Shell dwellers

[sir_keith]

Okay here is another one... Why is it most seem to keep multi's? I dont see a lot keeping Brevis and then there are others I really like that it seems no one is keeping.

An example of ones I like a lot is Lamprologus ocellatus “Gold”and also Lamprologus ornatipinnis. Are these harder to care for? can they too be mixed with julies?

It's simply a case of supply and demand: Multi's are entry-level shell-dwellers, and breed like guppies- just add water- so all you need is a few people in a given area to flood the market, and suddenly they're everywhere. This is not to take away from Multi's; they are cute, and a tank full of them (which is inevitable) can be charming. That said, fishes like Neolamprologus brevis and Lamprologus ocellatus are, in my opinion, both prettier and more interesting. Two pair of either of these in a 30 would offer lots of drama, whereas with Multi's it's just a perennial game of hide and seek. L. ocellatus is feisty and flashy, especially the 'blue' and 'gold' forms, while N. brevis has attitude to burn, and forms really strong pair bonds, with the male typically twice as large as the female. In terms of care, they're all pretty similar, but I think you'd be happier with either N. brevis or L. ocellatus.

Neolamprologus brevis-

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Lamprologus ocellatus-

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[DMD123]

The more and more I research these shell dwellers, it makes me want to make more tank space because they sound so cool. But Im sticking to just what I can do in the 30. My inclination is the Lamprologus Occelatus Gold because they seem to offer a burst of color. Then a solo Alto. Calvus Inkfin with a group of ornate julidochromas.

So my question is how many of each fish to start with?

 

[sir_keith]

The more and more I research these shell dwellers, it makes me want to make more tank space because they sound so cool. But Im sticking to just what I can do in the 30. My inclination is the Lamprologus Occelatus Gold because they seem to offer a burst of color. Then a solo Alto. Calvus Inkfin with a group of ornate julidochromas.

So my question is how many of each fish to start with?

Well, in a tank with a 36" x 12" footprint, a reasonable endpoint would be one pair of L. occelatus and one pair of J. ornatus plus the Alto. You might be able to get away with two pair of L. occelatus in this tank, but I wouldn't count on it. That said, L. occelatus is dimorphic, so you can buy known-sex specimens. You could just buy a pair, or you could try 2 males plus 2 females and hope things work out. Worst case analysis is you would have to re-home one pair, which should be easy. In either case, you will want to put abundant shells at one end of the tank (I use escargot shells from Amazon), and reserve the other end (hopefully) for the J. ornatus.

J. ornatus are not easy to sex when young, so to get a pair you will have to buy several unsexed specimens and let them pair off, which happens when they are quite young. Again, re-homing J. ornatus should be easy. These are cave-dwellers, so set up the other end of the tank with as many caves as you can. Often people use slate or shale fragments stacked up in a corner to yield a multi-level cave. Once they start spawning, the J. ornatus will produce small numbers of fry at regular intervals, and a cooperative breeding group will be established in which the older fry defend the younger ones. It's one of the coolest things you will ever see in an aquarium. Good luck!

 

[DMD123]

So if I were to say get 4 of each this would likely give me a pretty decent chance of M/F pairs. And not really an issue with a solo Alto whether it is a M or F then.

 

[fishguy1978]

So if I were to say get 4 of each this would likely give me a pretty decent chance of M/F pairs. And not really an issue with a solo Alto whether it is a M or F then.

You would need to get 6 of the J. ornatus to guarantee a pair. Sex of the Alto wouldn't matter.

 

[sir_keith]

...You would need to get 6 of the J. ornatus to guarantee a pair...

'There are no guarantees in life...'

Yes, statistically speaking, the probability of having only one sex amongst 6 fishes is less than 1%, but it happens. To wit...

A while back I bought 8 Ophthalmotilapia nasuta Chimba 'Tiger' juveniles to start a breeding colony. All 8 fishes turned out to be females. In desperation, I bought the only other 'Tigers' I could find; three of them, from the Wet Spot. All three of those turned out to be males. The probability of both of these events happening together is ridiculously small, but it happens. There were many, many times during my career in science when statistics bit my butt. In some quarters, this is known as 'the perversity of the Universe.' Heisenberg has a formula for this.

Back to the fishes...

Here is a pic of my young O. nasuta Chimba 'Tiger' colony. The male in the center is just starting to get his characteristic adult coloration, which consists of an array of dark spots above the lateral line. Why a fish whose distinguishing feature is spots is called 'Tiger' I will never know, but that's the silliness of common names in the aquarium hobby.



One final thought- the sex of the Alto does matter if size is important to you: males get much larger than females.

 

[DMD123]

I have to laugh because my trimacs were supposed to be all male. The seller was like 'no problem' sexing them at that size. Well I did get 5 males, lol

@sir_keith, the Alto not that much of a concern on size as long as it looks nice.

 

[Betty]

After having done a few combinations of shellies, julies, calvus, and leleupi, I found that I like species tanks the best. With my julies, leleupi and calvus, when they matured, I had breeding pairs of each surrounded by their offspring -- makes a really nice looking tank, until the babies grow up. My julies and leleupi were too aggressive to keep with the brevis and stappersi that I had.

Old pics. I don't have many left now. These were maturing babies of the breeding pairs I had.

 

[DMD123]

Thanks for that @Betty, I kind of thought the mix in my small tank would be too much a challenge, but keeping just a single species would eliminate a lot of issues. Still trying to decide what I want to keep, lol. Its just the one little tank (for now) so Im trying to make it count.

 

[sir_keith]

After having done a few combinations of shellies, julies, calvus, and leleupi, I found that I like species tanks the best. With my julies, leleupi and calvus, when they matured, I had breeding pairs of each surrounded by their offspring -- makes a really nice looking tank, until the babies grow up. My julies and leleupi were too aggressive to keep with the brevis and stappersi that I had.

Old pics. I don't have many left now. These were maturing babies of the breeding pairs I had.

View attachment 9812View attachment 9813

@Betty- very nice pics of your little ones; particularly good color on the leleupi! And I totally agree with you: most keepers of Tanganyikans would say that unless you have a large tank, species setups are the best way to enjoy these fishes and all their interesting behaviours.

 

[DMD123]

I do not want fine sand in this shellie tank. I had this with my arrowhead puffer and didn’t like it. I want to use a bit bigger grain CaribSea Peace River that I have. Or here is my question, do I need a special substrate for these guys to raise PH?

 

[sir_keith]

I do not want fine sand in this shellie tank. I had this with my arrowhead puffer and didn’t like it. I want to use a bit bigger grain CaribSea Peace River that I have. Or here is my question, do I need a special substrate for these guys to raise PH?

Yes, Aragonite. It's not only a great buffer, it's the perfect size for Tanganyikans that dig. I have 80 pounds of the stuff, brand new, still in the bags. You are welcome to as much as you need. It looks like this-

 

[DMD123]

Is Aragonite only white? Are there other options?

 

[sir_keith]

Is Aragonite only white? Are there other options?

It's crushed coral; it only comes one way. Shellies tend to disappear on a dark substrate.

 

[lloyd378]

Is Aragonite only white? Are there other options?

I think it’s only white being coral and all, but I’m guessing you could mix it with the colored stuff you like. I did that with tan sand I used

 

[DMD123]

I was looking at African cichlid sand, particularly Caribsea Ivory Coast. I looks like a mix of sand and crushed shells.

 

[sir_keith]

I think it’s only white being coral and all, but I’m guessing you could mix it with the colored stuff you like. I did that with tan sand I used

Yeah, sure, you could mix it with anything.

I was looking at African cichlid sand, particularly Caribsea Ivory Coast. I looks like a mix of sand and crushed shells.
View attachment 9819

Hard to judge the scale here, but you want the substrate to be small enough for the shellies to be able to dig to their hearts' content.

 

[DMD123]

Caribsea says 1.0 to 2.5mm…

 

[DMD123]

So the more I think about this project the more I think I want this as a single species and I want something ‘odd’, not a typical shell dweller.

My wish list:
Telmatochromis sp. “Temporalis Shell”
Lamprologus Callipterus
Altolamprologus Compressiceps Sumbu

 

[sir_keith]

How about Steatocranus casuarius, the 'Buffalo head cichlid' from the Congo? Definitely off the beaten track, but cool fishes. A pair would be happy in a 30, and you could have non-cichlid tankmates in the open water column. The Wet Spot usually has them.

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