly easy to get here, but expensive!
I was just wondering if anyone could tell me which supplements/additives i should look into buying? It may be a few weeks before i can actually start setting up, but i can start picking up the little stuff now.

Also, are there any viable tank mates for the multis, or should i just stick to a species tank? or will they swim in all areas of the tank?

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[webbie]

Mislisa you wont regret setting up a shellie tank Multis are fab little fish,regarding additives do you know if you live in a soft water or hard water area?,if you have hard water no probs just add a commercial lake salt,Seachem and Kent marine do some,if your water supply is soft a bit more complicated but very easy to get the right water by adding S.Bicarb,and M .Sulphate both available in your local supermarket,get plenty of escargot shells,available on line,if it was me I would do a species tank only,you could at a push add a small Calvus very slow growing and quite peaceful,mine doesnt bother my shellies at all and if he does stray too close to the shellies they defend their young like a rottweiler with a bone,glad to be of help anything I can help you with just ask!!

 

[mislisa]

the water in my area is soft, i'm afraid.. do i still want to add some lake salt? or just the s. bicarb and m. sulphate? (what are the common names for these? i know i know what they are, but it's eluding me) I've ordered a ton (probably too many) of shell online, i can't wait to get this going!!

oh, and are there any algae-eating critters (fish, snails, etc...) that could go in with them?

 

[webbie]

Differing opinions on adding lake salts to a tang set up but Seachems Cichlid Lake salt isnt that expensive and in a 20 gal tank you wont be using a lot around 3 teaspoons for you initial set up then adjust the amount to your weekly water changes,Magnesium Sulphate(Epsom Salts here in the UK),Bicarb of Soda is baking soda,you might need to get yourself a couple of extra to the norm test kits for G.h and K.h ,but saying that I ran my shellie tank only 10 gal and only ever added lake salts and they seemed happy and used to breed on a regular basis ,not sure about tanganyikan algae eaters but in a 20 gal tank you really just want to keep shellies,the more shells you give them the happier they will be,do you know what your Ph is ?

 

[mislisa]

I just tested the water at my office, and here are the results:
pH is between 7.5 and 8.0 (too dark for 7.5, too light for 8.0)
GH is 200ppm, KH is 90ppm.

I'm afraid i don't really know what this means... i understand the pH, but i'm new to the KH/GH test.

 

[webbie]

Mislisa your readings dont sound too bad ,Ph is a bit low but as long as its constant it should be ok,looking at your other stats Kh /Gh they seem ok,when you set up your tank I would just add some commercial lake salts,Seachems lake salts are what I use,your LFS should stock it or an alternative, if not get it on line,regarding other fish to put in your set up have a look at some Altolamprologus Calvus,Calvus for short ,you could prob keep one with your shellies,get a small one ,they are very slow growing,they do prey on fry but the shellies will guard their young and when your shellies start to breed it wont hurt to lose the odd fry

 

[mislisa]

i've read several different takes on adding salt to the set-up... is this a normal thing to do? also, how much should I add?

Also, if I do get a calvus (beautiful fish!), how many multis could i keep with it? Sorry for all the questions, but this is my first cichlid tank.

 

[mislisa]

also, about the calvus... even if i get a small one, will it eventually be too big to house with the multis? i've read that they can get to 6"! I'm not sure when i'll be able to get a new tank... this will be tank #4 for me.

 

[webbie]

For a tank that holds 20 gal seachem dose is 3 teaspoons,then depending on how much and how often you do your water changes 1.5 teaspoons per 10 gals,I would go for 2 males and 4 females plus a small Calvus I have a small 1" white Calvus with my multis and they get along fine,once your shellies start breeding you will have a nice little set up,ask as many questions as you like thats what this forum is all about,Yes Calvus can grow to 5/6" in the wild but in a 20 gal probably wouldnt grow above 3" and that could take 4 or 5 years

 

[mislisa]

I was also wondering if it might be ok to add a apple snail or two? I love those guys. I won't be getting the calvus, as i don't like the idea of buying a fish that should reach 6" and putting it in a 20g tank...
Any and all input appreciated!