http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... ermanent=0

I FOUND SHELLIES. :happy1: :happy2: I stalked through old listings until I found the expired listing from a few months ago, requested a relist and the next morning it was up! Happy me.

Trying to persuade the guy to ship for less than 10, I think that's a bit many. Got the tank and cleaned it all up (annoyed as the people told me it was a Rekord 600 but it's actually a Korrall 60 which is 10l smaller).

Anyone have any advice as to how many I should start with (if he agrees to ship less than 10). I was thinking 6 or 8? Hopefully I end up with more males than females so I get a good ratio.

Fishguy this means I'll probably be buying those shells off you soon. :nilly:

I started with 8 and now I only have 1. For some reason I never managed to keep them alive I would get as many as you can afford to start with and then maybe sell them on once they start to pair off/cause trouble.

Yikes -- did they kill each other off or die all by themselves? :tears:

Where did you get yours from? Maybe it was a bad batch?

I wouldn't do 10 in a 60L tank, they can be quite agro and stake out territories, you can do a pair in the smaller tank but would have to have lots of rockwork and keep a close eye on them. I had to regularly separate mine when the female got smacked up, I just chucked the male and shell into a breeding trap with a lid so he couldn't jump out.

I wasn't planning on doing 10 but I was thinking a colony? I have read that 10 US gallons is acceptable for a colony, and mine is 15 US gal. Would you disagree? I was hoping to start out with 6 or 8 and end up with 1 male and around 3 females.

Will this not work?

I found quite a bit of variation with these guys temperment wise, but the most sucess I had was with 2 males and 8 females in a 200 liter species only tank with heaps of shells. They all worked out there territories and did well for years for me like that. Ive also kept pairs seperatly and it worked but the females can get a going over and definitly get more of a hard time than in a colony situation.

I couldnt work out what was killing them off. The guy I got them from had the same issue so I think maybe it was the fishstrain it self. But dont hold me to that

I feel put off now. Maybe I should just go with something easier, aha...

You should be fine id get 6 and as soon as you can sex them sell off the extra males?

That's what I was planning on doing Matto. Hopefully I don't end up with a heap of males! Not sure who would buy them if I sold them though... Not many people have shellie setups. I wonder if my LFS would be keen on the spare males...

Not sure who would buy them if I sold them though... Not many people have shellie setups. I wonder if my LFS would be keen on the spare males...

What are their personalities like? I can imagine people buying one male if they have a personality like a Betta. More of a pet than a hobby.

I bred hundreds of these and would house no more than two males and two females in a 3 foot tank. They need about 45 square cm of floor space as territory for each male, and plenty of shells to choose from. One male can have more than one female but the females need some territory as well, especially when they are guarding a brood.

These fish need stable water conditions, high pH, hard water and slow acclimatisation. They are really cute and super fun to watch though, just mind their surprisingly sharp teeth. :oops:

I don't have any three foot tanks, would a pair be suited to a 60x30x30 aquarium Jen? I can imagine that looking a bit empty though, what else can they go with?

A pair should be ok in there Sam. They are surprisingly cute. See my article in the upcoming Aquarium World Magazine! lol

These fish need stable water conditions, high pH, hard water and slow acclimatisation.

I was planning on stocking with white silica sand, holey rock and LOTS of shells and running some shells through the filter or mixing into the substrate to buffer the pH and hardness up a bit. I didn't know about the slow acclimatization, I'll do a drip loop in that case.

So IYE is a 60 x 30 x 30 big enough for one male and 2-3 females? Or is this going to end in tears? I'm getting mixed opinions from different people regarding their suitability for a tank this size.

I had I think 4 in a 75cm tank, which I then moved into a 60/30/30. I made sure that there were several areas in the tank, lots of shells, and lines of sight between territories were broken. There were niggles and shell stealing/swapping etc but no injuries at all or casualties.

I would try it, but keep a close eye and have a breeding trap ready for emergencies.

What gender ratio did you have sunbird?

Still keen to try these but now I'm a tad put off. Would be very disappointed to get them shipped all the way down from auckland just to have them murder each other. :-?

Don't be put off, they are a very cool little fish.

pm me what you are paying for these fish

if price is right I will take what you dont want and split shipping

if that would help you out