Shell Dwellers

As for theoretical tank mates.... anything from Lake Malwai would work
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I'd stick with lake tang species. In a 20g long you could probably keep a pair of shellies and a pair of small julies (J. transcriptus or J. ornatus). the key would be to have a reef at one end (rocks stacked almost to the top of the tank) and open sand with shells at the other end. Shellie species vary on how much territory they require. Brevis only need about 4-5in around thier shells while multis seem to take the entire tank.
 
ya'll do realize you're enabling MTS sufferers right?? lol
 
I just love my multies! I have 1 male and 5 females in a 10 gal. right now. I plan on getting 3 more from a friend and will try and put them all in a 20 gal. They are so fun to watch. They rearrange the sand in their tank daily!

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Emg said:
Wow...I didn't know what I had has a name....LOL !! So how many tanks do you have to have to be considered an MTS syndromeeee ? ...cause I probably qualify ! :shark:
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ok you were confusing me there. thought you were talking about snails. If a pair would fit in an mts shell i would have to try a few pairs :)
 
lmao maaltan!! :laugh:

I think technically speaking you don't actually have to have multiple tanks to have multiple tank syndrom, or MTS as it's know in the fish world. Early stages of MTS exhibit symptoms of desire and planning for the future..."So I'm thinking of this black and white theme for a 15 gallon tank..."

Sufferers of extreme MTS spend every waking moment changing water and looking for ich and can often be overheard justifying a $300 dollar fish that only grows to a full 5 inches ..."But baby, I MUST have this fish to complete my black and white theme don't you see? And, if you let me get this fish, I PROMISE this will be the last fish I buy for a year!" Tis a shame what it does to a person. :(
 
LOL Stacie...are you insinuating something about me and my b&w tank ??? :p:

I do qualify somewhat then because #1....I have multiple tanks...lol....#2 I do fuss over them because I like them to be sparkling clean....#3 I really enjoy the creativity factor to this hobby so I do like to think up new ideas and if I have a vacant tank sitting around...I usually find something to put in it. :)

But I would NEVER in my life spend $300.00 on a fish !! Good Gosh ! That's just plain silly IMHO !! I would get sick worrying over a fish that costly and that certainly defeats the purpose of an aquarium as far as I'm concerned. I like to relax in front of them...not fret and worry about it all the time.

Now, I would like to have one of those zebra plecos, even though I'm not a big fan of plecos......but not for 300$....maybe 20$ if they ever get that low...lol...but that's about my limit.

Does that disqualify me for mts ?? ;)
 
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Emg said:
Does that disqualify me for mts ?? ;)
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Just because you have enough sense to not spend $300 on a fish doesn't mean you're cured of MTS. You've got it bad Miss. :p:
 
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Back to the topic tho ... :p:

Are Shellies for more advanced fishkeepers or would they okay for a very well coached newbie?
 
I can only speak for Neolamprologus multifasciatus, or "multies":

I think they are very (if not extremely) easy to keep. I have 2 10-gal tanks full of them (starting out with just 5 babies from a local fish club).

My water is tap water, neutral PH that my South American cichlid (rams) are also happy having spawned and raising babies multiple times.

My substrate for the multies is play sand (Home Depot), with lot of shells thrown in as "housing complexes". They are (as some experts said) the smallest cichlid sepecies, so they live very comfortable in there.

They are very fun to watch. Don't even think about "aquacaping" in their tanks. They would dig everywhere and move moutains of sand back and forth. They would defend their complexes and harrass other species to dead, then bury them in the sand dunes! So keep them alone.

I my case, they have only 4, 5 babies at a times, so the population is well controlled. The babies only show up (going outside the shells) when fully developed
 
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