Neolamprologus Similis

[WAG741L]

Please, if you are thinking of buying Shelldwellers, privately or otherwise, read the following.

It has has been a salutory lesson - and I guess one learns by experience, but I would not want a another fish or another person to go through what has happened today.

We collected the Similis, supposedly 1 male and 2 females, this morning. We were given a bag of shells in water, and a bag of shells not in water. I did not actually get to see the fish before we took them away, they were already bagged. By their very nature, they hide in a shell when they are threatened, and as they had been moved from their familiar environment, they were not in evidence.

We paid the asking price in good faith - I joked that we had probably bought a lot of empty shells. But it was much worse than that.

The two bags were placed in an insulated box, and taken home (about 30 minutes). The shells with water (supposedly containing the fish) were floated in the aquarium. We thought we would arrange the empty shells in the aquarium, ready for the fish to swim into when they were released.

There was a little dead body in amongst them - sadly, the male of the three Similis had been hiding in a shell which was placed in the waterless bag.

PLEASE, PLEASE, if you are buying shell dwellers, place ALL shells which have housed fish in the aquarium in a water-filled bag.

The two females are fine, and are diving in and out of their shells with enthusiasm. It would be nice if the male were, too.

 

[cometcattle]

Sorry to hear it WAG741L.

IMO, if the seller can't replace the male, he/she should refund ALL your money. You really need both sexes of any type of shell dweller to fully appreciate their behavior. IMO, unless you're just moving them from one tank to another in your own home, they should be removed from the shell for any type of transport. Also, it's not unheard of for a shellie to panic, go to deep in the shell, and get stuck.

Hopefully the seller will make it right. Good luck.

 

[WAG741L]

Thank you for your reply, Cometcattle.

The seller cannot replace the male. He bought all three fish about two weeks ago, admitting it was an impulse buy. They were kept with other assorted fish over the period that he had them, and I would guess that they stayed in their shells.

Seeing the advertisement, I read up about them and became very interested. I had never seen them before, and it seems they are not widely available, as I will explain.

Because I had never seen all three fish live, I did not know which of the sexes had died - the colours were fading fast, and the breed is hardly flashy, anyway. I had to ring around local aquarium shops to see whether they had any, which they didn't. I could only find one supplier with the fish in stock - about 200 miles away, and they won't/don't send.

One shop (about 30 miles away), said they might, MIGHT, be able to get some, and the proprietor seemed quite familiar with them, so I asked if he could sex the dead fish (sooner rather than later). He agreed, so I took the little body in a small glass of aquarium water. The lfs were pretty sure it was the single male, so now I have two females.

I will know this week whether the lfs can locate any more, but I am anxious that the fish live in the best conditions, with the right mix of sexes. I am keeping them by themselves, I see more of them that way! They are really fascinating, hovering above their chosen shells, and diving in fast if my dog goes to look at them!

As to a refund of any description - no chance. Lots of 'sorries', one 'REALLY sorry', but nothing else.

That is pretty disappointing morally, but my absolute horror is that the fish suffered and suffocated needlessly in a bag of shells with nothing more than condensation to breathe. He was almost certainly dead before we even arrived to pick him up.

I'll let you know if we manage to find another male. It may take some time.

If anyone else out there can help, I am in West Sussex, and will travel. However, 200 miles would be traumatic for me and the fish!

 

[cometcattle]

What size tank are you keeping them in?

It might be difficult getting a LFS to order just one, so you might have to order a few.

Here's a few online UK dealers. Even if they don't have it on their stock list, they may be able to locate them for you:

http/www.rift-valley-cichlids.co.uk/
http/www.chaplinassociates.co.uk/availability.php
http/www.lakemalawi.co.uk/index.html

 

[WAG741L]

They are at present in a 10g by themselves.

I actually have a 24" x 12" x 21" flat hex, which I will be putting together over the coming weeks, and also a 5' x 18" x 21" Seabray which is earmarked for Malawis eventually. Both tanks are currently empty and awaiting a clean and polish (figuratively speaking!).

I also have a 4' x 12" x 15", which I bought second-hand, complete with fish. Although the fish are the choice of its former owner, and not mine, the set up was what I wanted, so I will feed them and look after them until their time comes. This would actually be an excellent home for the shellies, being long and shallow, but I don't think the existing occupants are compatible. It may be why the former owner did not want the shellies - I can imagine that if they are constantly disturbed by darting fish, they spend most of their time in their shells.

The lfs whose manager seemed to have most common sense and knowledge of Similis said that he would order at least two pairs if he could, and I could have pick of males. He said he would not mind keeping them again himself, so I inferred that he might have the ones I don't have. In my research, though, it seems that one males does best with two females, and that one might be able to keep two groups of one male/two females. What do you think? They are not exactly overcrowded at the moment, but it depends whether one can keep more than one male. It also depends whether they are old enough to sex!

I've no idea what I am going to have to pay for them, I did not ask.

Thank you for the links, I may well follow these up, although the closest is about 150 miles, so if my lfs can get some more Similis for me, I will go with this - it will be less traumatic for the fish. It was good to see the links, though, and to know what is available.

I will keep you posted, if you are interested.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[cometcattle]

If you can re-home the fish in the 4' x 12" x 15", that would make an incredible shell dweller tank. You can keep multiple males as long as you keep the ratio at 2 or 3 to 1 and have enough shells. Also, you might look into making that 4'er a Tang mini community with some small rock dwelling species at one end of the tank, and a colony of shellies at the other.

Keep us updated.

 

[WAG741L]

I would love to set up the 4' for shell- and rock-dwellers!

But I doubt I could rehome the fish I have in it, they are of indeterminate age and not of any great specialist interest: red-tailed sharks, a couple of two-spot gouramis, a single barb (sadly), couple of penguin tetras, bristlenose (I wouldn't part with him anyway!), CAEs (not a great idea, I know, but what can I do?). They live in relative harmony, so they will remain until the numbers drop and I can put them elsewhere.

But it is a great suggestion to include rock-dwellers with the shellies, and I will research it.

The tank is in a hall, giving interest to a dark area - do you think the shellies/rockdwellers would mind the traffic, or would they prefer to be somewhere quieter, as they are at the moment?

 

[cometcattle]

The tank is in a hall, giving interest to a dark area - do you think the shellies/rockdwellers would mind the traffic, or would they prefer to be somewhere quieter, as they are at the moment?

I doubt they'll mind the traffic. It will just take them a little while to get used to it. I have a couple shell dweller tanks in high traffic areas.

 

[WAG741L]

Then that's my long-term plan. The 4' will show them off to great advantage.

Have still not heard whether I am able to obtain more Similis from the lfs, will keep hoping.

Thank you for all your input, and I will keep you posted.