platy ben

Hello everybody

I currently have an empty 45G tank however throughout the winter I will be raising some baby koi in it until the weather warms up a bit.

Once the koi are out in the pond I intend on turning this tank back tropical and I am looking at shelldwellers, im just looking for people personal experience with them and wondering is my tank too big for shelldwellers?

Ben

Shawnie

http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummaga...er-cichlid.htm and if you do a fishlore search, you can find a ton of threads members have had with them

platy ben

Thanks shawnie

Just to say incase anyone is wondering, I will only be keeping a maximum of 8 1" koi in the tank for a maximum of 4 months

platy ben

Just another question about the shell dwellers, if I am to go ahead with this could I put in another type of top dwelling fish, I have read that zebra danios would be ok?

platy ben

Hi everyone, I am soon getting some shelldweller cichlids but I don't have any idea how much they actually cost lol
So if anyone knows I would be greatful even if its in $s

Fish Addict

Hi, I had Multies (tiny shellies) for a few months, and I would say that it would be fine for shellies, you could even maybe have enough space for several colonies or species... I think that depending on your tanks dimensions you probably could have some danios or something, though you might have to be careful if you are trying to breed the fish. For me, my fish were at all levels of the tank, so I don't know, but it was a fairly short tank.

harpua2002

I really don't know anything about pricing in the UK, sorry Ben! I can tell you that in the states, the going rate for shellies like ocellatus, brevis, multifasciatus (the more common species) is about $10 a fish in stores. I got some hecquis from Aquabid for $50 for 12 fish, and this is a fish I have never seen in a store. It's going to cost about $50 for shipping, but it's still a great deal for a rare species. Do you have an auction site like Aquabid in the UK? If you do, it might be worth checking out. Be sure to pay close attention to a seller's feedback.

Shawnie

Hi ben...ive merged your posts about the shell dwellers that way all the same subject can be kept together

platy ben

Thanks Shawnie

We have a site called aquaclassified or something which I have posted an advert on but have had no responses
But I am going to my fish store tomorrow to get some for my 15G
Ive been speaking to Carol and we have decided that I should get 4 adults at the most for the 15G and then I can move them into the 45G once the koi go outside

I think my fish store sells them for about 8 pounds each , so its quite close to $10

harpua2002

Cool, what species will you buy?

platy ben

I think my fish store has Neolamprologus multifasciatus or Neolamprologus similus I like both types so its good
Might even mix species once they are in the 45G but only if everything goes well which it should

Butterfly

Yes I've really enjoyed our discussions. I'm not sure I would mix species of shelldwellers to start with. Once they get started they will make colonies and spread out all over the tank bottom. Good luck. Keep us posted.
Carol