Jkkgron2’s 20-40 gallon shell dweller build

Hi everyone! Today I went and picked up 8 Neolamprologus redfin caudopunctatus to put in my 20 gallon . This will not be their permanent home, but for the time being they will be in the 20 gallon until I can move them to my 40g. All of them are doing good, and they all ate a few hours ago. They have really nice colors and have been exploring their new home . Here are a few pics!

 

Looks nice.

 

Looks nice.

Thanks!

 

Following!

 

One of the smaller ones has been hiding behind one of the rocks. He is pretty small and seems to be at the bottom of the pecking order.

Every other fish is getting along great and no one is bullying this guy except for a bit of minor fin nipping. He just seems to be more timid and scared than the rest. I was able to get a good enough look at him to check for any signs of disease, and he looks healthy. He’s eating and occasionally swimming out of his hiding spot. Any suggestions on what I can do to coax him out?

Sorry for all the questions but, one of the cichlids has a very very very small patch of white scales on his head. I’m guessing it’s a bacterial infection because of the stress from the move. I’m thinking of doing this treatment to prevent any spread, but I don’t want to kill any of the fish. Does this seem alright? My guess is it’s just a minor infection from an injury during the transfer but I want to be on the safe side.
I’ll be using furan- 2 and kanaplex. What do you guys think of this treatment?
Day 1: Add Furan-2 and Kanaplex
Day 2: Add furan-2
Day 3: 25% water change, add in Furan-2 and kanaplex
Day 4: Add in Furan-2.

I’ll stop adding the treatment once the white patch disappears.

 

Interesting, will be

 

Post a pic. It is likely just a nick with a bit of attached fungus. Antibiotics might put a dent in your BB.

 

Post a pic. It is likely just a nick with a bit of attached fungus. Antibiotics might put a dent in your BB.

Hoping that’s what it is.

 

One of the benefits of keeping African Cichlids is that they are very durable & disease resistant. On the down side they fight and get injured occasionally.
That looks like an abrasion w/ fungus to me. My advice, just watch it for a week before medicating. My guess is it will heal up.

 

One of the benefits of keeping African Cichlids is that they are very durable & disease resistant. On the down side they fight and get injured occasionally.
That looks like an abrasion w/ fungus to me. My advice, just watch it for a week before medicating. My guess is it will heal up.

Sounds good. What should I do if it starts spreading?

 

Following! Very exciting. I've been thinking about breeding shell dwellers next year.

 

Following and questions. Do they live in the shells? Can you add salt for the wound? Will water changes help it heal? Yes I know nothing about Africans. But that is a good looking fish.

 

They live in the shell, basically breed, raise fry, and retreat and sleep in the shell. And they also move them around the tank and mess around with the sand.

 

Following and questions. Do they live in the shells? Can you add salt for the wound? Will water changes help it heal? Yes I know nothing about Africans. But that is a good looking fish.

I can only answer the first one but they actually seem to prefer the caves. Technically this species isn’t a true shell dweller in the wild, but they do seem to use the shells in aquariums. I also put all the shells at bad angles (hard to enter) and that might be why they won’t use them as much.

 

I have always thought they hide in the shells when feel threatened. I had a Bolivian and an EBA have similar nicks from fighting with other males, Hierarchy. I know they are not Africans but a just few extra water changes and they healed up fine.

Good Luck!

 

Thanks everyone! I think I’ll do a 25% water change tomorrow and the next day to help promote healing. I’ll update if anything changes

 

Just thought of one more question, the wound doesn’t look fuzzy like fungus would. Could it still be just a minor wound, or should I treat?

 

Columnaris will look like a smooth gray patch. Its dead tissue the bacteria killed. It's more like a discoloration. As the disease progresses a secondary fungal infection might occur.
The pictured Shellie looks to have a tiny white fuzzy growth, not a discoloration.
50% weekly WC. Only one measured feeding a day. That should keep the nitrates down & aid in a speedy recovery.

 

Columnaris will look like a smooth gray patch. Its dead tissue the bacteria killed. It's more like a discoloration. As the disease progresses a secondary fungal infection might occur.
The pictured Shellie looks to have a tiny white fuzzy growth, not a discoloration.
50% weekly WC. Only one measured feeding a day. That should keep the nitrates down & aid in a speedy recovery.

Alright, sounds good then! I agree about it seeming raised. Looking at it now though it seems like the white area has gotten smaller?! Would it be possible for that to heal that fast if it was just a minor abrasion w/fungus?

 

The problem is located in an area where a scrape type wound would likely occur.
My Africans, even the Botia Loaches, get scraped up on the limestone. Simple abrasions typically heal in a week maybe a little more.

 

Anyone suggestions on how to handle any aggression? Because everyone is still establishing territory I understand aggression is unavoidable but I’m not sure how or when to intervene if things get to bad. So far I’ve seen two lip locking once or twice, and a bit of fin nipping but they seem to be calm right now.

 

Sounds normal to me. Once the group establishes its hierarchy & they get used to each other a relative peace should develope.
If noticeable injuries result, scramble the hardscape. Maybe make shell mounds, or add a few chunky pieces of limestone.

 

Sounds normal to me. Once the group establishes its hierarchy & they get used to each other a relative peace should develope.
If noticeable injuries result, scramble the hardscape. Maybe make shell mounds, or add a few chunky pieces of limestone.

Great! I noticed one of the larger shellies has been hanging out at the top a bit more than the rest. Would adding in a tall plant help him feel more comfortable or should I just wait for him to feel more secure?

 

An elevated hardscape works well with most fish species, especially African Cichlids.

 

An elevated hardscape works well with most fish species, especially African Cichlids.

Alright, I’ll add in a few plants then. Thanks!

 

I added in a plant at the end of one of the pairs territory (also where the stressed fish had been hanging out) to help break up the line of sight. I’ll be adding more but for now this is it until I can go to my LFS or find some more fake plants that look nice in there.

 

Just another little update on how they’ve been doing:

They all seem to have calmed down and I’m not seeing any fighting. 7 of them are doing great and the 8th (the one that’s been hiding) is slowly becoming more brave and has been coming out more and more.

 

All the shellies are doing great, but the heater started rusting so I removed it. I’m going to order an adjustable one today. Will they be ok without the heater for a few days? I’ll also be doing a water change today just in case.

 

I got plants!!! I was a bit worried because of a shipping delay, but they all look great. I got some huge Java ferns and some beautiful anubias!


The shell dwellers are doing good. 5 of them have taken over a terracotta pot, 1 is living in a cave, 1 found a big shell that it likes, and the other is still hiding. I’m a bit worried about the one that’s hiding, but it looks healthy and is still coming out to eat.

 

The heater arrived!! It’ll probably go in the tank tomorrow, because I’ll be testing it overnight. It’s bigger than I thought, but it’s slim enough I’ll be able to hide It.

 

What king of heater?

 

What king of heater?

It’s a fluval M series heater. I’ll be using the same type of heater for my saltwater tank, so I figured I may as well try it out in this tank before I got one for the saltwater tank.

 

It’s a fluval M series heater. I’ll be using the same type of heater for my saltwater tank, so I figured I may as well try it out in this tank before I got one for the saltwater tank.

I’ve been slowly switching all my tanks to the Fluval M. I really like them; very consistent temps and I love that the control dial clicks instead of just turning. Makes it much easier to figure out adjustments. But, yeah, they are a bit tall.

 

I’ve been slowly switching all my tanks to the Fluval M. I really like them; very consistent temps and I love that the control dial clicks instead of just turning. Makes it much easier to figure out adjustments. But, yeah, they are a bit tall.

That’s great to hear! I’m pretty excited, as I was just using a cheap preset heater before. I didn’t realize it clicked instead of turning, that’ll make controlling the temp much easier.

 

Ooooh, how did I miss this thread? Watching

 

Hey Guys can you post pics of the heater in the tank. Looking to replace a few Aqueon Pros. CTYankee79 mentioned he has been using the Fluval E.

 

Hey Guys can you post pics of the heater in the tank. Looking to replace a few Aqueon Pros. CTYankee79 mentioned he has been using the Fluval E.

I’ll try to remember in the morning. I realized I don’t have an extra air stone or filter for water movement (to spread heat around) so I’m just gonna not test it tonight and monitor it when I put it in tomorrow. Here’s how it looks out of the water

 

I know I posted a pic in the other thread jmaldo but here’s one from when the tank was first planted so it’s easier to see
Edit: it’s a 300w in a 40breeder so it does look a bit big in the tank, but it was cheaper than the 200w

 

Alright, the heaters in. It’s taking awhile to heat up the tank (I set it at 76, and it started at 70. It’s at about 72°F right now) but I don’t really mind because I don’t want to shock the fish. One half of the tank is being heated up, but the heat hasn’t really spread around yet. I really need more flow in there, so that’s probably why it’s taking so long. I’m going to get an airstone today or tomorrow.

 

Yay, it’s working! The temp is now at 76°F and I’m seeing a HUGE increase in activity. It’s really cool to see how their behavior changed! Also, does anyone know why 5 of them have taken over one terracotta pot? I thought they all would choose separate hides, but it looks like I was wrong.