A blank canvus.....

[Betty]

I agree; I think they might be too small. They might work while the fish are also small, but not when they grow and remember with brevis, the pair will share a shell. Male and female both have to fit in the same shell.

I started out using a variety of shells, but mine preferred escargot shells. Over the years they have started deteriorating and falling apart, so just this morning I ordered a package of them. I won't use them all, so I could give you a couple to try out and see if your fish will use them.

Enjoyed the video tour of the tank.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input guys... we'll guy and gal. The reason I chose these shells is because the website ( http://www.cichlidbreeding.com/products.php?cat=10 ) specifically said they have sold thousand of one that is almost Idetintical to breed brevis. Btw if you hit that link its the third shells down. Anyhow, when I opened it up and saw how small they were I was kinda shocked. Because I have 17 escargot shells and my multies love them. But when I put them in the tank, they looked really bright, and I want the tank to be a little darker :twisted:

Thanks for the offer Betty, I have a bunch of those though, and if push comes to shove I will use some I have. But I am hoping to find something with a little color and not so bright. I like my escargot shells for my multie tank, they just don't look right in this one though. Either way these smaller ones will be great for fry to escape to. Again thanks for the offer.

Anthraxx, you are right the other shells would work better, but I have to keep with my darker theme. And the lighter shells looked weird to me. I will just buy others darker and a little bigger. And your big shell in the tank was my inspiration for my big one. I am hoping it will be home to my calvus. But who knows who will claim it. All I know is the calvus has 5 days to claim it before the other 4 fish get here.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

 

[Betty]

I see what you mean about the color. When I get my order, I have a feeling mine are going to look out of place for a while, but with my ability to grow algae, it won't take long for them to look aged. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

I'm good at growing that stuff too.

 

[DMD123]

I see a post coming with pictures of the most algae covered tanks.

 

[VsKitchen]

hehe funny

@ vw - the tank looks great! I like that darker look. Yes, you could give it a brighter light though my opinion is that as a wall inset that in itself is enough to draw the eye. And thanks for sharing the pic showing the back of it, quite informative

 

[Anonymous]

@vs your welcome, and thanks for the kind words.
@D if it gets bad I have these two fish buddies that I'm sure will come help me clean it up for a few beers..lol...seriously...lol.. no but serious!

I am really happy with the tank, those shells are small but I'm looking for some bigger ones today when I get off of work, I want something that's dark in color and either has a lot of black, or red in it. I don't want it to bright, because that will draw the attention away from the whole tank, making you focus on one thing only. I also have to rearange the rock a little. Its pretty good where it is but I think I can do better. Nothing to major though still the same layout, just a few changes to the big corner pile. Again thanks everyone for your kind words.

 

[Anthraxx]

hey VW the other thing that may work with shells that size is that your fish will be able to move them around to your liking. its pretty funny to watch my big multie male try to move things around... about the shells i suggested i was just tossing ideas out that may work for them. clearly its all up to you in the long run but the more shells the better it will work out for your fish. i hope it works out for ya. there should be plenty of turbo snail varietys to suite your needs. clearly white is gonna be present but i really think that the gold mouth variety will really pop against that black. again GL buddy

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks anthraxx, I just orderd more shells. The ones like mine, but with a bigger mouth. I orderd 10 of them, so like you said the more the better. I noticed that 2 of the shells look big enough, so I figure that ordering 10 more I should get another at 3 or 4 that are bigger. Don't know guess we will see on Monday when they get here.

 

[Anonymous]

Btw you are right about the gold, it would look really cool against the black of it all.

 

[Anthraxx]

hey just my opinion. the shells tend to come in a range of outter colors as well. so it might fit into your setup. just take a look if you dont like this second order. shells are always handy to keep around when u got shellies hahaha . btw a large whale eye for the pair could work well. both my multies (the pair) hide out in the same shell together.

 

[Anonymous]

Got my shells today... good news, there bigger then the others... they are twice the size of the smaller ones. So I am sure they are big enough. Anyway all set up, here's some pics.


A few full tank shots.

My shell pile, now large enough shells, and plenty of choices.. 15 count.

Julie ornatus congo

Brevis ikola

And lastly the neolamprologus beuscheri mbita

There is another brevis in here (hopefully a m/f pair). Along with a brichardi, and a black calvus. The tank is very boring right now, nothing is ever out. The brevis haven't found the shells, the pulcher, beuscheri and ornatus only come out for a second and then dart back in to the rocks. And the calvus only pokes its head out when I feed the tank, after taking a bite, it ducks back into the rock. I am hoping all is well and everything is just getting settled, but who knows... I have never kept africans before. The little glimpses I see every here and again are really cool, just wish they would show themselves a bit more... anyway, time will tell. Thanks for following this long thread. And sorry for the crap pics.

 

[larry.beck]

Never fear, they'll grow accustomed to their new home and to you. It took several months when I was starting up my Tang tank, but now when I feed every fish in the tank is rushing up to see me and get food. I had the same concerns as you when I was first starting out.