D.gilly's 20 gal shellie tank.

[D.gilly]

ok i started up a shellie tank and havent got much of a response at Shelldwellers.com so ill try here it would be great for me to get some sexing done im hoping the transcriptus are a pair and i have at least one male and one female multi it would be great if you could sex them thanks. I will try to get some better pics later.

OK so i started my first shellie tank officially today with the addition of 3 multifasciatus and 2 Juli transcriptus ( gombi ) they have been in since 2 o clock today and its now 7:30. I believe that i have 2 females and one male but it is hard to tell as for the Julis i have no clue but i think i have a big female. There has been a bit of aggression already between the 2 julis so i think i might have 2 females or one male and a really grumpy female ::) She has left the multies alone other than a few incidents. I have a few questions so far the multies havent chosen shells or even dug a bit is this normall ? There are mabey 8 shells in there at the moment but 50 + should be here on monday from Cichlid breeding. Also i have 3 apple snails and one has been extremly active and the other 2 have sat around half in their shell are they dying ? i will try to get some pics as soon as i can get them to stand still for a few seconds ::)

Ok picture time please help me identify male/female my fish it would be greatly appreciated !
here is the tank
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11011&stc=1&d=1170036803
Multi #1
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11003&stc=1&d=1170036562[/URL]
Multi # 2
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11004&stc=1&d=1170036562 (http://imageshack.us)
multi #3
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11005&stc=1&d=1170036562
Juli group
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11008&stc=1&d=1170036562
Juli #1
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11010&stc=1&d=1170036562 (http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/3068/juli1ih2.jpg[/img])
Juli #2
[URL]http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11007&stc=1&d=1170036562

[Jayhawk]

I'd give the multis time. Did they have shells in their former home? The shells that look like snail shells are ideal for these guys...I might give them more.

Right now, if the julis are leaving the multis alone, and they have the big tank, and they're too young to spawn...they might not feel a need to take to the shells yet...but I bet they will with a little time.

Eric

[D.gilly]

ha ha whoops my big planted tank got mixed in with them:pc:

In the multies former home there where no shells the lfs guy got tired of trying to catch them and end up having to spend 20 mins trying to coax it outta the shell. There are as i said 50 + shells coming from cichlid breeding should be here next week. im really interested in the sexes though it would be crummy if i ended up with 3 females or even worse 3 males. i see little diference between the 3 so far but one has a slightly more round head. Also one is finally shell dwelling one is thinking about it and the other well it just swims in the rocks. The big juli ( im guessing female has been chasing/ biting the smaller one but there is lots of rocks so im not too worried about it she will kind of chase the multies but never really come near to them no ripped or missing fins yet. It would be greatly appreciated if some one could sex these guys for me there aren't many left at the LFS and if there all females im going to get another hope fully it will be a male thanks for the response! also i cant seem to edit my old post ?

[Jayhawk]

I found time, and size, to be the best way to sex time. Wait, one will be bigger...that's your male.

Sorry - I never had luck with any other method. Looking at the bottom pick, you are good for shells!

Eric

[Rbishop]

Nice pictures!

[D.gilly]

ha thoes picks are horrible im in the process of getting decent ones but thanks for the compliments.

[shmagu]

I can't believe how much we have in common! I'm in the process of getting my 20 long ready for the multis and transcriptus. The tank setup is very similar to yours with the tufa rock along the back. The only difference I see is that I have more of a sandy substrate. I'm really looking for all the information on this kind of setup that you could provide. I'm thinking of 4-5 multis and 3 transcriptus. There is currently a syno cat living alone in this tank and I almost never see him. Would live plants work mixed in with the rockwork along the back?

By the way....your pics do look great! Good luck with the new setup.

[mooman]

If things don't work out then try moving all the rock to one side and all the shells to the other. Or maybe fade the rocks from left to right and shells right to left. Both multis are small enough to be females. Feed them often (they are one of the few species i've had that thrives on flake). Females will be smaller and will develop a slightly rotund belly. Yours look like they could use some bulking up.

I would remove the syno if you want to see any fry.

[KingOfTheDeep]

great looking tanks!

i wish i could find shellies around here

[GirlieGirl8521]

Your tank is very nice! And the Multies are so cute. I eventually want to have a shellie tank, but it won't be anytime soon. ;)

[jm1212]

very nice! the shell dwellers look really healthy

[Fishfriendz2]

awsome tank! I'm getting some shellies next week! :)

[toddnbecka]

I'd add about 2 dozen more shells if you really want a good habitat for a colony. The fry will swim among the shells when they grow large enough to feel crowded inside the spawning shell, and having plenty of cover will increase their chances of survival as well as make them feel more secure. You'll also need more shells when the fry grow out. Females will establish thier own pecking order, but males will be chased off my the dominant breeder.

[H3D]

Awesome tank!