sand or gravel for shellies?

[Ben]

Hey

i was just wondering before i get shell dwellers do they need sand or can they have small gravel?

 

[cometcattle]

You want sand. Definatly.

They like sand because they will bury/arrange their shells.

Mine are like little bulldozers, constantly moving their shells around.

What Shellies are you thinking about dd?

 

[Ben]

im not relly sure on the names but the guy at the lfs i just went to now sed that they were the easiest to care for and told me all the info about em and told me they never had sand avalible to sell so im waiting till the weekend to gget sand from another lfs far away and then ill get em.

 

[Snowie]

I think you should find out the name before you buy them. Sometimes LFS's are a bit to optimistic on how "easy" some fish are to keep.

And to answe the original question you want sand definatly. They "can" be kept with gravel but they really really prefer sand.

 

[Ben]

yeh but this is a lfs i trust(they sometimes sneek me in extra fishies )they also give me good info

but anyway im still gonna get sand to make em more comfortable

 

[Snowie]

I did write an article on one shelldweller.

Read it if you want:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=45557

*shameless self promotion*

 

[cometcattle]

You could but playsand from any home/garden center. Just make sure you really clean it.

I bought a 50 pound bag for $3.00.

 

[Ben]

lol well i think ill just go with the aquarium sand, cant be botherd cleaning extra

thanx snowie

 

[JeremyD]

lol well i think ill just go with the aquarium sand, cant be botherd cleaning extra

thanx snowie

Your gonna have to clean any substrate you get. I would opt for the playsand rather than pay 10x as much for the same thing in a different bag.


I prefer sand for shell dwellers as well. Finer gravel will work as well. Its just a preference thing. Large gravel is not a good idea though.

 

[DanL]

sand is a must if you want to experience the true behaviour of shellies...

a bulldozer in action

 

[Ron]

*shameless self promotion*

tisk, tisk Snowie!!!

I'd deffinatly go with play sand. It's very cheap, looks natural and pretty, and I think shellies act the same with most types of sand. You'd have to clean anything you'd get. Make sure beofre getting the shellies from theLFS, you find out their scientific name and research it. Differant species of Shellies have totally differant needs, in fact, some don't even like shells and prefer rocks, so it's very important that you research any shellie befor buying it...

 

[Ben]

thanx for the pic DanL

thank you everyone for your info, im definitly gonna find out the names of the fish and im going to get sand this week end.