Tanganyika Shell Dwellers - Setup 10g Possible?

[myselfdotcom]

After watching the Jewel of Rift, I am drawn to Tanganyika Shell Dwellers. is it possible I could keep a small colony in a 10g tank? Are they pairing fish?
If I could keep in a 10g tank, what kind of setup I should have?

Thanks

 

[Pat Kelly]

I would say

Pair yes, 10 gallon no.

At least from what I have read. Better information to follow.....

Sarah.........

 

[myselfdotcom]

I would say

Pair yes, 10 gallon no.

At least from what I have read. Better information to follow.....

Sarah.........[/b]

thanks. I am reading something on cichlid-forum site cookie cutter....dont know if works ...

 

[daniel4832]

Thanks Pat,
It depends on which shell dweller you go with. I have been breeding a number of them in 10 gallon tanks (Lamp. brevis, L. multifasciatus, and L. ornatipinnnis) There are even some that I breed in 5 1/2 gallon tanks (Lamp. signatus). There are others, such as L. ocellatus, that I have only been successful breeding in groups, in 40 breeders.
This is my personal experience, what has worked for me. I have both L. brevis and L. multifasciatus available.
Thanks,
Daniel

 

[myselfdotcom]

Thanks Pat,
It depends on which shell dweller you go with. I have been breeding a number of them in 10 gallon tanks (Lamp. brevis, L. multifasciatus, and L. ornatipinnnis) There are even some that I breed in 5 1/2 gallon tanks (Lamp. signatus). There are others, such as L. ocellatus, that I have only been successful breeding in groups, in 40 breeders.
This is my personal experience, what has worked for me. I have both L. brevis and L. multifasciatus available.
Thanks,
Daniel[/b]

pmed sent...

Ok, how about shells? Where i can find them cheap?
How many shells i should initially dump into?

 

[Tim]

The number of shells you keep in the tank will depend on the species of shell dweller you keep.
In a tank as small as a 10 gallon, I like to keep N. multifasciatus, since you can do a colony of them. I'd start off with about 6. In my tank, I had a sand substrate and completely covered the bottom with shells of various sizes. If you go for a pair of brevis, then you only need one shell, as the male and female share the shell. If you can't find a pair, you should have multiple shells until the pair forms. For species like N. occelatus, you'd want at least one shell per fish. In a 10 gallon tank, I wouldn't attempt a community, although the colony of multies comes close to one. There are a number of sites online that sell shells, sometimes in bags of 50 or more.
Tim

 

[daniel4832]

Tim,
That was the same information (amount of fish, shells) I gave to Kam (and Pat when he called about the Tropheus) when I spoke to him yesterday. Today he is stopping by to pick up 6 of the L.. multifasciates for his 10 gallon tank plus shells. While I like the looks of the "fancy" shells from the lake, I have had sucess with using the shells of mystery snails which a lot of LFS will give you for free.
I am a bit confused, but are you successful with keeping L. ocellatus in pairs in a ten gallon, because every time I have tried, even in larger tanks, I have had the males bury the female in her shell or just out and out kill her. I have never been successful, unless I breed them in a colony in a 40 breeder, even then I still lose some. What's your secret? :lol:
Thanks,
Daniel

 

[Tim]

I am a bit confused, but are you successful with keeping L. ocellatus in pairs in a ten gallon, because every time I have tried, even in larger tanks, I have had the males bury the female in her shell or just out and out kill her. I have never been successful, unless I breed them in a colony in a 40 breeder, even then I still lose some. What's your secret? :lol:
Thanks,
Daniel[/b]

Buy established pairs and don't ever separate them.
I typcially like 20L and larger for any shell dwellers, but have done smaller tanks in a pinch. (For short periods of time.) The males will bury the females overnight sometimes to prevent other males from stealing their girls. I've only had one male that didn't dig them back up in the morning. But he did attack me when I dug her back out. I've never kept less than three ocellatus togehter in any setup. I prefer pairs of brevis myself and don't keep the ocellatus anymore, as we seem to be getting a lot more of the blue strain from the Lake which I don't find as attractive.
Tim

 

[daniel4832]

Tim, that's cheating :smashfreakB: Plus I did and the male still killed the female in a 20 long.
Were you dealing with tank raised or wild caught? Mine have been WC. While I love he gold N. ocellatus, I picked up a group of blue WC, that Leif from Old World donated to last years ACA conention, and they are beautiful.
Thanks,
Daniel

 

[myselfdotcom]

this would be definately enlightment experience for me as I am only keep malawi species. Sorry about the rescheduled Daniel. I did not get my tank setup on time. Blame it on the baby! :FIREdevil:

I guess i see ya tomorrow.


p/s anyone want some f2 saulosi fry LOL got 30++

 

[Tim]

Daniel,
The fish in question were tank raised. The only wild caught tangs I've done were Synodontis, Altolamprologus species and O. nasuta. (Which died within a couple weeks.)
Tim

 

[daniel4832]

Tim,
That may be the difference, since most of my breeding stock is wild caught. I prefer selling only f1 fry.
Isn't "funny" how one Rift Lake breeds for color while the other Rift Lake wants wild caught or as close to natural as possible.
Thanks,
Daniel