Shellie Species Selection

[mooman]

Hey everyone, the "boss" has just given me the go ahead to set up one more tank (yessss!). I'm going to do a 20g long shellie tank and want suggestions as to which species to stock it with. Here are the attributes I'm looking for:

-ability to keep more than one male in the tank
-lots of digging and spraying of sand
-colonial behavior (older fry being tolerated and even helping with the raising of younger fry)
-easy to breed.

I was also wondering what if any dither fish would be appropriate (don't want anything that would threaten fry). I'm past the "I want some of every species in my tank" phase, so if none is the answer so be it.

Water Chemistry: I'm totaly new to African tanks. My tap is ph 7.2 and gh=7. LFS guy suggested "cichlid sand" that would bring ph to 8.0. Do I need to conditions water for weekly water changes, or just make them small so as not to shock fish?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

ps shellies that are available to me are multi, ocellotus, brevis, hecqui and brichardi

 

[Fogelhund]

The fish that you want to keep are "Lamprologus" multifasciatus.

They are the only fish on your list that meet all of your criteria, and do so exceedingly well.


As far as your water parameters, and water changes. Do weekly water changes about 20% or less, and you should be fine.

Regarding the water parameters out of tap. How long did you let the water sit before measuring? It should sit for 24 hours before getting a true measurement, and it would be useful to know the before and after, just for the comfort of your fish.


I'm not sure what "Cichlid Sand" is, but likely an argonite based sand. If you can purchase it at Home Depot, or similar type store, "Southdown" Play Sand is the same thing, but about $4 for nearly 70lbs. The Play Sand would need to be cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned though, as it has plenty of sediment in it, and would make your tank very cloudy if you didn't thoroughly wash it.

Dithers aren't necessary, but you can go with a small live bearer such as endlers, or more exotic species, or something such as white cloud minnows.

 

[mooman]

I was thinking multis as well. I'm currently cycling a tank in prep for Columbus fish club auction at the end of the month. I'm itching to breed, so will be looking for slightly older specimins. At what age are they ready to spawn?

I should have said the water in my tanks (that I use tap water to fill) is 7.2. I don't fiddle with it and that is what my tanks stay at. Out of the tap it is more like 7.6.

The "cichlid Sand" (I can't remember the brand or the exact name) also come in a "chunky" form for larger cichlids. It is mix of black and white grains, but I'm not sure what the base is. I have used playsand before and find it an absolute pain to wash and was looking for something that would buffer my water up to 8. I don't want to have to worry about messing with chemical buffers and whatnot if I can avoid it.

 

[Fogelhund]

Make sure what you use for the multi's is a true sand, and not a chunky gravel. They love to dig, and will only show natural behaviour with the sand.

I don't know the age that they breed at, as I've never really timed it. They do breed pretty early though.

Another cheap source, that washes up much easier is Quikcrete All Purpose Sand. That is the sand I use in my aquariums, after 20 minutes of washing, I've dumped it into aquariums and had them clear from stage 1.

 

[jonah]

I'll give another vote to multifasciatus. Your requirement list sounded like you were describing multies. If you get the cichlid sand, just do small water changes. I sold some F1's to a guy awhile back. They couldn't have been over an inch long at the time. He had fry within a few months. I've got some right now that are about an inch that haven't bred yet, but they have made some noticible pairings and lots of digging.

One thing I like more about my multies than my brevis is they never hide. The brevis hide everytime I come near the tank and I had a lot of trouble with the brevis male munching down his offspring. The last batch I pulled the parents and raising the fry by themselves. I've never had to do that with multies.