All things Shell Dwellers

[Anonymous]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

I've already ordered hundreds and different types of shells. Just waiting for them to arrive sometime this week hopefully. I'll post pictures of the types etc when they get here.

Yes, please let us know. I could use 10 or so more. My shellies are actually burrowing under my rocks now. Sooooo cool

 

[kuhaku89]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

keep us posted for when they arrive I started cycling my tank a week ago with aged media from my other spec v
still need to find a way to raise ph without using calcium sand want to use pfs for substrate and maybe add crushed coral to filter?

anything else I should look for when adding décor to tank? rocks shells any thing else I might be missing?

 

[Cory]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

Shells will dissolve and help raise ph

 

[lloyd378]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

I'd like just a photo thread where everyone posts their Shellies and their names.... I'm still on the fence, but would love some sort of fish to live in a smaller tank on my desk at work ( and no, I'm not looking for tetras, danios, or guppies ). So I hope one of you experts starts a thread ( mostly pictures not a lot of text) to help me visualize all of this hype!

 

[lloyd378]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

So, do any of you use shells from the ocean? I have a huge collection if shells from the ocean that my grandparents collects years upon years ago over in Hawaii.  I've never used them for anything as I worried they would leach something that would negatively affect the water

 

[kuhaku89]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

I'd like just a photo thread where everyone posts their Shellies and their names.... I'm still on the fence, but would love some sort of fish to live in a smaller tank on my desk at work ( and no, I'm not looking for tetras, danios, or guppies ). So I hope one of you experts starts a thread ( mostly pictures not a lot of text) to help me visualize all of this hype!

check out page 2 for inspirational pics =)

 

[DMD123]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

So, do any of you use shells from the ocean? I have a huge collection if shells from the ocean that my grandparents collects years upon years ago over in Hawaii.  I've never used them for anything as I worried they would leach something that would negatively affect the water

From my research its mostly the weight of seashells compared to the escargot shells. They fish like to move them around and seashells can be too heavy.

 

[kuhaku89]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

have to wait for cory to get in shells might just get everything at once from him

 

[Anonymous]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

So, do any of you use shells from the ocean? I have a huge collection if shells from the ocean that my grandparents collects years upon years ago over in Hawaii.  I've never used them for anything as I worried they would leach something that would negatively affect the water

My fish don't seem to move shells. They displace sand which move the shells. I would think any shell is going to be okay. The shells you see us using are relatively close  in size to those found in their natural habitat.

I hope sea shells are not harmfull. I am using a bag of crushed coral and shells to buffer PH . I am also using corals and shellsin the sump of my 140 that my daughter brought back from the islands.

 

[lloyd378]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

Does anyone keep these? I'd like some info on them.....

 Lamprologus stappersi (meleagris)  

 

[lloyd378]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

And the shells are from what type of snail?

 

[Anonymous]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

Here is a list of shells Anthraxx put names on. I have no idea where , or what the are from except they are snail shells. Lol. But you could Google the names if you wish. Escargot, gold mouth turbos, whale/shark eyes

 

[Anonymous]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

I'd like just a photo thread where everyone posts their Shellies and their names.... I'm still on the fence, but would love some sort of fish to live in a smaller tank on my desk at work ( and no, I'm not looking for tetras, danios, or guppies ). So I hope one of you experts starts a thread ( mostly pictures not a lot of text) to help me visualize all of this hype!

Community wondering around.


Busy diggn holes.


Is it dinner time yet?
These Multies have been really active. When they get spooked will dart in their designated shell but quickly come back out to investigate. I thought these fish would stay at the bottom but they dont they occupy they whole tank. But it is a small tank, limited space.

 

[lloyd378]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

Your tank looks great! Could you keep those sweet looking calvus " horse shaped face" Africans with them?   Because those calvus are my favorite!

And I saw them listed quite a bit on that shell dweller forum

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

I'm REALLY considering converting one of my tanks into a shellie tank... I still have some left over shells from when I kept land hermit crabs. These are my largest shells, two Turbo shells and a Magpie shell. I will definitely need to collect more shells if I end up doing a shellie tank. We'll see. The only thing I can think of that might be a problem with these shells is that they are pretty heavy... maybe I should consider land snail shells. Hmmm...

 

[Anonymous]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

I'm REALLY considering converting one of my tanks into a shellie tank... I still have some left over shells from when I kept land hermit crabs. These are my largest shells, two Turbo shells and a Magpie shell. I will definitely need to collect more shells if I end up doing a shellie tank. We'll see. The only thing I can think of that might be a problem with these shells is that they are pretty heavy... maybe I should consider land snail shells. Hmmm...[b/]

IDK Poke, my little shellies don't move shells physically. They move sand around, the shells move a little bit but it's more sand manipulation. My little guys have been busy. It looks like a typhoon hit the sand bed. They fill shells with sand, bury them in mounds ,then unearth the shells. I would defiantly try your little shells with my Multies. In one day the tank bed looks different from the day before. It's really cool!

 

[Cory]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

multies get the nickname of bulldozers btw.

 

[Anthraxx]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

they wont really move the shells so much. the neothauma shells found within the lake are really light and even then only certain species actively "steal/move" shells. its pretty isolated behavior, mostly what you will see is them burying shells the dont want any unwanted neighbors moving into. as for salt water vs land snail shells it doesnt seem to matter much. ive noticed the land snails degrade far faster then the salt ones plus the salt shells end up buffering the PH quite a bit. Whale eye are a freshwater snail as are the escargot. the shark eyes and turbo shells are both salt water types. really the only important factor is a nice sized opening and space enough for them to move around within the shells but not get stuck (cuz it will happen with certain shells) ive used babylon and then some random shells from michaels grab bags.
@ lloyd Melagris are really a tough species to start out with. the pug looking shellies tend to be high on the aggression side so a larger space would be ideal to isolate down to a pair / group. id reccomend you not try them in anything smaller then a 20g long. even then you may run into issues getting a pair to form. theres some really good articles on cichlid-forum for shellies in the library section. its all pretty much the same, just shell and tank size differences really. as for mixing calvus/ shellies its really not a great idea, in the wild they naturally prey upon shellies and in aquariums have been known to do the same thing, sometimes even killing females as they attempt to protect their young. it will take a WHILE for this to occur but sooner or later they will give it a shot.

@poke those big shells would be perfect for some of the brevis cory just picked up. if you do get some just get one of the biggest in there and then two or three of the smallest. size is a pretty good indicator of sex within shellies, most females barely get past 1/2-3/4''

@fishnabowl in your pictures pic 2 almost looks like a similis rather then a multie. the tighter stripe pattern is the only real difference between the two species and its quite common to get them mixed up. just wanna make sure youve got what you think you have

 

[Anonymous]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

@fishnabowl in your pictures pic 2 almost looks like a similis rather then a multie. the tighter stripe pattern is the only real difference between the two species and its quite common to get them mixed up. just wanna make sure youve got what you think you have

Pict #2, that's the biggest fish. Think he's the Alpha. He's made the biggest sand mound, and taken the far right side of the tank. All the fish look alike - I think  they are all the same species. Where I got these fish the keeper also had Similis. I did notice the difference. The strips where just a little bit darker, finer and defined. Also the strips went all the way up and over the head. I stared at them for quite a bit. Nice looking fish.

I am hoping AquariumCoop has some multie females in stock when I roll through there. From what I have gathered I think I have a 5 to 2 male/female ratio. I would like to add 2 females and another 10 shells.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: All things Shell Dwellers

Well went and got the fishes from adal. The gold occellutus female died before I got there. So no pair    but got the male gold occellutus,  the leloupi, the juli (in another tank, thinking of trading him it for a multis) and the long fin chocolate pleco. Overall it was still a good trade off for both of us. He got blue pearl shrimps, he wanted  less maintenance shrimps barely feedings but bi-monthly or tri-monthly (20 shrimps in a 30gal). And I got a few fish I liked but no pair    better than none.