Anyone here own shell dwellers?

I've got a 20 high with 9 Multis in it (started with six). It's got a plateau in the middle of the tank planted with Vals and murex shell beds on either side of it. Pretty easy. I have three small filters running all the way across the back, one with a sock-full of crushed coral, and the other two with bio and mechaincal media. They're pretty much hassle free.

Thinking about getting some Stapps or Occies in the not too distant future.
 
multies and occies, from what i've seen, are pretty completely different... maybe my experience isn't typical, but i didn't think that my occies would survive each other. the multies i have currently are... boring. maybe i need to put some more menacing fish in there with them (but which are too big to fit into a shell-- i had to rescue a zebra danio 2x and i think some platy also died in there, not to mention something else... suuucked. stupid fish.

giant danio? too much?

anyhow, the multifasciatus so far have been too boring, honestly, for me.
 
anyhow, the multifasciatus so far have been too boring, honestly, for me.


Yeah, as cichlids go, they don't do a hell of a lot.
 
in a 20gal multies can kill off the occies as they grow up faster
 
hooray! my multies spawned... i caught sight of three or four absolutely tiny fry, in amongst my pile of shells. there's not much digging that happened, oddly enough. maybe because the pile was two or three deep...
 
cool deal i have a pair that spawned as well but i only see 2 tiny fry right now..
 
I use my multies as dithers. They're ina 75 tang community with an ocellifer, 2 elipsifers, a pair of black calvus, some paracyps, a yellow comp and a juli mal. Everything had it's place and territory and didn't move much, but put in some multies and all of a sudden everything roams the tank as if they're actually hunting. I figure the more fish, the safer they all feel to roam. I never watch them for personality, but my girlfriend loves them and wants to add more to the tank.
 
cool deal rogersb i am the same way i like to see my fish roam around and not stay at a fixed station aye, actually my multis are little punks but that is expected because of their fry..
 
cool jpappy yeah they breed like rabbits aye i have a few batches of that have formed a colony it looks like shell city in my 55gal .....
 
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