After An Interesting Fish

[ant0]

The tank: 24X12X12 60 litres (15 gallons)

Present stocking:
9X neon tetra
2X molly
1X guppy
1X freshwater shrimp

I'm using a mixtures of sand/ gravel with driftwood and plants. There is also a decent ammount of swimming space. The tank has been up and running for 2-3months now

I was thinking of the Lamprologus similis, as shown here

I have a couple of Qs:

1.) Do these have to be kept in a group?
2.) Would my tank house 2-3 of these?
3.) Has anyone owned them before, how much do they dig?
4.) Would they get on okay with my shrimp?

I've done some research and they seem suited to my water conditions - PH 7.5, hard, 25 degrees C

Thanks for any help

 

[QuotheRaven]

Shell dwellers can be aggressive and usually prefer to be in colonies they need shells on the bottom of their tank and I have read a group of shell dwellers can move all sand on the bottom of a tank to one corner in 24 hours however that was a Hecqui which is a larger shell dweller

 

[dthoffsett]

You should post in the african cichlid section, there are quite a few people there who have shellies.

 

[Xebadir]

Well lamprologus similis is a shelldweller and a cool one at that. Unfortunately your parameters arent right by far: these little beauties require very hard water. In fact ive found they are happier the harder the water gets. I run my shelldweller tank at a ~20 dH(german) and a high kH. Ph also needs to be 8+. These conditions are unsuitable for your community tank.

Maybe a better suggestion would be some Corydoras catfish as a bottom dweller. They would work nicely with your tank and although not ideal for breeding they would be a far better choice than a cichlid. If your really wanting a cichlid to fit your tank a pair of Bolivian rams might do the trick. Both species would get along fine with your tankmates and wouldnt eat your shrimp.

You do realise that for your Mollies to be heathly it requires salt in the water. Which is deterimental to your fish. This lack of salt will cause a premature death.

Hope this helps.

 

[ant0]

yes i do realise about the Mollies, they're doing well at the moment though and i've read that they can still thrive in freshwater. Besides, PH is around 7.5 and water is pretty hard (i'm in leicester)

If i were to get a pair of Bolivian Rams, would 15 gallons be big enough? Also would a pair (i.e. male and female) be necessary as baby Rams wouldn't be convenient!

 

[Xebadir]

I Do believe the best place to direct that enquiry would be the New World Cichlids board, and they would be able to help you. If you need any info on cories just let me know.