# Bookshelf Aquarium 6.6G 24Lx8Wx9H



## pupdawg (Jul 20, 2009)

I recently got this bookshelf aquarium http://www.shogging.com/Petco-Bookshelf-Aquarium-Kit-24-L-X-8-13-W-X-9-25-H/p/08D9B7F4 and thought that it would make a great bedroom tank for some occies. I have 5 juvenile golds. Think it would work with 5 in there and a lot of shells?


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

No, I think in most cases you would end up with a single fish. I wouldn't keep them in anything less than a 10 gallon, and really would recommend at least a 15 for occies.... sometimes it works though...


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## pupdawg (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks Fogelhund.

I was thinking of trying the 5 I have now and watch how it goes. Worst comes to worst I can pull them one at a time and keep them in the 30 breeder I have them in now.

I figured because of the footprint of the tank 24"x8" it would give enough room. The tank looks nice too.

Ahhh, I'll try and see how it turns out. :thumb:


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

No harm in trying, I guess, but I'm with Fogelhund on this one and think the odds are stacked heavily against you. I've got a 42 X 10 inch tank and two males are the most that I could ever do in there. Even if you end up with a 1M/4F ratio, he may reject them all. And when the dominant male decides he's had it with everybody, he'll push everyone into a corner of the tank. They'll spawn and fool you into thinking things are now going to be fine, and next day he's rejected his mate and wants her dead. I'd keep a close eye. Great fish when given enough room, but even my 3 juvies barely 3/4" are trying to kick the snot out of each other over territory. I'm watching my lone adult male and female go at each other even as I type this. Hopefully it's pre-spawning behavior and I won't find her dead in the morning. She's tough too though and gives it right back. I had a female go MIA on me a few weeks ago. Cantankerous fish, but that's what makes them so much fun and challenging to keep.


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## millphoto (Jan 21, 2009)

I would recommend either brevis or multies in a small tank like that.


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## pupdawg (Jul 20, 2009)

Yea I've been thinking about it and I think I may just throw one in there just so I can watch what he/she does.

prov356 - I saw your shellie tank and think its awesome. Did you have an acrylic shop custom the tank for you? The dimensions are 42Lx10Dx?H ? I would love to do a shellie tank like that with a long, wide, and shallow profile. Maybe 48Lx18Dx12H, like a 50 breeder but longer and shorter? Idk yet though.

Thanks for the advice guys. :thumb:


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> prov356 - I saw your shellie tank and think its awesome. Did you have an acrylic shop custom the tank for you? The dimensions are 42Lx10Dx?H ? I would love to do a shellie tank like that with a long, wide, and shallow profile. Maybe 48Lx18Dx12H, like a 50 breeder but longer and shorter? Idk yet though.


Thanks. It's 42x10x7. I built it out of some 3/8" acrylic I had left over from building some larger tanks. You could easily go with 1/4" (.220) for a low tank like that, but it'll still run you about $100 -$150 or so for the acrylic. In a 48x18 footprint, you might be able to get 3 males to stake out territories, but easily 2. For mine, about 18-20" seems to be the cutoff. They had an invisible line in the sand that was understood and they were ok with other males within sight as long as they didn't cross the line. I read somewhere that in the lake they stake out a couple of square meters.

I'd agree that brevis are a better match for that small tank.


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## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

Do you have any pictures of that 42" shellie tank? I've always dreamed of buying a sheet (or two) of 1/4" acrylic and turning it into a 7'x1'x1' shellie tank (with 2 sheets you can get one 7' and one 8' tank). I'd like to build it into a bookshelf in the den, but my wife was pretty adamant about not storing books below a fishtank .

-Rick


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Rick_Lindsey said:


> Do you have any pictures of that 42" shellie tank? I've always dreamed of buying a sheet (or two) of 1/4" acrylic and turning it into a 7'x1'x1' shellie tank (with 2 sheets you can get one 7' and one 8' tank). I'd like to build it into a bookshelf in the den, but my wife was pretty adamant about not storing books below a fishtank .
> 
> -Rick


Yeah, you gotta make sure they don't leak, it can happen. But, there are ways to add an acrylic seal to the inner seams for extra safety. I have two in my home office, and both are sitting on top of bookshelves.


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## pupdawg (Jul 20, 2009)

Thats awesome. Maybe a little later on, I'll try and get a custom tank done up like that. As for this little 24x8 that I have I may just go with the one gold occie. Just so I can watch him do whatever it is he decides to do. haha


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

They sure are awesome! =D> 
Is it just the angle of the pic or does the sides of the tank in the bottom pic flare outwards, making the top of the tank actually longer than the bottom?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Must just be the pics. It's same length top and bottom.


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## ladybugzcrunch (Jul 26, 2009)

Beautiful tanks Tim.


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## pupdawg (Jul 20, 2009)

UPDATE:

Well I started with 3 occies. Agression is relatively mild as they all stay within their "zones" MOST of the time. Dropped them in and they went straight to work digging and moving gravel. Funny fish I tell you. I'll watch them closely and see if they start beating up on eachother then I'll move them. Although so far so good.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Do you know the m/f ratio? If they end up being all female, it may work fine, but best if you can work in a male. I'm interested in seeing how this goes for you, and if your experiences are same as mine, so keep up posted.


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## pupdawg (Jul 20, 2009)

I dont know the M/F ratio yet. I have an idea, but not certain. One of the occies are noticably bigger than the rest at about an inch and a half roughly, the rest are about an inch.

I added the other 2 a couple days ago, along with 60 1-2" dia gold turbo shells and a couple rocks. Agression is present, but not intolerable. They mainly "show" off to each other and give a small chase once in a while but nothing close to pinning in a corner. All occies have their own shell space and when they make eye contact they show above their shell(s) to each other and then lose interest it seems. haha

I guess the bigger one could be a male, the other 4 are too close to the same size to tell and aside from sizing them up I wouldnt know how to tell M or F anyhow.

I'll try to get a pic in later today.


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## pupdawg (Jul 20, 2009)

Heres some pics:













































In this pic you can see the larger occie. The rest are like the one at the bottom. I'm guessing the larger could be a male?

They all sort of hang around their shells. Sometimes they move gravel around their shells or swim into a different empty shell. I'll watch them closely. They might be too young to show their true aggression as of now. We'll see. Love the tank though, and these fish are funny to watch before I go to sleep.

For those that want to know I changed out the filter that came with this PetCO bookshelf aquarium to an Aquaclear 20. Light and hood came with the kit and I sprayed the back black with krylon fusion. Substrate is fine crushed coral, 60 turbo shells 1-2 inches in diameter, and 3 rocks.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

so how has this tank been going for ya? been considering one myself i guess i'm using you as my guinea pig


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## pupdawg (Jul 20, 2009)

Its been going along well but I think its a little too early to tell as far as aggression is concerned.

Right now the aggression is fairly non-existent and tolerable. 3 of the occies have seemed to "claim" a very small area of shells their own. The other two just sort of cruise around.

Still I like it very much.


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## ahud (Aug 22, 2009)

*prov356*

I have been researching building my own tank(s) and I stumbled across a post showing your two shellie tanks.

You mind telling me the dimensions and tools required to do the project? I am in no way a carpenter ,but I guess me and my dad could figure it out.

Is it more cost effective to make them? I would only be housing Shellies.

Thank you
Aaron


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> Is it more cost effective to make them? I would only be housing Shellies.


No, it'll cost more than you think. I'd guestimate close to $100, even using 1/4" acrylic, and particularly once you add tools and supplies. I made those out of some 3/8" that I had left over from another project. I build from acrylic because I want custom sizes that are easily customized (drilled) and that I can handle on my own, not to save money. I can move a six foot acrylic tank around pretty easily myself.



> You mind telling me the dimensions and tools required to do the project? I am in no way a carpenter ,but I guess me and my dad could figure it out.


The dims on that tank are 42x10x7.

If you take a look at my site, you'll see a link to the 180 gallon tank project, and it'll give you some idea of what you're getting into. That was my first acrylic project and I've refined my methods since then. I haven't documented my latest, but hope to add it to the site once completed this fall.

PM me if you have any specific questions once looking at the site.


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## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

There are 36x12x12 (27 gallon) 48x12x12 (33) tanks available commercially that may be the most economical way to get that style of shell-dweller aquarium. Often LFS's can order tanks they don't normally carry, but the 55g is massed produced to the point where the smaller aquarium might not be much (if any) cheaper than the 55. Another good shellie tank is a 30-breeder (36"x18"x12").

If you want a truly serious tank of that style though, look at glasscages.com's 75-long... If I lived near their store and didn't have to pay shipping, it would be seriously tempting for my den.

-Rick (the armchair aquarist, who really likes their 125-wide as well, but $350 plus shipping is too rich for his pocketbook these days)


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