Shell Dweller Cichlid Questions. Help even if you don't keep shellies...

[The Orchid Boy]

I have 3 small juvenile shell dwellers (Lamprologus brevis 'Kitumba') in a 10 gallon tank. My questions are:
1) How do I feed them? They are so shy when I get to close, they dart into their shells. If I put the sinking pellets in they don't see them. I've fed them live food and frozen bloodwors so they can find food when I'm not around. Any ideas?
2) I would like to get a few more shell dweller maybe have 2 pairs. I have heard of people getting six fish as juveniles and keep the fish that pair up or get along. Would any of you guys reccomend this if I keep up with water changes and such?
3) I used algaefix weekly on another 10 gallon tank without bad cosequences. Can I do it with these fish or are they more sensitive?

[WhiteRabbit]

Good luck!

[fishmommy]

feed flakes or some other food that will stay in the water column long enough for them to come back out. They should get less shy with time.
algaefix - I dunno. I would try using half dosage at first and see how it goes.
Shellies don't pair...they harem. Go ahead and add more. You may have to remove extra males down the road.

[The Orchid Boy]

Ok, Ive joined the forum at: ShellDwellers.com - Index and have learned a lot so now I'll answer my own questions...
1. I fed them live food so they could find it when I left. This worked well, don't feed too much. They are now brave enough to feed at the surface and swim from one end of the tank to the other.
2. Neolamprologus brevis does pair up most of the time unless there are lots of females. If you get six, try to get 3 big ones and 3 small ones and keep the ones that pair up. Eventually there should be a maximum of five adults per 10 gallons.
3. I'm never going to use any algaecide again. I've read some bad experiences with it and don't want to risk it. Besides, algae is natural and microorganisms live in it that make good fish food. I let algae grow on everything except for the glass, substrate, and live plants.

[catherinecarney]

Hi Orchidboy--

Just found the thread. I have kept Lanprologus/Neolamprologus brevis in the past and love them. One of the members in my aquarium club has multifasciatus (which grow larger), so hopefully some of this will help....

Your brevis should become less shy with time, but as you've probably noticed, they dart back into their shells when threatened. Provide plenty of extra shells and keep the rest of the tank pretty open (their natural habitat is pretty open, and it seems like they're always on the lookout) and that should help. I've used all sorts of thing as "shells" for them, ranging from the real thing (the empty "escargot" shells you can find in cooking stores work pretty well) to U shaped sections of PVC (which is what's being used with the multifasciatus I mentioned). One more thing--they like to move their "shells" around on the substrate and prefer to have sand so they can dig them in at the proper angle.

Spawning and fry rearing (and I hope you've already had that experience) occurs in the shells. Really neat when the fry (which you usually had no idea were there) start poking their heads out of the shells.

I found my brevis to be pretty easy feeders and not at all picky. They can be sensitive to nitrates in the water, and they prefer hard water with a relatively high pH (ie "liquid rock"), so regular water changes and hard water (some people add small amounts of epsom salts to their water to bring the hardness up) help.

Keep us posted on how they do!

Catherine

[The Orchid Boy]

They aren't shy at all now and I have no problems feeding them. I had a pair but they seem to have split up. I have not see the female for at least 3 weeks. She must have died in a shell or something... They have not even tried to breed. They don't even dig in the sand and are hardly keeping me entertained. I think I may try multifasciatus. Are you sure they get larger than brevis??? I accidentally got one and have had it for a while and it is definitely smaller.

[catherinecarney]

Sorry to hear you haven't seen the female for a while--it's possible she could be brooding eggs/fry in the shell--at least I hope that's the case!

My Baensch Atlas (volume 2) lists brevis as Neolamprologus brevis, giving sizes of males as approximately 2.25" SL and females to 1.25" SL. I don't have a reference handy for multifasciatus (they're probably listed in the Baensch volume I have out on loan), but if they're similarly dimorphic you may have a female. Also, references I have mention that fry/juvies can be slow growing for the whole genus, but don't mention if that's due to water quality sensitivity or due to feeding issues.

Sorry I don't have better answers for you--I don't do a lot with cichlids (although they're neat fish). My area of emphasis is killifish (mostly Fundulopanchax and Aplocheilus)and unusual livebearers (limias and goodeids mostly), although I also dabble in natives (darters and madtoms) and bettas (B. splendens genetics for color and finnage is more complex than I thought).

Catherine

[The Orchid Boy]

According to one site male multies are 1.8″ (4.5cm) and females are 1.4″ (3.5cm).

Thanks for your help. I have only Tanganyikan cichlids: Altolamprologus calvus, Julidochromis transcriptus, Neolamprologus brevis, and Neolamprologus multifasciatus.

[catherinecarney]

Hmmm, maybe what I've been seeing in Tom's fish room aren't multis--they are considerably bigger.

BTW, have you tried keeping Lamprologus/Neolamprologus (can't remember if they've been reclassified) brichardi? They're not shell dwellers--they spawn in rocky caves--but they stay small (a couple of inches). Not too dimorphic either in size and color, so getting a pair is a pain unless you buy 6 or so. But their communal brood care and behavior makes up for it--really nice little fish.