Snail Shells

[Hels]

Hi guys

as the title says... i looking to buy snail shells suitable for my lake tang cichlids... any ideas about places on the web or otherwise that i can get hold of them???

thanks x

 

[Ben]

Try your LFS
If they dont sell shells, just buy a few snails, breed them, and you'll have hundreds of shells

DD

 

[OohFeeshy]

I think a lot of people use escargot shells, ask at a delicatessen or try ebay.
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Escargot-Snail-Shell...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[cometcattle]

Go to any specialty or gourmet food store and ask for empty escargot shells.

I paid $6.99 for a container of 24 empty, pre-washed shells.

BTW - what shellies are you planning to keep?


For those in the US who cant find them, I got mine at:
http/www.worldmarket.com/index.htm

 

[a.d.wood]

Hi there,

Here's a link for a UK mail order company selling escargot shells, I've used them succesfully with my Neolamrologus speciosus > http/www.frenchgourmetstore.com/11.htm

Regards

Andrew

 

[Hels]

thanks guys...great links!

i decided to go for 3 lamprologus ornatipinnis, and 5 neolamprologus leleupi to go with a pair of juildachromis i've already got... plus a shoal of zebra danios and a bristlenose plec...

once the leleupi have formed a pair the others will go back to my lfs and maybe one of the lamprologus ornatipinnis but she hoped she had picked me a male and two females so they might be okay but i guess time will tell....

the tank is sand with loads of little hiding holes and caves made diy with slate, rocks and stones plus theres a group of plant pots which i thought the ornatipinnis might take to but the leleupi have adopted them at the moment.... plus a range of live plants... im not completely happy with the look quite yet but will post pics when i am....

do you think this set up sounds okay??? anything you would change or could recommend???

 

[Claude]

why settle for falsies when you can have real tang shells ...

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

 

[fish_r_great]

Just so you know Leleupi are known to drag shellies shells and to kill shellies to eat their eggs.

LOOK HERE
read the comments about Leleupi

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1671

I was gonna get some Leleupi with my shellies but, decided against after reading that and being warned by others on another forum with first hand experience.

 

[keane]

I would avoid snail shells personally. Too delicate.

Get sea shells. Much stronger and aesthetically pleasing IMO.

I was in Conwy (Wales) this weekend and saw a stall on the pier that had loads of different kinds of shells, all of them really nice looking, and really cheap (£1 - £2 each and perfect for shellies ) so I bought half a dozen "just in case" i decide to set up a shellie tank in the future .

steve

 

[Hels]

thanks for the help!

i'm going to look into all the links...

fish_r_great - thanks for that... i hadnt realised, i already have the fish so will have to keep a really close eye on them

 

[freddyk]

People can have very different experiences Hels, so it's always worth a shot. I kept Leleupi with Multifasciatus without a problem, but it was also in a 90 gallon tank, and that can make all the difference in the world - your tank should probably be at least 50 gallons to work long term.

I used Apple snail shells for my shellies - I just went to the LFS and dove into their apple snail tank and pulled out any empty shells I could find - a couple of trips and I ended up with plenty, and all free too.