# Shell Dwellers



## Fishbguy (Jan 15, 2008)

Ok...I know it's been a while, but I've finally decided to get some shellies. This monday, I have the day off of school, and my mom is getting a surgoery, so I have to stay home all day 

I"m tearing down my 10 gallon, taking all the plants out, selling them, etc. and replacing the gravel with play sand(any problems with playsand? I have some in a different 10 gallon and so far it hasn't caused any problems and I really like to looks of it compared to pool filter sand) I'm ordering 24 large-extra large excargot shells off the internet when I get home today.

I like multis(the shell dwelelrs) but I"m looking for something different. I"ve decided between Brevis or Occies. Any pros or cons for each one? How many of each in a 10 gallon. This summer, I'm going to look for garage sales and hopefully get something larger and start a tang. community with julies, shellies, etc.

Where is the best place to get some of either brevis or occies online? I was looking at www.bluegrasscichlids.com and they have both, but prices are a little much. What is the average price for these cichlids?

Thanks alot

Andrew


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## Jago (Oct 5, 2007)

Hiya Andrew. I've heard that occies can be a little rough on each other so it can be a gamble keeping them in a ten. That said I don't have any experience with them and have read accounts of them breeding in smaller homes. Now brevis would be fine in a ten gallon. I keep a breeding pair plus fry in a 3 gallon eclipse system. I found them a little boring at first but now I really enjoy them. The female does hide *alot *. My male brevis is pretty large so depending on how extra large your shells are it could be an issue. My pair lives in a muffin shell 3.5-4 inches across.

As for getting some shellies google is your friend. Start by checking local fish clubs. Is always cheaper buying from fellow fish keepers.

Oh ya, I hope your mother is ok.


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## Jacob_valleau (Dec 21, 2006)

just get multies. For a 10 gallon, they are the easiest, and brevis can get too big for the shells, and they can die by getting stuck.


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## Multies (Mar 9, 2007)

as jago said, occies can be a gamble.
you never know what your going to end up with :lol:

these do best in 10G
multies
similis
brevis
calliurus
maybe signatus?

pros for brevis
small territory
breeds very easily
pretty big for a shellie(which could be both good and bad)
very cute when they share shells

cons
shy
dont move alot
too much fry
pretty boring tank considering that other shellies are much omre active


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## CalebT.W. (Mar 2, 2006)

i would not get brevis, as they tend to be kinda boring by themselves...ocies are risky.....i would say multis are the best choice....small


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## Fishbguy (Jan 15, 2008)

Okay...multis it is...I've been doing some research, and multis will prolly be my best bet as far as colony breeding later down the road.

How many multis do you suggest? I"ve heard 6-8, but that seems like alot to me.

I"m looking all over for shells. The place I was going to get them from is charging 10.75 for shipping  so I"m gonna try someplace else. I've always like those neothuma shells, so I"m gonna look at cichlidbreeding.com as soon as I"m done typing this.

My mom'll be fine...it's just a followup lipo thing :thumb:

I"m using cichlidbreeding.com for shells.

what are the best shells to use? the neothuma are too expensive, so here's the ones I like

Whale eyes-Nice shape, good size, cool color, light weight

Japenese-Cool shape, very light weight.

Gold mouth turbos-heavy, so not best choice. cool color, most like neothuma according to site.

So...what do y'all think? I get 0% off if I get 25 or more shells of the same type. Should I get a mixture of 2 different kinds? I really like the japanese and the whale eyes. What do y'all think?


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## Laetus_in_praesens (Aug 4, 2007)

as for shells i do not think that you can go wrong with http://www.cichlidbreeding.com/products.php?cat=10 
my gold occies love them - esp. the Babylonia Spirata and Whale's Eye!


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## Multies (Mar 9, 2007)

whale eyes are the coolest shells  
as for multies, a trio of 1m and 2f will be enough to create a whole ton of them.


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## Sin in Style2 (Feb 6, 2004)

http://www.chefswarehouse.com/Catalog/D ... d_id=GF101

have 100 escargot shells from this place and out of the 100 only 2 got broken in shipment. Think they sent extra to compensate. My multies love them.


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## Fishbguy (Jan 15, 2008)

AWESOME NEWS!!!

I just baught a 20 long for 35 bucks. I"m getting it this tuesday!

Should I still go with multis, or could I get 2 pairs of brevis? Or maybe a couple of occies? Now that I have a longer tank, I would really like to get something other than multis. Occies and brevis are also harder to find. I"m having a really hard time finding occies.

I'm getting escargot shells from my local fancy food store instead of ordering online.

I can't wait!


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## Multies (Mar 9, 2007)

congrats :thumb: 
you can have almost any kind of shellie you want now


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## CalebT.W. (Mar 2, 2006)

i would still go with occies or multis?


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

It sounds like you've torn down your existing tank already? You really want to keep the bacteria colony going. If you haven't torn it down yet but have no fish, you might want to keep it going with ammonia drops (fishless cycling) so you can easily move the filter material over to your new 20 when you're ready and have a quicker cycle . . .


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Multies are my favorite, but with the longer tank, you could go for occies, stapps, similis or other shelly. I'd skip the brevis, or put them in a smaller tank as they are less spunky than other shellies.


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## Fishbguy (Jan 15, 2008)

I have 4 other tanks with fish in them...I have no sortage of spare bacteria 

I always have spare filter media in my other filters so when I start a new tank, I can just take the media out of a preexisting filter, and move it into the new tank....instant cycle...lol


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## pcrawford1044 (Apr 19, 2008)

i have a breeding pair of occie. golds and they are a harem breeder but some times the male can be hard on females *** opted to just have 1 pair as any more would see the fry as food


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## rrich741 (Apr 18, 2008)

well i know a great sight that is cheap, it is in Michigan in fact, it is called wet thumb aquatics

52700 Base St., New Baltimore, Mich 48047
Phone (586) 725-0960 Fax (586) 725-7394
Hatchery Phone Hrs: Mon thru Fri 10 am-6 pm ET
We are open for the public to visit and view our 600+ aquariums.
Visiting Times: Tues 10 am-6pm, Fri 10 am-6pm, Sat 10 am-5pm
Email: wetthumbaquatics.com 
check it out, the prices are amazingly cheap(though shipping is a little expensive if you can drive there you can get the prises cheap, check out the sight, shellies there are at the most six dollars. i bought multies and they are doing great, they have occelotes and brevis


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## Fishbguy (Jan 15, 2008)

^^
That's where I'm getting my fish ffrom...It's a little less than a half hour away from my house, and it's like, 2 minutes from my cousins house(who's house I am at all the time in the summer).

So that's where I'm getting them from. I'de rather pay the 5 dollars each per fish than the 8 bucks each plus shipping on the internet...lol


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## truejeepers (Apr 6, 2008)

I will plug that place too!

WET THUMB AQUATICS is a great place.

This place has been around for 50 or more years, family owned and full of knowledge.

I took my family an hour and a half out there to check it out. Wow it was cool. 600 tanks ad all sorts of cichlids at different stages of growth.

It was the first time I have ever seen egg tumblers in action and thousands and thousands of frye. Sweeeeeet!

I picked up 6 Multies and 4 Praecox rainbows. Also they sell flake, brine, and pellets very cheap.


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