Shell Dwellers

[John7]

I recently acquired some shell dwellers at a club auction here in north east Ohio. Two different varieties of Neolamprologus Brevis (3 Mtoto and 2 Katabe) and four small Neolamprologus Hecqui which I had not heard of before the auction.

I purchased some sea shells for them at a craft store and boiled them before adding to the tank. Everyone seemed very happy with the selection and moved right in. There are nine fish and a dozen or so shells. Also caves and rocks for hiding when away from their shells.

I have absolutely no experience with shellies and would appreciate any help anyone could offer on their care, feeding and breeding.

Here is a picture of them. Sorry for the water streak and out of focus. My battery died just as I was taking the pic. I will do better next time.

John

 

[_BaDgUy_]

Just keep the water hardness a bit higher than usual, and they will be happy!!

They usually love sand, and some are obnoxious diggers!! Got one species here that will always find it's way to the glass bottom through 5 inches of sand!! The M. brevis won't dig that much. As for the N. hecqui, I don't know... just got 5 of them myself yesterday from California.

Just look around on the internet, lots of information on them!
Really easy to keep, feed and reproduce.

Only reccomendation would be to add lots more shells for them to be at the best!

David

 

[John7]

Shellies

Thanks David,
I am really going to enjoy them, they seem to have even more personality than most cichlids. A friend of mine has a pond full of large snails that he eats... :? yuck! He said I can have all the shells I can haul away. He's talking 5 gal buckets here. I think I will get a bunch and advertise them on ebay or in the "sell or trade" forums in the cichlid forums.

I just took some more pix this AM and they turned out much better. I will post them when I get back from Detroit. Going to Greektown Casino for a day. 8) Hope to win enough $ to buy some more fish.
John

 

[_BaDgUy_]

Yes, they have lots of caracter!!!

Here's a pic of a pair of N. brevis we have here :
Male on top, female bellow.

 

[Fogelhund]

Hi John, some nice additions you've got there.

First, you'll want to seperate the two types of brevis before they breed together, and you end up with mixed strain fishes.

Second, what size tank have you got these fish in?

The Lepidiolamprologus hecqui is a fantastic shelldweller, and has been one of the favourites that I have kept. It does however get large (by shellie standards), is very tough, and will defend its territory very well. My male was just about 3.5".

 

[John7]

Shellie Pix...

Nice fish David, they are really good looking. They look like carbon copies of my Katabe.

Fogelhund, all are in a 15 gal right now. I plan to move the 2 Katabe to a 10 gal by themselves. Will that be big enough? I just bought another 15 gal at an auction and was planning to put the Hecqui in there and leave the Mtoto in the tank where they are now.

The Mtoto, I think, are all males... I am going to have to start hunting for some females now. What would be a good ratio? Or should I get rid of one or two of the males when I get the females?

Here are some more pics of them:

The Katabes are pretty shy right now, I haven't been able to get a decent shot of them yet. But I am still trying.
John

PS
I did OK at the casino in Detroit, won a few bucks $$$. :lol: That should be enough to pick up a few more shellies at the next auction, eh?