Shell Dwellers

[BigIan]

I`ve read the fish index, and seen the lamprologus similis. before i`m directed there...


My gf and i have a tank were wanting to set up and were either going for dwarf puffers, or i`m wanting something more active,

so do shell dwellers acctualy live in shells?
how do they act ect, how many can fit into a 30 g tank

and what water peramiters do they need?

 

[Ginge]

I think they like water the same as most malawis which is 7.5-8.5 but might be wrong. And yes they do spend time in shells but im not top sur ehow often they some out or how active they are.

 

[mamafish68]

their Tanganyikan not Malawi

if wild caught they prefer higher ph then mentioned before, closer to 9.0 but the chance of getting a W/C is rare for newbies and if you do find some snatch them up. their fairly prolific so they breed well in captivity. ph should be on the higher end of 8.0 levels if tank raised.

while some shellies are extremely active some can be pretty docile and even very timid, rarely leaving their shell or the area surrounding it.

30 gallon is a good size tank for a nice colony of MULTIES or OCIES. both are active and will give a good show.

plan on having extra 10g tanks around for the fry they will produce, as I said earlier, they are prolific little bulldogs, the nick name "bulldogs" was given to the OCIE because they act just like them.



FUN FISH

I highly recomend them. I have a colony of strappersii myself pics in link. also a good sight for info would be www.finsout.com

 

[BigIan]

thanks alot mama fish, what sort of shells, do they like? and how should the tank be laid out? similar to a malawi set up with a wall of rocks then sandy parts with the shells in?

water chemistry isnt a problem as i learnt alot about how to stabelise ph and gh/kh as my water is rather soft and i have some large swings in ph when i first set the tank up.....

 

[brewyn]

I didn't know that the Aplocheilus lineatus were a tang, my lfs have some and Iv'e had my eye on them for over a week now!!!!! should I, or should'nt I?

 

[mamafish68]

Tony, it's not a tang, infact it's a cyp from India/sri lanka and I would not recomend it for a cichlid tank unless you mean it to be food.

Ian, you really need to get a handle on keeping the ph stable first, tangs or any cichlid for that matter thrive in a stable oph even if it's 7.5 more then they would survive a unstable, bouncing ph.

look into CRUSHED CORAL and LIMESTONE to aid in buffering the ph. If I were you I'd set up the tank and have it running with water changes that rflect a constant ph before investing in fish.

they like all different kinds of shells, as long as they can get in with out getting stuck. once again, on the link there should be pictures of my shellies and also in that WWW.FINSOUT.COM site are some amazing tank pics.

 

[brewyn]

sorry, I thought it was as it is on that link you have given, www.finsout.

 

[mamafish68]

it's in there alright but origin shows india, as a live bearer I wouldnt recomend for a cichlid tank but one to it's own would be nice & colorful

go for it!! do a species tank maybe with some nice plants too

 

[Ginge]

Sorry didnt mean to post wrong info. And mammafish i meant they prefer water to malawis i didnt say they were malawis(wrong again) Sorry again.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

cool thanks for all the info, just to note, it's a 4 foot long 30g so quite long and relatively shallow, not sure how much difference that would make to potential numbers and species?

I really like the look of the Neolamprologus brichardi, it say's you can have 'a colony' in a 30g..... what sort of number is that... and male-female ratio?

thanks

 

[Ginge]

Well height is the least impotant aspect of mbuna tanks. Id say about 8 maybee a 1:7 or maybee 1:3