Shell Dweller question

5.5gal start out with 4 Multi's, sponge filter, lightly dust the bottom with sand, do about 8 whale eye shells, frequent water changes should be fine..

I know you said that the fry is an issue but your not going to be able to tell the sex when you get these guys small, so your only option is to find a breeder and get all males or wait till the they are bigger, Multi's when full grown males will be twice the size of females..

As for anything else Brevis and any other Shell Dweller even a 10gal will be too small so i would say stick with the Multi's..
 
As for anything else Brevis and any other Shell Dweller even a 10gal will be too small so i would say stick with the Multi's..

This is why I said you should start with a 10gal; just in case you decide to choose another species. In addition, if you decide later to keep some multi fry, it would be a good idea to have some extra room for them.
 
Thanks pitbull and efors. I'm thinking I'm going to go with a 5.5 and multies. I'm going to start getting everything together this week, but I'm still open to advise or comments from anyone.

Another question, would any of you recommend getting some rocks that'll help with pH, or due to size just go with the artifical route?
 
You can use some small to medium size pieces of Texas Holley Rock or Reef Base Marine Rock. Both of them will help to buffer the pH. Also, the whale eye shells suggested by Pittbull can help on that a little bit. A substrate like fine crushed coral or aragonite (the main ingredient in Eco-Complete cichlid sands) are great pH buffers too.
 
Sprinkle about a quarter inch of Caribsea Sea sand, either place small say about 2 to 3 inches of Texas Holey Rock or Live reef rock small chunks so that you won't waste space and finally add any shell that comes from the ocean like Turbo shells and all of these decor items will aid in buffering Hardness PH should stay stable if you maintain water changes..
 
i personally think a pair of brevis would be fine in a 5 gal as once they start spawning they dont seem to move more than 4" from the shell, however you say u dont want any fry, so try the multies i guess, i recently setup a multi tank they are nice little fish ;)
 
With that little space you will have to be diligent about removing fry and keeping an eye out for any territory problems. Even though they colonize they can get fussy when cramped. You basically will get fry with just about any species of shelly you try...
 
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