Lets not highjack the thread here... I just set up a 5.5 gallon tank with shellies (don't remember which ones have to ask BoyFriend) and they are so comical! They are so small to begin with that the tank looks kind of empty, but i am resisting the urge to put any top dwellers in there, once they get a bit bigger (they are like .5 an inch) it will start looking fuller. We have them on a calcium sand black sand substrate and it looks really cool. The only time that we use chemicals (I don't like using them either) is when we buffer up the new water that is added in order to keep the pH constant. Also don't forget about adding Cichlid salt! IMHO it really helps bring out the best in Africans. Best of Luck!
Have a spare 10 gallon...shellies?
- Thread starter HannahJ
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Woah there...just offering my advice based on my own experience. I'm not trying to say I'm better than any other site, but be careful where you pull your info from. Not all those sources are all that credible.
I have had both zebra danios and multi's. Danios aren't meant for such a small tank. Sure, they can fit, but they are far too active in my opinion for a tank that only offers a 20" x 10" footprint. They are frantic, spastic fish that used all the room they could in my 30 gallon tank. Again, just my opinion.
I also see no need for someone just getting into shellie keeping to push the limit of the tank. As I said before, it's best to concentrate on the multi's (or whatever shelldweller it is) as they can quickly overpopulate that size of tank. It's not all about bioload. My multi's in my 55 gal. take up an area of about the same size as a 10 gal's footprint and really aren't all that bottom stuck either. My honest opinion is that one shouldn't get in over their head in this hobby as it can spiral out of control fast.
Fraya wrote:
You can add shells, crushed coral and Texas Holey Rock to achieve the Hardness and PH you desire without adding chemicals and would save you some money and time, the cichlid salts are not necessary unless you desire to use them.
You can add shells, crushed coral and Texas Holey Rock to achieve the Hardness and PH you desire without adding chemicals and would save you some money and time, the cichlid salts are not necessary unless you desire to use them.
Yep, I completely agree with Pitt.
pH really has no affect on fish within the 5.0-9.0 range. GH and KH are far more important. There are also better ways (mentioned above) of obtaining harder water. Chemicals are risky, and expensive.
Haha, woah, the arguing about the danios is a non-issue. I've already got 7 glofish in my community tank, so that's enough danio for me. 
I was thinking more along the lines of how my mom has a handful of glolight tetras that she wants to replace with something more interesting in her science classroom tank (there's a thread on that in general freshwater, actually) and I was kinda toying with the though of taking them for one of my tanks. Haven't decided, though, and I have a good 5 weeks to get this all sorted, if not longer, so I'm in no rush. I'm just playing around with my options, especially as I start working for the break soon and will have some walking-around money at my disposal.
Not to mention, I'm kinda to go-to girl in the dorm for unwanted fish and/or tanks, so more showing up and needing room is always a possibility. I only started out this last semester with one tank with 8 fish in it...
I'm not going to lie, I'm not planning on raising up any fry and expanding the population. If there's a lot of breeding going on, I'm just going to either see if the lfs wants them, or just consider it a second food source for my ghost knife. Mmm....delicious babies.
I was thinking more along the lines of how my mom has a handful of glolight tetras that she wants to replace with something more interesting in her science classroom tank (there's a thread on that in general freshwater, actually) and I was kinda toying with the though of taking them for one of my tanks. Haven't decided, though, and I have a good 5 weeks to get this all sorted, if not longer, so I'm in no rush. I'm just playing around with my options, especially as I start working for the break soon and will have some walking-around money at my disposal.Not to mention, I'm kinda to go-to girl in the dorm for unwanted fish and/or tanks, so more showing up and needing room is always a possibility. I only started out this last semester with one tank with 8 fish in it...
I'm not going to lie, I'm not planning on raising up any fry and expanding the population. If there's a lot of breeding going on, I'm just going to either see if the lfs wants them, or just consider it a second food source for my ghost knife. Mmm....delicious babies.
So, where does one find Texas holey rock? Seeing as how I live in Texas, this makes me hopeful I might have a cheap source nearby. I'm just going to see if I can start gathering the materials for the tank, and if I have them all before the start of the spring semester, go ahead and give it a whack. I'll throw the filter on one of my other tanks to go ahead and get it established before then. Should I be planning on coral in the filter, too?
Not exactly sure where in Texas it is located, but I remember the San Antonio area for some odd reason...
I buy from http://www.holeyrockoftexas.com/ and they have great rocks and prices. Also check ebay.
Keep in mind though that shellies need a lot of space for their shell bed. I wouldn't add a whole lot of rockwork to this tank.
CC can go into the filtration.
I buy from http://www.holeyrockoftexas.com/ and they have great rocks and prices. Also check ebay.
Keep in mind though that shellies need a lot of space for their shell bed. I wouldn't add a whole lot of rockwork to this tank.
CC can go into the filtration.
Yeah I was thinking some accent pieces for the back corners to add a little depth to the tank, especially if I jut go with a species tank. Man, that guy is just around the corner from my parent's place, that is too perfect. And he's selling BN plecos? This was clearly meant to happen. XD
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awesome hannah i am so jealous you live so close to the texas holey rock.
As for multi's they are the true aquatic rabbit on breeding, they will multiply very fast and at an early age, pretty cool for a shellie, just remember they are little cichlids with a big temper so when they do start to breed anything you have in the same tank will be chased and harrassed.
I really would not place live rock in the filter, if you stick with aragonite or crushed coral in a 10gal along with THR you should be fine, as for shells do the 3 or 5 to a fish rule and all is good to go.
Good luck my friend..
As for multi's they are the true aquatic rabbit on breeding, they will multiply very fast and at an early age, pretty cool for a shellie, just remember they are little cichlids with a big temper so when they do start to breed anything you have in the same tank will be chased and harrassed.
I really would not place live rock in the filter, if you stick with aragonite or crushed coral in a 10gal along with THR you should be fine, as for shells do the 3 or 5 to a fish rule and all is good to go.
Good luck my friend..
If you go with holey rock there's no need for the coral. i use coral because my tank has no holey rock. I'm betting you can't find multies at a sexable size, so you'll have to get 6 to try to get a trio 1m2f. I'd go with a lot of shells for this set up. I have 20 for my six, and it's not enough. they live ina 75, and there are only 2 or 3 that can use the shell bed beucase it's simply not enough for 6.
