Forgot what they are called

[dixaisy930]

I'm hoping this is the right place for this....

I just bought two shell dwelling cichlids...but I forgot what the guy said they were called. I will try to give the best description I can...they are currently about an inch long (he said they will get about another inch or two long). They are an opac white color. Their fins are similar to a rams, but their body is an oval shape, and their head is rounded.

The man said a ten gallon should be fine for them...will it?

I completely forgot to ask what they ate...

Also, how do you sex them?

 

[dixaisy930]

Now I look at them a little closer (and maybe their colors have changed since I got them gome) they are more a dark grey color (one is lighter than the other). I also noticed a faint teal half moon shape under their eyes. If no one can come up with a species, maybe you can help me with some general shell-dwelling cichlid questions.

The guy said that they would be fine with mollies, is this true of most shell-dwelling cichlids? So far no problems, but that doesn't mean anything.

I just have a pair, but have no idea what sex...do the preferred ratios and numbers vary from species to species?

What do they eat? )

I should not but fish on impulse, and on info given to me by lfs employees.

 

[yekim_4321]

Hi dixaisy930...Hmmm buying fish on impulse...not a thing wrong with that i used to do it all the time see a fish i like and think i'll have that get it home and find out i needed to set up a new tank to accomodate it. You're shell dwellers should be fine at mo with current fish however as they mature and want to breed they could depending on their species become very agresive towards others. As for ID the only shelldwellers i have kept were Livingstonii not the large type. as for diet i would normaly suggest a good cichlid flake, not sure how it would be with youre other fish, but live food like blood worm should be fine and will keep them in good condition.
Hope this helps, will now go and see if i can find any shelldwellers with pics on net for you.

Mick

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Shelldwellers are perfect for a 10 gallon tank.

Technically they can live with mollies, since they will keep to the upper parts of the water, but the water perameters that shell dwellers do best in mollies tend to not do as well in. We're talking long term here.

It's important to identify what shell dweller you have so you know how many shells to provide. Multifasciatus like as many shells as you can fit, while brevis only need a couple.

General cichlid flakes and pellets are a good diet, with plankton, or brine shrimp as a suppliment.

Also give them a sand substrate or they won't be able to bury their shells.

 

[dixaisy930]

I gave in and just called the lfs They are a kind of bervis (I think he said sun-spot, but I'm not positive).

I was reading up on shell-dwellers in general, and I found one place that suggested that if you can't change the whole tank to sand, then you could put some sand in a saucer. Would this be alright, or should I convert the whole tank to sand?

The lfs guy also said that small flower pots turned on their side would work instead of snail shells in a crunch. So far the bervis have been in every flower pot I already had in there. I would like to add snail shells as well, but will they eventually start decomposing. Obviously, they don't decompose on the snail, but I'm wondering if they would after the snails dies and leaves the shell behind. And if so, will that change the water chemistry. I know if you add actual sea shells it will, but freshwater snail shells aren't the same.

And now I'm just rambling so I'll let the experts guide me from here.

 

[babyfish]

You can use escargot shells from a french restaraunt or dellicatessen for shell dwellers

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I suppose those Ideas work, I just like a natural looking tank. Snail shells get brittle and thinner with age, but it's nothing to worry about. I use apple snail shells, you can use any snail shells really, including, as mentioned, escargot. You can even order authentic Neothauma shells online, the ones these fish actually use in the wild.

Brevis are a unique shellie. They pair up and unlike most of them a male and female will actually share a shell. They live in parts of the lake where shells are much more sparse, so you only need a few in the tank.

I'm just wondering why you can't you convert the whole tank to sand?

 

[dixaisy930]

Well, I've never used sand in any of my tanks before. I've never done any research on how to use it in a freshwater aquarium, either. I would love to use all sand (I, too, prefer natural looking tanks), but I've heard things about it clogging filters and being rather finicky while moving stuff around and making the water cloudy.

Any recommendations on types of sand, or places to find info on using sand in aquariums? Also, wouldn't changing all of the sustrate send the tank into a cycle?

I'm not against changing the whole tank to sand, guess I just need to get more knowledgable about it first.

 

[NeilP]

I've got both gravel and sand in different tanks, and have not had any problems with the and tanks.

The gravel is easier to clean, but if you are carefull when cleaning the tank with a gravel cleaner ie just skimming the top to get the dirt up, its not usually a problem.

With regards filters - as long as you don't have the filter intake right on the sand it shouldn't be a problem.

Cloudy water - yup can happen if you don't clean the sand properly first. I cleaned mine for what seemed hours, and still got cloudy water - but it cleared in a couple of days.

Types of sand - i bought mine from my LFS, but i have heard that you can use childrens playpit sand - although IMO it is too fine, and too light in colour for a tank.

You also have to be carefull when putting sand into your tank when it already has water in it. I found the easiest method was to fill a plastic tub with the cleaned sand, gently place it into the water and lower it to the bottom, and then gently turn the tub over to place the sand on the tank bottom - this way i dindn't get so much cloudiness and sand floating all over the place.

Let us know what you go with.

Neil.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I find sand very easy to clean, and makes for a clean aquarium because debris won't sink into it the way it does with gravel.

There are lots of types of sand that you can use and there is no need to spend the big bucks at the fish store, which is usually 5 to 10x as much.

I found a play sand that they sell at home depot called King play sand. It's just rinsed beach sand. With just a couple of rinses it does not cloud the tank at all, and it looks really good. You can use any type of play, construction, concrete, pool filter, and even blasting sand. Just see what you can get, and what you like the look of.

I primarily use canister filters. Among other reasons, they are sand safe. Hanging filters can have their impellers ruined by sand, but by keeping the intake well off the bottom you shouldn't have any problems.

Unless you use an undergravel filter you can replace the substrate without much effect on the bio-filter. Most of the bacteria resides in the power filter because this is what most of the water ends up coming into contact with. Just don't clean the filter at the same time that yo ureplace the substrate.

 

[dixaisy930]

Thanks alot.

How far from the sand should the intake be? (I have a Whisper 10-20 filter)

Now I currently have quite a colony of Malaysian Trumpet Snails, and I know that I heard they do a good job of keeping the sand "turned over", but I should probably still run a chopstick through it myself, right?

Ok, so the tank will be changed to sand...now I'd like to try and take an intelligent guess at the sex of these two. One is noticable darker than the other, but they are close in size (one is slightly bigger). Would two males stay in the same "territory"? These two are never too far from one another.

In general they seem to be doing well in the tank. They eat quite eagerly, and are always investigating the clay pots, but I know they would be even happier with some snail shells (which I will be gettig tomorrow).

 

[crimsontsavo]

Here's a link.

Brevis

My intake is about half an inch from the sand- no problems in around a year of having it going.