Shell Dwellers

[penguinpimp1990]

What shell dwelling species are suitable for a 10 gallon tank? Should the tank be aquascaped with rocks and shells or just shells? Do the fish need to be kept in pairs or can I have only one specimen?

Does anyone here have any pcis of their shell dwellers tank?

 

[samyboy]

afraid i cant give you any answers but ill check back as im also thinkin of setting up a shellie tank as my LFS has a whole stack of shellie in

 

[Griz]

The best option IMO for a 10 gal is Neolamprologus multifasciatus or Multies. You could keep a single specimen but I wouldn't recommend it, you will miss out on their unique behavior. In a 10 gal I would start out with a pair and eventually you will have a small colony. You will see different opinions on how to best set up a tank for them. Some recommend sand, others do not. My opinion is based on how these fish live in the wild which is in huge shell beds, often several feet thick. They live in colonies and are densely packed into small territories. Adult Multies will tolerate several generations of their fry within their territory. The best setup IMO would therefore be a tank wth nothing but a thick layer of shells in it. Kinda boring to look at for us, but that is their natural habitat. In my tank I have a very thin layer of pea sized gravel which is really just there to help keep the shells from moving about. I added a few small piles of limestone to break things up a bit and planted a bit of java fern into the piles. For multies, you really can't have enough shells, I have 50 in mine and plan to keep adding more. Some other shellies, like Lamprologus ocellatus live in a different environment. They live in sandy areas with fewer shells around. These fish prefer a sand substrate with fewer shells and will actually dig the sand out from under them and arrange it so as to hide the shell except for the opening.

<Jumps at chance to show off pics of Multi tank>

 

[Nick Sw]

Griz I think this is the 3rd time I`ve seen your shelldweller tank it`s great , I `m thinking of something the same , have you got a full tank shot please.

 

[Griz]

Here you go. This was taken a while back. Most of the gravel has been removed, the java fern has grown some and there are now about twice as many shells in there.

 

[Nick Sw]

Yep thats the picture I`ve seen before I couldn`t find it though , what substrate have you got now ?
What are the shells you`ve got and are they big enough ? (i.e. how big do they need to be for Multi`s and what type ?)
*sorry if I`m hi-jacking*

 

[Griz]

*sorry if I`m hi-jacking*

No, I don't think so. penguinpimp1990 did ask about aquascaping so it's relevant.

The "real deal" shells from Lake Tanganyika are neothauma shells. They can be found but a very expensive. I, and many others use escargot shells. They are very similar in size and shape to neothauma except that escargots are thinner shelled and therefore lighter. I like escargots because they are easy to find, most larger grocery stores carry them and if you like to eat them (and I do) all the better. I also like the look of them. They need to be cleaned extremely well since the prepared ones come frozen with garlic and butter sauce. I boil them amd then change the water repeatedly until the water comes clear with absolutely no evidence of a film on the water. Then I boil them a few more times. It may be overkill but I take no chances and boil them a dozen times or more. Other shells can and do work such as turbo shells, apple snale shells, whale eye shells and others. You can order them on-line if your lfs doesn't carry them. Again, they can be pricey. Some of these shells are quite beautiful however and can really add to the look of your tank. I've also seen people using a mix of various types of shells. As far as size, anything in the 1 1/2 to 2 inch range is about right.

 

[jollysue]

I thought they were apple shells. Which of the shell dwellers would do wel with my dwarf petrocolas? Is there one with w bit more color?

 

[Lance76]

I thought they were apple shells. Which of the shell dwellers would do wel with my dwarf petrocolas? Is there one with w bit more color?

I have a 10g with 4 bevis(sp) in the tank,
substrate is a mix of sived coral sand and silversand,
for shells i have a mix of large garden snails , escargo and a few marine snails,

also have slate that devides the tank in half and along the back

they are great things to watch!

 

[jollysue]

got pics? are the bevis shell dwellers? How big? Color?

 

[Lance76]

got pics? are the bevis shell dwellers? How big? Color?

i`ll sort out some photos tonight, and the second i figger out how to post them i will, just a warning, i am crap with a camra.

 

[jollysue]

no problem I've been known recently to post some crap myself.

This is an old thread of someone else's that I bumped up because it addresses the shell dweller. I actually have a thread nearby where I am asking about stocking a 10 usg that has dwarf petrocolas.

Look forward to the pics.

 

[Lance76]

got pics? are the bevis shell dwellers? How big? Color?

i`ll sort out some photos tonight, and the second i figger out how to post them i will, just a warning, i am crap with a camra.

i saw that thread of yours earler, and tryed to google some photos and info about the dwarf petrocolas,but struck out,
so trade you, photos of mine for some of yours!

 

[jollysue]

You got it. Only I will post them in the other thread. I'm doing a little hijacking here.

By the way, many of us use photobucket. We upload to photobucket (it's free) then copy and paste to the tread. I use the img line. The forum has made some changes, but I'm not up to date on them, so I still use my first learn method.

 

[jollysue]

It occurs to me, Lance, that you did not know that the dwarf petros are a Lake Tanganika catfish species. Sorry.