# My 5.5 gal Shelly tank



## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

This has been setup and running for about 2 months now I just have not gotten around to getting some pictures up until now.

The tank is a standard Perfecto 5.5 gallon that I had originally bought an used as a hospital tank. It sat for months unused, as I keep clean aquariums with excellent water parameters and have not had any sick fish since I originally setup my 55 gallon last year. I decided that Shellies were cool when I first saw them, and jumped on the chance to buy some Ocellatus 'Gold' at my LFS.

The dimensions are 16" L x 9.5" W x 10" H. This is a standard footprint.

It has a Perfecto Fluorescent Hood, which ran me about $35 (about 3x times the cost of the tank itself!).

I'm using a 25 watt Stealth heater, which is perfect size and as consistent as the other 3 Stealth heaters I use.

A small Tetra airpump provides air for the filter. I still swear by these airpumps, and for the price, you really can't beat their proven performance and very low sound output.

The filtration is performed using a LFS Excell sponge filter, however you can see that I have an ATI Hydro-Sponge II filter seasoning and building up bacteria colony sitting in the tank. This filter will soon replace the Excell filter. The Hydro-Filter I is rated at 10 gallons while the Hydro-Sponge II is capable of 20 gallons. I chose the Hydro-Sponge II over the Hydro-Sponge I because it has a 1" smaller sponge diameter (but is 2" taller) allowing for more floor space in the aquarium.

Hydro-Sponge I - 2" T x 3 3/4" W
Hydro-Sponge II - 4" T x 2 3/4" W

As with Frank Mueller, I am a huge fan of these filters. An airstone can be added inside the filter, which I think actually helps the filtration of the unit and definitely improves aeration in the tank. I filter my 40 gallon breeder using two Hydro-Sponge I filters. Even though the Hydro-Sponge I filter is only rated for up to 10 gallons, the two Hydro Sponge II filters keeps my 40 gallon at perfect water parameters.

The tank is using pool filter sand as the substrate, Escargot shells that I ordered from France (they were considerably cheaper shipping them over from Europe than buying them locally or domestically...go figure!). I've also added a chunk of sandstone I found in a creekbed.

I'm currently keeping 4 Ocellatus 'Gold' in the setup. 2 are still juvies, and the other 2 have not paired off yet. I am still unsure of the sex of the remaining fish although I suspect they are females. Three males were removed from this tank and are currently located in my 40 gallon tank elsewhere. I did experience some severe aggression with these fish (described here: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=194373 )

With all this being said, I can't really suggest this for housing more than a pair of shell dwellers. I have experienced too much aggression in a tank this size, and even witnessed pairs un-pair when placed in this tank. The 4 fish occupying this tank do fine now and are a lot of fun to watch, but I really don't know what will happen as the juvies age. I think one pair would be fine, but not a community.

I am in the process of locating a 5 gallon (half 10 gallon) like fmueller's and will be switching to Multies in hopes of forming a colony.


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## jbr230 (Sep 23, 2007)

nice tank! this is pretty much how i want to setup mine  goodluck on finding multies, but i think they would do better in a bigger tank than a half 10g. have a larger colony in a larger tank.

- jb


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

I agree that multis would do better in a larger tank, if only for the reason they will soon fill the tank with their off spring. My 15 L is swarming with fish after only a few months!


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