phoenix44 Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Just awaiting Shellies... :lol: Sorry about the terrible pics. The hydrocotyle won't be in the tank for much longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Cool tank you might want to add some more hiding places though.. How big is the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted February 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 68L. 2ft long. Wont they hide in the shells? I don't really want to put pots in the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshlikesfish Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Could try some rocks? I've seen them in shellie tanks before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcculloch Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Looks good, quite tall for a Shellie tank. They will hide in the shells but the level of aggression these little guys have is quite something!. It might help to have something to break up the line of sight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted February 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I'm on the look out for dark jagged stones. That should help, but finding the right stones will be quite hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Where are you getting the shellies from, have Simon's started to breed yet.. I agree they are agro, and don't really hide in shells well they need a bit of space and broken up space (as already suggested) I started off with 3 in a 120L 75cm tank with tons of cover and 1 still got killed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 I think those shells are nice I really don't like that black sand however; I think silica sand would look a lot more nicer plus it would look more natural in a shellie tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 a shellie bit my finger last week when i picked up its shell. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Yuck. white sand. No thanks. :lol: a shellie bit my finger last week when i picked up its shell. :lol: hahahhaha. feisty little things from what I hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Maybe some sort of silver sand or something pale but not blindingly white then? I suppose silica sand probably wasn't a good suggestion because it is pure white, and I'm not actually sure if the sand in Lake Tang. is actually white? :dunno: But whatever you do, the black sand has to go! Get something else that's really pale. Then that gives you an excuse to set up another tank because you have spare black sand :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 No, Joe. The black sand will stay. It's from the river and I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Hokey dokey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 It may work well to even out aggression just having all those shells, but i no nothing :lol: Anyway nice tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 I used the tripod today. Pic is a bit better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Yuck. white sand. No thanks. :lol: hahahhaha. feisty little things from what I hear. ryanjury showed me how his ones bite when he gave me the tour of his place a while back. he said "they bite, it really hurts, watch this" :roll: I laughed a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 ryanjury showed me how his ones bite when he gave me the tour of his place a while back. he said "they bite, it really hurts, watch this" :roll: I laughed a lot. really hurts?? i didn't feel anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 lol well you are pretty tough smidey.. How many shellies are you planning in this tank Phoenix? I reckon you would be best trying to get a male/female pair and some other fish as targets so they gang up on each other. As I said I tried 3 in a bigger tank and they killed 1 and then the male started smacking the female up.. When I stuck them in a tank with other fish they were sweet as and put their energy into breeding like mad and beating all the other fish up that came near their shells. While there are tons of shells in this setup and tons of places to hide, it is when a bullied fish sticks its head out of the shell that it will get chased so it will get chased away from its hiding place and end up cowering in the top corner of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Just planning to have a male and a female in this tank. I've added some stones to the tank; do you think think this will help with hiding? It seems better to me. How aggressive are these guys? Like dems with each other or less? I thought they were colony breeders. LHS rock formation- RHS rock formation- Dennis is better at this sort of aquascaping than I am, but this is my attempt at it. Let me know what you think. PS- Lighting is 1x 6500K CFL desklamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 I have not kept them but have seen them in action. They suck a lot of sand and blow a lot out the mouth and gills so I would think very fine sand of anny colour would be best. They will bury most of the shells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunbird73 Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 No, Joe. The black sand will stay. It's from the river and I like it. Have to say I agree with Joe re: light sand. For the reason that, with the fish trying to camoflage you may not see their nice golden colours. I have light brownish sand (not silica) and I wouldn't go any darker than that personally as I prefer them more gold than blotchy. But the tank does look great with black sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 Darker substrate looks wicked and brings out the best colours in fish If it is lighter they tend to lighten to blend into it.. It will be interesting to see how they get on in there, I would chuck a shell or 2 down the RHS behind that rock formation so a fish can claim them and use the rock as its boundary.. They are a colony fish but only in a big enough tank.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 I have 10 in a 3ft 210 litre tank and I'm not certain its big enough. I suspect the majority are males. I was told that each male prefers his own territory of about 6-8 shells which mine do not have. Theres not really any scrapping going on (that I see anyway) but maybe there are no females in there to fight over. My tank has 3 types of shells in it and two large lumps of coral rock which sort of break it up a bit. The bigger fish all hang out in the same section of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh_S Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 I've had my 10 shellies in my new 800L for the last week with about 30 or so shells. Its funny how they have stayed in the exact spots they first swam to when i released them into it. They will have tank mates when we get back from out honeymoon in 3 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcculloch Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 I have one particular female which bites me whenever I clean or stick my hand anywhere near her shell and when she has fry the aggression goes further into overdrive quite funny to watch, I didn't think it hurt though . I think you should be fine with a pair in there mine rarely fight now but for the first couple of months they were like little pit bulls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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