Stocking Help! Shellies and a 30 gallon

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zoose

AC Members
Oct 13, 2014
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Hey! I've been wanting to dip my feet in the cichlid lake for a while and I fell in love with shell dwellers. So I am officially planning a set up for a colony for them. Am open to any, but I really like the Neolamprologus caudopuntatus. A couple questions: Would a species only tank be the most highly recommended? It seems like for a tank this size most people advice to leave em alone, but I'd really like to put at least one other different species to occupy some of the upper areas of the tank. Would ornatus be OK? If there is one type of shell dweller that is more compatible with other fish I would definitely go with that guy (if thats a thing). If it's a bad idea I can be happy with just the shellies :dance2:

Also from what I've read I should get all of them at once to give them equal footing, (was thinking of 6) but I don't like the idea of such a small gene pool! Is getting three from one location and three from another going overboard?

PS totally new to cichlids so any tips would be very much appreciated.
 

toddnbecka

AC Members
Dec 17, 2004
2,808
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38
Cumberland, MD 21502
Caudopunctatus are pair-bonding fish, so start with 5-6 and figure on only keeping a breeding pair after they sort themselves out. Don't worry too much about the gene pool thing, just make sure you get healthy stock. You could keep a trio of sailfin mollies with them, but the endless molly fry will be a pain in the butt to keep moving out as they grow to keep them from overcrowding the tank.
 
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