Shellie Biotope

[Sporen]

Hi chaps,

well after much planning and uming and aahing I finally completely re-done my tanganyikan tank. I decided after many (many) stocking errors to devote my 100L cube to soley shellies and have planned the entire tank around their needs. I am pleased with the result, just wanted to get other peoples opinions etc. I completed this at the weekend and had a breeding group of Lamprologus occelatus but had a complete disaster yesterday morning when I got up to find all the fish had died. Completely gutted. I have put it down to a reaction to a water polisher I used that had been open for a while and when I read the packet again it stated that you should not use at in water with a high PH. Kicking myself as I have used it a few times over the last few years with my other fish and never had a problem and it was completely avoidable. Strangely all my snails, a rogue shrimp and 2 baby bn that had hitch hiked into the tank all survived and are still doing well. It is my first complete cock up in 15 years and one that I will always regret. I am looking to get a group of new shellies at the weekend after many, many water changes. Anyway, pics below, let me know what you think.

 

[kiriyama]

Genuinly sorry to hear about your loss.... bummer You must be raging and gutted.....
With regards to your tank I have to say it looks awesome , very impressive, I love tanks with no plants in them, like the rocks and the floor space will be good for the shellies.....
Question : What are you going to stock it with now ?
Are you still going to keep the snails and shrimp in there with the B.N. or will the new shellies
munch the shrimp ?


Wanting to do a similiar project starting with 6 Neolamprologus multifasciatus , really stuck on
tank mates , originally wanted it to be authentic Tanganyikan but would now like to add a couple of
Sulawesi Elephant Snails , would like 1 or 2 other fish in there though , going to keep some of
my Amazon Frogbit (only because I really like it)...


I really like the look of your tank , very mimimal but I like the way the rocks are layed out breaking up the shape of the tank and providing a few hidy bits. Be good to see it when stocked again

 

[Sporen]

Thanks for your sympathy, I am gutted and keep having a good cry about the whole thing. Well if I can catch the BNs they will be moved to another tank until they are a bit bigger and then they can go back to the LFS. The shrimp is clearly made of tough stuff so I think he can stay. He has survived with my dwarf puffers, the shellies, a pair of brichardi, a goby cichlid and my cyprichromis group so is quite fearless. Also quite large now! The snails can stay as I just use them to keep the sand aerated. I am looking to stock it with another group of shellies but I am undecided what kind. I would love one of the more unusual ones but it really depends on what I come across. I will be visiting 3 or 4 shops at the weekend though so hopefully there will be some good choice and quality stock. I am going to set up a small tank for 3 multies in my bedroom as well, I had used it for growing on fry but I would like something a bit more permanent, looking to create a similar look in that tank too.
What size tank are you looking to set up then? Would love to see some pictures when it is conpleted!

thanks

Lauren

 

[kiriyama]

Quick question (or 2)
What kind of shrimp is it and waht kind of snails ? (just nosey)
http/www.tropicalfish.org.uk/index.htm
http/tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/stores_products.asp?store=54
These 2 sites look ok , not suggesting a purchase but might give you some food for thought

 

[dthoffsett]

Oh, that's terrible about your fish. Love the tank though and looking forward to seeing what you end up stocking it with.

 

[Sporen]

I am not sure about the shrimp. He was sold as an algae shrinp, lol. He is completely clear if that helps. The snails are a mixture, they were mainly stowaways on plants. There is one big old ramshorn, tadpole snails, malaysian trumpet snails and some assasin snails to keep the tadpole snails breeding in check. Thanks for those websites, Trimar's one looks good, luckliy I live 30 mins from Wildwoods so think I will have a poke around there first but if they haven't got what I want it looks like Trimar will be a good bet!

 

[kiriyama]

30 mins from wildwoods ,
not fair , im so jealous, 2 LFS , 1 of them is a pets@home, none of them stock "that kind of thing" , best bet would be Edinburgh which is 1 hour on the train , need to save up more , , ,
Let us know how you get on

 

[Sporen]

Right, had a successful trip to wildwoods. Got myself a nice group of 6.Only problem is I am not sure what kind of shellies they are........Any suggestions? Either way they are great little characters and seem to be settling well. Have spent the last few hours re-arranging the decor to their liking!

 

[ashemely]

Congrats on the new fish. They look to me like Lamprologus ocellatus. Here is a link to a site with different Tang shelldwellers, most profiles have photos, you can take a better, closer look at your fish and compare if you like.

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=14

 

[AdAndrews]

Tank looks awesome, as do the new fish

 

[kiriyama]

Congratulations , looking good , I wouldn't be able to tell you what they are , have a look at this http/www.cichlidrecipe.com/shellweb/shell_intro.htm
What kind of rocks are in the tank ?
Project started , finally got some coral sand and a baby bristlenose..... awe
Well done on the fish , are you adding anything else ?

 

[Sporen]

Well I am still non the wiser about what sort of shellies they are. Definately not Lamprologus ocellatus. They have a thick yellow stripe accross the top of their heads if that helps, not sure how well that has shown up in the pictures. They are lovely though and are busy re-arranging all the sand in the tank. I don't think I will be adding any more fish to this set up as I am hoping they will breed and I don't want it to get overstocked at an alarming rate! I don't know what sort of rocks they are to be honest besides expensive ones. I really wanted dark ones though and didn't really want slate so there wasn't many options to choose from. I have also got a trio of Lamprologus meleagris for the tank in my bedroom now and they are also settling in well although I suspect at least 2 of them are male
Awe, baby BNs are adorable, there are 4 in with the meleagris and 2 in with the mystery shellies. They will have to go when they are a bit bigger though. The giant shrimp is still doing well, he is the same size as the shellies which I think they find a bit off putting! What kind of rock are you going to use in your set up?

 

[kiriyama]

Neolamprologus brevis ?

 

[ashemely]

K, I sort of ruled this fish out because one of the pics of your fish looked so much like an ocellatus, but maybe your shellies are juvie Lamprologus Calliurus?

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=2268

This could be good or bad news, depending on your tank specs. A five inch shellie?! That should be interesting.

 

[kiriyama]

Hi , still struggling to ID your shellies,
you asked about stones , relly liked the TGM blue stone in AdAndrews tank , awesome , had been looking at this http/www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/fish/decoration/natural_decoration/natural_rocks/43353 with a small piece of this http/www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/fish/decoration/natural_decoration/natural_rocks/43352.
Spoke to Dobbies on the phone and they have some ocean rock , will probably put in a couple of pieces to start with, still have the idea of a terrace cave area but time will tell, was going to go Wednesday morning but the mrs has ordered me to relax as its the only few hours I have off work just now , shes promised to take me on Thursday evening though ,
Anyway probably more on there than you asked for , good luck with ID on shellies.......