help with shellies

[madness Jr]

should shellies be in there own tank or can they be with other fish.

 

[sidekicking]

Well just remember dude.....big fish eats little fish
but there's always some exceptions


what kind of fish are thinking of keeping them with??

 

[Addictedtofish]

Ive been doing some asking around on another forum about the same question and really the only answer I got was Altolamprologus calvus that two people had currently had there tanks setup. I think if your not into breeding them then calvus would be ok, If you have a big enough tank that there going to be in cypichromis would work also but there hard to find.

 

[sandnuka]

I always heard calvus hunted at night and went threw shells.... to get the sleepin shellies.... But Ive never kept either so couldnt tell you by experience.

 

[Betty]

It depends on the size of the tank. I keep Julidochromis transcriptus with 'Lamprologus' stappersii in a 29 gallon tank. The Julies can be aggressive, but I've never seen them kill another fish, they just chase the shellies away from their nesting area. I don't have a pair of shellies, so there is no spawning. Don't know if that would change the aggression level or behavior.

Here's a transcriptus letting the stappersii know who's boss.

The Julies have raised fry successfully with the stappersii in the tank.

I wouldn't keep them in a tank smaller than this and larger would be better.

 

[madness Jr]

well me shellies are only in a 45g tall, and the fish in the tank is 2 peacocks, 4 zebras, one little calvus, and two shellies so should i leave them in the tank or be in a tank be them self.

 

[Anonymous]

Julies and most shellies are good..just give the Julies a rocky spot and the shellies a shell bed..and make sure to put something in to break up line of sight issues.

 

[Betty]

If you have another tank available, I don't think it would be a bad idea to move them out. My experience with zebras is that they are probably too aggressive to be kept with shellies long term. They might also be a little rough to house with the little calvus.

Are the zebras small right now? (When you say zebras, do you mean mbuna?)

 

[madness Jr]

when i say zebras i mean the one they sell at petsmart and there are like only 2 inches. and the calvus is like a inch long.

 

[sandnuka]

yeah.. think petsmart carries red zebras (mbuna).... and those can get pretty nasty.

 

[madness Jr]

well i dont have a red zebra i have a yellow one and two blues.

 

[aaronfeeney]

I am looking into some cypridochromis for my tank with 7 brevis and 3(for now) speciosus

 

[madness Jr]

are they aggressive fish.

 

[Addictedtofish]

Cyprichromis are very peaceful fish, most people use them as a dither fish for a african community tank, bad news is Ive heard there hard to come by in LFS so I think if you can find them there going to be pricey. :cry:

 

[larry.beck]

I would expect you'll have to mail order them, aaron. Although Wet Spot might have some (which might mean that Kevin @ APFP would be able to order them for you as well). Fantastic looking fish, with the most unusual spawning behavior for a cichlid. Be sure you're looking at the regular size, not jumbos. How big is the shellie tank again? These guys do need a little room - and you need a fairly large school of them for them to be comfortable in the tank.