Tank mates for shell-dwellers

So I have a 33 gallon (125 liter) tank and I will be putting some shell-dwellers in there. Most likely either Neolamprologus similis or Multifasciatus but not both. A group of 6 would be a good amount of them for my tank from what I’ve been reading on other forums. But then I would also like to add some other fish to the tank without causing any serious fights etc. if it’s possible. I would like to add some small cichlids that like to swim in the upper part of the tank since the shell-dwellers like to hang around at the bottom of the tank. I’ve came across a couple fish that could maybe be possible to put in a tank with the shell-dwellers but I’m not an expert so I decided to ask someone else who knows better than me. So the species are: Tanganicodus irsacae, cyprichromis leptosoma and Julies I think they are called. Those are the ones that I was able to find but if any of you guys know any other species that could be possible to put in my tank with the shell-dwellers, feel free to tell me about them. I’m only 16 and don’t know much about these African cichlids so I would very much appreciate the help . I’m from Finland so I’m sorry if my english is not the best.

 

C. leptosoma are surface dwellers so they would be good tankmates for shell dwellers but they need at least a 4 foot long tank. Julies are rock dwellers and may be able to be kept with shell dwellers but I suspect that you’d need a larger tank to provide defined areas for each and do it successfully. I haven’t tried it though and will leave others to comment. Same with T. irsacae, I’m not familiar with them. But it’s a goby and therefore a bottom dweller and I’m not sure how they would get on with the shell dwellers.

 

So I have a 33 gallon (125 liter) tank and I will be putting some shell-dwellers in there. Most likely either Neolamprologus similis or Multifasciatus but not both. A group of 6 would be a good amount of them for my tank from what I’ve been reading on other forums. But then I would also like to add some other fish to the tank without causing any serious fights etc. if it’s possible. I would like to add some small cichlids that like to swim in the upper part of the tank since the shell-dwellers like to hang around at the bottom of the tank. I’ve came across a couple fish that could maybe be possible to put in a tank with the shell-dwellers but I’m not an expert so I decided to ask someone else who knows better than me. So the species are: Tanganicodus irsacae, cyprichromis leptosoma and Julies I think they are called. Those are the ones that I was able to find but if any of you guys know any other species that could be possible to put in my tank with the shell-dwellers, feel free to tell me about them. I’m only 16 and don’t know much about these African cichlids so I would very much appreciate the help . I’m from Finland so I’m sorry if my english is not the

C. leptosoma are surface dwellers so they would be good tankmates for shell dwellers but they need at least a 4 foot long tank. Julies are rock dwellers and may be able to be kept with shell dwellers but I suspect that you’d need a larger tank to provide defined areas for each and do it successfully. I haven’t tried it though and will leave others to comment. Same with T. irsacae, I’m not familiar with them. But it’s a goby and therefore a bottom dweller and I’m not sure how they would get on with the shell dwellers.

Thank you so much for the information! I really like the look of Julies but don’t know if I want to take the risk of them fighting with the shell-dwellers.

 

Thank you so much for the information! I really like the look of Julies but don’t know if I want to take the risk of them fighting with the shell-dwellers.

Yeah I haven't done it so not sure. I have kept Julies and they tend to stick close to the rockwork and caves rarely venturing out into open areas. So they could probably be kept quite successfully with shell dwellers if you can provide sufficient habitat for both. So you'd need rockwork at one end for the Julies and sandy open space for the shell dwellers. The only concern I have is whether your tank has enough floor space for this.

 

Yeah I haven't done it so not sure. I have kept Julies and they tend to stick close to the rockwork and caves rarely venturing out into open areas. So they could probably be kept quite successfully with shell dwellers if you can provide sufficient habitat for both. So you'd need rockwork at one end for the Julies and sandy open space for the shell dwellers. The only concern I have is whether your tank has enough floor space for this.

My tank is 81x36x51cm and I feel like I could make like 2 different territories like you said. My local fish store is really close to me so I could try getting the Julies and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just take them back to the store. By the way how many Julies would be optimal with the shell-dwellers? Like 2?

 

Yes no more than a pair and I’d get one of the dwarf species such as J. transcriptus.

Often you can only get juveniles in which case you’ll have to start with 6 or so and wait until a pair forms and return the rest.

You should seek further advice to ensure that the tank is big enough for what you intend.

 

Okay, I will ask the owner of my local fish store since he knows a lot about all kinds of fish. He also won’t sell me those fish if he thinks that my tank is too small so no worries about that. Anyways thanks a lot for the help I greatly appreciate it!

 

I don’t think the tank is big enough to make the two habitats required. You need quite a big rock pile for the Julidochromis and plenty of open space for the shell dwellers. I would do one or the other, and personally I would go with the Julidochromis as you could make an interesting rock scape and even include some plants if you want (though they are not found in their natural habitat).whereas the shell dweller tank might look rather bare.

 

Okay, I’m fine with only having the shell-dwellers in the tank since that was my plan in the beginning. I’ll ask the owner of my local fish store in case it could be possible to take a pair of Julies with them but I won’t force it. I really don’t want my fish to start killing each other so I rather have only the shell-dwellers than having 2 different species fighting each other. Thanks for the information

 

It's a question that comes up quite a lot. I have a similar sized tank with shell dwellers and honestly, I don't think it would be worth the bother trying to squeeze in another species with different requirements when it comes to territory and layout. In that size, it's really one or the other.



It's likely that any fry would be eaten, which is kind of the point of shelldwellers - seeing them establish a decent sized group through spawning.





I have kept nerite snails with mine though, maybe something to consider?

 

Those snails could be a decent shout. How fast do they breed? The shell-dwellers.

 

They are pretty prolific given the correct conditions - hard, alkaline water, shells, and sand. That's about it. I keep n. brevis and started out with 4 - currently at about 20 all of different ages and have had more than that in the past.