Shell dwellers

[Tiapan]

I am interested in setting up a shell dweller tank, either a 10 or a 20 gallon (thanks Mike :evil: ), i have a bag of argonite sand and i can get some shells, im more interested in what other fish can be kept with the shell dwellers without a problem in the hard water they enjoy, preferably fish that occupy other parts of the water collum. and any tips on how to take care of shellys would be appreciated since i have never kept them before.

[ItsDubC]

Re: Shell dwellers

I wouldn't recommend putting any other kind of fish in a tank w/ shellies if u go w/ the 10gal.  U MIGHT get away w/ putting dithers in a 10gal if u keep multies, but multies tend to breed like rabbits and will quickly fill that tank.  I've heard of brevis pairs being kept in 5gal tanks but I think 10gal should be the minimum size tank for any cichlids.  Ur water parameters could go sour pretty quickly in a 5gal tank if u get lazy.

If u really want to keep fish that occupy the upper portion of the tank, go w/ the 20gal and get mollies or something.  These adapt pretty well to the higher pH that your aragonite substrate is gonna bring the water in ur tank up to.  If u want fish that'll occupy the upper parts of the tank but wanna keep the tank Tang-only, 20gal is just not gonna cut it.  This is the best info I've found on dither fish for cichlids:

http://cichlidae.com/article.php?id=42

If ur limited to a 10gal or 20gal for ur shellie tank and haven't already got the tank, try to get urself a 20gal long so the shellies have more floorspace.  This is especially important if u got some ocellatus from Mike.  Occies are very territorial and aggressive for their size.  All three occies that I got from Mike have attacked my hand at one point or another when I've rearranged the tank layout near their respective territories.  It doesn't hurt or anything, but it just goes to show that occies are aggressive enough to attack things much bigger than themselves.  I've managed to ease territorial disputes in my tank by putting in rocks and plants to break the line of sight, but there are still occasional confrontations.

Taking care of shellies should be pretty easy given that u already have sand and know to get shells.  IMHO, sand is a must for shell-dwellers.  It's cool to watch them dig and bury their shells etc.  If u need shells, Cost Plus World Market sells 20 or so escargot shells for like $8.  Also if u need food that is small enough for the shellies, Mike just got the small granule-sized NLS cichlid formula.  Pick some up, my occies love it (as do all my fish).

What kind of shell-dwellers are u gonna keep?  It's nice to know someone else is gonna keep em besides me cuz I wanna know what other ppls' experience w/ em is like.  Keep us updated  

[Tiapan]

Re: Shell dwellers

im probably gonna get some occies from mike, unless i make it to the southern end of town i saw some others for sale at other shops, i also may put them in a 29 gallon so if any other fish types some to mind with a larger size let me know.

[ItsDubC]

Re: Shell dwellers

A 29 has the same footprint as a 20L, so u could prolly put some dithers in w/ ur occies.  A 20L would be too low to put in any dithers w/ occies IMHO.

[Tiapan]

Re: Shell dwellers

you suggested mollies would danios work ok too, tring not to get too much of a size difference, and what does dither fish mean i keep hearing it but whats the diffenition of dither

[armthehomeless]

Re: Shell dwellers

dither fish are generally fast swimming fish that divert the aggression of cichlids off of each other and onto them.

[ItsDubC]

Re: Shell dwellers

I've heard of ppl keeping zebra danios w/ their shell-dwellers, so it could prolly work.  

Dither fish can also have the effect of bringing shy fish out more.  Shy fish  can get used to movement in and around the tank caused by the dithers and therefore might not get as startled by ur presence when u come to watch or feed them.  But occies are not shy at all so u won't have to worry about this.