# lake tanganyika shell dwellers



## sr20det (23 May 2011)

Anyone keep them?

Do they feet well with planted aquaria, as they are knwon to dig up sand.

Also whats the smallest tank I could get away with to keep a pair or three in.


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## dw1305 (23 May 2011)

Hi all,
If you get _Lamprologus multifasciatus_ (or the very similar, but prettier_ L. similis_) you can keep them in 30L as long as it is a long rather than tall tank, you could possibly go smaller, but because they are from L. Tanganyika (really an inland sea) they need very stable water conditions,  and the smaller you go volume wise the more difficult stability is to achieve. Although they are small they are very industrious diggers, and you won't be able to keep any plants near their shells, although you may be able to grow _Vallisneria_ or similar in a corner with some pebbles. You can use pebbles to break up the sand bottom into territories, and the pebbles can be planted with Java Fern. You want to have as many shells as possible, I'm lucky in that I have some monster common snails (_Helix aspersa_) in the garden, but even they are a bit small for the adults, Roman Snails (_Helix pomatia_ the ones the French eat are better) once they are full grown. You can buy them from "Aquarist's Classified" or similar or as "Escargot".

I kept mine with _Salvinia_ and _Ceratophhyllum_ floating and that worked quite well. In a bigger tank you can keep them with some rock work and a pair of _Julidochromis ornatus or transcriptus_. If you go for a really big tank they are a good mix with _Cyprichromis_ as well. 

They are great to watch and I would highly recommend setting up 2 or 3 snail shell piles in a bigger tank and then growing out a group of youngsters. They are expensive to buy from LFS, but you should be able to pick up _L. multifasciatus or L. brevis_ from a hobbyist without to much trouble. They are easy to feed, but they do best with some zooplankton, I used _Daphnia _and Grindal worms as well as Astax red crumb, and they did well on this diet.

cheers Darrel


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## OllieNZ (23 May 2011)

Im keeping some of these guys at the mo. They are in a 180l bowfront. As Darrel said tank footprint is more important than tank volume the smallest tank I've used 50l and about 14 in sq footprint but 24x12in footprint is much better. They dont go out of their way to dig up plants and plants are quite useful to break up sight lines and give bullied/juvie fish a place to hide, they may be small but they are still cichlids and can get quite aggressive. Will post a pic of my tank later when im on my comp instead of my phone.
Regards
Ollie


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## Ed Seeley (23 May 2011)

All the species will dig but multifasciatus is the worst!  They will rearrange the whole tank substrate in a few days!  As they're also colonial I feel you get the best out of them if you keep a group in a larger tank, 2ft plus, but they can do well in a much smaller tank - you just don't get to see much of the interactions.

'L.' occellatus is a much better choice for a small tank as a pair as they will just interact with each other.


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## sr20det (23 May 2011)

I was indeed looking at Neolamprologus multifasciatus.

I was planning on keeping it in a 27l P@H tank that was listed on here in another thread.

I would be happy with a pair, or 3.

Pair, with maybe a pair of dwarf puffers.

Vallis sounds good, maybe floating Riccia.  Not sure what I can keep with them?  Shrimp? Corrys?

Open to suggestions really, always wanted them, but never really had the chance.  Just dont have the space, might just get away with a small tank hence.

Anyone know of sources?  Where to get them?  Hobbyist that breeds them maybe?


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## sr20det (23 May 2011)

And one of the attractions is that my London hard water is perfect for them


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## OllieNZ (23 May 2011)

Ive got multies, 30+ juvies so could spare a few . Ive not really found them to be huge diggers just in the small area around their shells and they have never touched my plants.
Regards.
Ollie


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## sr20det (23 May 2011)

*Re: Re:lake tanganyika shell dwellers*



			
				OllieNZ said:
			
		

> Ive got multies, 30+ juvies so could spare a few . Ive not really found them to be huge diggers just in the small area around their shells and they have never touched my plants.
> Regards.
> Ollie



Will send you a PM mate.

If only you were closer.


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## OllieNZ (24 May 2011)

Replied to PM
A quick pic of my tank




Its only been planted a week, Vallisneria Spiralis and Sagittaria subulata.
Multis will do better in a larger group my dominant male likes to share the love so the more the better then no single fish gets bullied. If you want 2 or 3 fish Occies would be better


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## sr20det (24 May 2011)

OllieNZ said:
			
		

> Replied to PM
> A quick pic of my tank
> 
> 
> ...




Are they not much bigger, I was going by size really, assuming multi's would be better suited for a smaller tank.


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## OllieNZ (24 May 2011)

Occies are similar size to multies http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/l_ocellatus.php A good species article on them. In regards to tank mates, cant advise for occies but the multies are quite well behaved.
Regards
Ollie


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## sr20det (24 May 2011)

Thanks buddy, good read, have to say do like the look of the occies.  Colours are nice too.


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## cheebs (22 Jun 2011)

Sorry for the thread revival.   

I have been keeping Multis for about a year now in a 5gal tank. I stated with 6 young adults. They do take a long time to settle in to their environment. It took mine about a month before they stopped hiding every time I approached the tank. A few glowlight tetra helped them get more confident though, but it was only a help. they still needed time to settle in.

I had my first brood of fry about 4 months after setting the tank up. You can try to encourage spawning by using slightly colder water at water changes to simulate a rainfall. Unfortunately, before the fry got much of their colour (at about 6 weeks old I guess), my filter packed in whilst I was away from the tank for a couple of days, and all the fry died, along with 3 adults. The dad of the first batch of fry died a month later. It almost seemed like he died of a broken heart as he lost his appetite, and didn't really do anything except hide in or next to the java fern on a bit of bog wood for the last few weeks of his life.

I was then left with just 2 adults, who subsequently spawned and are rearing the brood of 15-20 at the moment. Most of the juvis are 15ish mm long, and are currently doing very well. Its amazing how much sand they can move about in a short period of time 

I have promised some to a mate, but if you still need some I might be able to sort something out for you, depending on how many my mate wants. I want to be left with 4-6 juvis also. I work in the west end if that's any good to you.

You shouldn't keep any cories in there, at least small ones. I tried, and as soon as they had fry or eggs in a shell they went totally territorial and killed them. If you want to find tank mates I would recommend anything quick that's mid/top water, and nothing too small. For instance, young neons would be in danger, but older ones would be fine.

Also, If anyone else on here keeps multis and is agreeable, I would be interested in swapping some young ones to diversify the gene pool a bit.

I don't have any current pictures of my set up, but would be happy to take some if anyone is interested.


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## sr20det (22 Jun 2011)

cheebs said:
			
		

> Sorry for the thread revival.
> 
> I have been keeping Multis for about a year now in a 5gal tank. I stated with 6 young adults. They do take a long time to settle in to their environment. It took mine about a month before they stopped hiding every time I approached the tank. A few glowlight tetra helped them get more confident though, but it was only a help. they still needed time to settle in.
> 
> ...



Thanks mate, not got a tank yet, but could still be interested. Live in stratford, but work in Chelmsford. If your not far away, could arrange something?


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## cheebs (23 Jun 2011)

I work in the west end, and live near Sevenoaks, Kent (J5 of the M25). I'm sure we can figure something out.

Send me a PM, and I'll reply when I know how many, if any, I have left for you.


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