# little known about shell dwellers



## electriccichlid (Jul 26, 2011)

so i was told some multis and julies would be a very good mix for my 30 gallon set up but, i have no idea what these fish are or what they look like what are their real names so i can try to dig up some pictures and can anybody tell me a little bit about these species of fish thanks


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

You can check the Profiles section for Tanganyika cichlids.

Here is the one for Multies http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1749


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Julidochromis for the juli's.


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## Cooder (Jul 19, 2011)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/s ... corner.php

Heres a tonne of info.


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## electriccichlid (Jul 26, 2011)

thank you this hielps out so much i didnt know there was asection like this


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

I started several years ago with 3F and 2M multis in a 15 gallon, now I have a huge colony in 
a 24X24X12inch high square tank. There's all sizes, from very tiny fry on up to the largest adults. No need to remove the fry, all ages and generations live together. I have sold or given
away many,many of them, and the numbers never seem to decrease.
When I approach the tank, they all rise up together like a cloud, and if spooked they all descend
together to the shells. Someone at ACA called them "the elevator fish".


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## Lanaka (May 18, 2011)

football mom said:


> I started several years ago with 3F and 2M multis in a 15 gallon, now I have a huge colony in
> a 24X24X12inch high square tank. There's all sizes, from very tiny fry on up to the largest adults. No need to remove the fry, all ages and generations live together. I have sold or given
> away many,many of them, and the numbers never seem to decrease.
> When I approach the tank, they all rise up together like a cloud, and if spooked they all descend
> together to the shells. Someone at ACA called them "the elevator fish".


LOL, sounds cool, altho my multis all still acclimatizing to their new temp home, so I think it'll be a while before they finally settle in. ...in their final home. LOL, for now my multis are spread across 2 tanks, the breeding pair in a 5g, the remaining 3 in a 10g. They're separate only cuz I bought them separately and was quarantined at different time. By the time I got the second batch, the first pair has already paired up and bred. Once the first baby batch has been settled down, I'll move all to a 29T as temporary quarters until the final home, a 55g, is completed. Yes, I know I supposed to have the tank first b4 getting the fishies, but I couldn't resist, y'know? 

Football Mom, is this elevator behavior occur only when the shellies are the only occupant in the tank, or do they do so with other occupants in the tank? Especially with a predator like the Calvus?


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

The whole colony seemed to "elevate" together when they were a species only tank.
I tried for a while adding a rock pile and a pair of little julis and hequi, and the colony
did ok, but didn't thrive in the same way. I put a few multies in my 55 gal Tang community
tank, and when they spawned, they held the whole tank hostage!
So now they are all back in their shell-bed with no other fish.


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## Lanaka (May 18, 2011)

football mom said:


> The whole colony seemed to "elevate" together when they were a species only tank.
> I tried for a while adding a rock pile and a pair of little julis and hequi, and the colony
> did ok, but didn't thrive in the same way. I put a few multies in my 55 gal Tang community
> tank, and when they spawned, they held the whole tank hostage!
> So now they are all back in their shell-bed with no other fish.


Know what you mean. Both temp tanks both have an A. calvus tankmate. In the breeding pair's tank, the male frequently acts aggressively towards the Calvus, but Im not worried as its specifically armored against such tactics. It just simply curves its body towards the male multi and lets him rasp his mouth on its sharp scales.

OTOH, in the other tank, the three multis behaved differently. But I expect that to change soon. One of the multi has died. One has started digging the sand out from under one of the pvc elbows that is in the tank. I assume that this one is a female. The third and final multi is, of all things, swimming around the tank alongside the white calvus! But its NOT doing anything else, mebbe its lonely or sumthin. Shrug.


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## Lanaka (May 18, 2011)

football mom said:


> The whole colony seemed to "elevate" together when they were a species only tank.
> I tried for a while adding a rock pile and a pair of little julis and hequi, and the colony
> did ok, but didn't thrive in the same way. I put a few multies in my 55 gal Tang community
> tank, and when they spawned, they held the whole tank hostage!
> So now they are all back in their shell-bed with no other fish.


An update: I've finally added more shells to the tank and took out the poor substitutes (3 pvc elbows). Put in about a score (20) shells. One of which was a large pink whelk shell. Well, would you believe it? The third multi that kept swimming alongside the white calvus are BOTH in this same shell. Go figure. I'm guessing they hang cuz they similar coloration. Except for the (rather obvious) head shape differences, their coloration is very similar (if you ignore the calvus' bright spots). Dunno what's gonna happen when the calvus start outgrowing the multi, but that's ain't gonna happen for quite some time. Altho, I gotta admit, the white calvus is growing faster than I thought they were supposed to grow. I got it when it was 'only' 1.50" a month ago. It has since gained another quarter inch for a total of 1.75". Isn't this abnormally fast? Or is my expectations too slow? :\


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

My comps and calvus haven't grown that fast. And I don't know what to make of the calvus and multi sharing digs, lol


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## Lanaka (May 18, 2011)

football mom said:


> My comps and calvus haven't grown that fast. And I don't know what to make of the calvus and multi sharing digs, lol


K new update. Ever since I've added real shells to an otherwise empty tank with pool filter sand, the extra colors and pattern has brought out the calvus' stripes. NOW theyve 'broke' up. Now the multis are playing w each other, ignoring the poor calvus. Lol, owell. Gonna be interesting if it turns out the two multis mates and start making fries and the calvus start stalking them.

Looks like both the calvus and the multis prefer the turban and the whelk shaped shells. Ah good thing I havent bulk ordered the shells yet! I figured it'd be a good idea to buy a mixed basket of shells from the local crafts shop and see what kind of shells they prefer before buying a huge load of shells. In the other tank, the already breeding pair appears to have picked the babylonians and the bursa shells. Im beginning to see a pattern here insofar as what kind of shells these guys appear to prefer. Do ye (and anyone else) have similar experience?


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

Mine seem to prefer the turbo shells the best, but will use other ones, also. I went to the craft store
and bought a couple of bags of mixed shells, also ordered the turbos, and bought some escargo shells, too, so they have variety to choose from.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Be careful of the whelk-type shells. Fish don't always choose what is good for them. The shells that gradually wind to a smaller space inside can cause the fish to get stuck if they dart in too quickly, resulting in their death.


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## Lanaka (May 18, 2011)

DJRansome said:


> Be careful of the whelk-type shells. Fish don't always choose what is good for them. The shells that gradually wind to a smaller space inside can cause the fish to get stuck if they dart in too quickly, resulting in their death.


Seems like the whelks was a passing fling for my guys, they seem to have settled on, murex-types, turbos/delphinula-types and the babylonia-types. All three groups have rather spacious first whorl that quickly ramps down. About down 50% for every half coil. Plus all three (internally, in the case of the murex) are generally physically similar in shape to the N. tanganyicense shells naturally found in the Lake. The turbos look like shorte, wider versions. Im guessing they like the murexes and delphinulas cuz the internal shape seems similar to the N. tang. shells.

I think I will stay away from murexes (unless anyone know of any species that dont have so much protrusions on it? Im worried about the fishes injuring themselves on one of those spikes and stuffs. To a lesser extent, Im similarly worried about the delphinulas, but if the spikes are sufficiently worn down, I guess theyd then be ok.

By elimination, that leaves turbos. Lol, leave it to my fishies to pick the more expensive shell. Pound for pound they seem more expensive than many other shells. Cover the shells w algae and i think one would be hard put to tell the difference.


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## reflexhunter (Jul 25, 2009)

I use xl escargot shells,the multies like them heck all the shellies that I have like them.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

DJRansome said:


> Be careful of the whelk-type shells. Fish don't always choose what is good for them. The shells that gradually wind to a smaller space inside can cause the fish to get stuck if they dart in too quickly, resulting in their death.


Is this proved? Or just an old wives tale? Sorry but been using whelk shells for years with shellys without problems.
http://s84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/2 ... ure001.mp4
All the best James


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## PaulineMi (Apr 3, 2008)

I use escargot shells also and they work very well for my Brevis.


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