# Neolamprologus brevis not going in shells



## Caton (May 10, 2010)

*is it normal for N. brevis to not claim a shell?*​
Yes150.00%No150.00%


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## Caton (May 10, 2010)

I have 5 N. brevis in my 20g high tank, it has some rocks in it providing some caves and has 6 escargot that I got from Germany off of Ebay and one larger sea shell (one inch opening) that was sold to me by my LFS. Now 4 of the N. brevis are not going into the shells, one has claimed a shell but that was given up when I added some softer and finer grain sand to the tank. Should I be worried? They are 5 months old and pH is around 8.2-8.3, only other things in the tank is some water sprite and a bunch of Malaysian trumpet snail and one assassin snail to eat some of the MTS. The shells are spaced as far apart as they can be evenly. One N. brevis also lost a gill cover but is acting normally and has been that way for a month now with no ill effect.

My 6 Lamprologus ocellatus 'Isanga' have claimed almost all 7 shells in their 29g tank and protect them very highly I found out after having one of the lil' guys swim up and bite me, boy, that thing freaked my out and I almost broke my hood (I took the light off) trying to get my hand out quickly because I had not had that happen to me before with any of my other fish. :roll:

Is this normal?

Thank you,
Caton


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

:lol: Yes- being attacked by occies is normal.

And, your brevis are young- they'll get around to the shells when they are ready. :thumb:


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

Caton said:


> My 6 Lamprologus ocellatus 'Isanga' have claimed almost all 7 shells in their 29g tank and protect them very highly I found out after having one of the lil' guys swim up and bite me, boy, that thing freaked my out and I almost broke my hood (I took the light off) trying to get my hand out quickly because I had not had that happen to me before with any of my other fish. :roll:


 :lol:

My male Calvus does this when he's guarding a spawn. Even when I know it's coming I still jump.

If your brevis seem otherwise healthy, I wouldn't worry to much about them neglecting the shells.


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## Caton (May 10, 2010)

Glad to know I am not the only one that has fish biting the hand that feeds them. :lol:

Wanna see some pictures?

(I had gravel in the occie's tank two days ago, I just switched it out and these pictures are when they just got in the tank)

'Isanga'

































Brevis tank (20g high tank)









This one is hurt, its gill cover got ripped off by a tiger barb (I think...tiger barbs are for sale and are in holding tank now)
















Ironic that this assassin snail is eating a MTS while a MTS is cleaning its shell...









All these pictures were taken today, I plan on getting more of the brevis but the glare prevented me from getting good pictures, it now has sand as you will notice, and more shells.

29g tank with occies









Pictures of the ocellatus









He dug a little barrier of sand around his shell


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## Caton (May 10, 2010)

Oh, and that screen mesh had ricca in it, but it is now in my 10g.


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

looks good! maybe make your shells a little more random. :thumb:


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

Love the pictures. I just ordered 6 'Kitumbas' and some Cyps. Looking forward to getting them in the tank.


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## Caton (May 10, 2010)

I would make it random but then they wouldn't have enough space for territory, these guys are mean.


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## Jamey (Jul 19, 2008)

never had brevis, but I did have some multies that, in a tank literally 95% covered in shells went to the single pile of rocks (2 females) and made that their home where they spawned happily for 2 years...


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## fiupntballr (Jul 7, 2004)

My brevis will go through phases but im my 180 I see them swimming out in the open all the time


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## Caton (May 10, 2010)

I hope to have these guys spawn. Never bred a fish other than platies so hopefully that will change.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

I have kept two pairs of L. brevis 'Ikola Sunspot' in my 240G for many years. In my experience a pair will choose one shell as soon as they have paired up. My females continuously went in and out of the shells, while the males are really too large to fit into escargot shells. They defend the outer perimeter of the territory. My brevis tolerated only one shell in their territory, and completely buried all other shells in the sand, so they could not be seen. Maybe they are worried empty shells would attract other fish into their territory? I have not observed this behavior with any other shell dweller.

In the 8' tank, the 2 pairs of brevis chose territories in close proximity - about 1' apart - but on opposite sides of a large rock. This rock blocked the line of sight between the shells, but both males would frequently swim around the rock to check on the other pair. While paired up, all 4 brevis would stay in their small area in one corner of the tank. They would never venture into other areas on the far end of the tank.

However, when one male lost his female, he spend several days swimming around the entire tank. I believe h was looking for a new mate. Eventually he got into a huge fight with the other brevis - presumable over the remaining female. In this fight one brevis male lost an eye, I don't know which one, and the one with two eyes stayed with the female. I quickly bought another female, and she paired up with the remaining male withing hours of being introduced to the tank. They moved into the same shell on the other side of the rock, and things returned to normal.

I've kept few fish that were as interesting to watch over many years as these little shellies :thumb:


















_One of my brevis pairs guarding their shell. In the second photo the female is behind the male, and mostly covered by him._


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I never knew brevis got the bump on the head. And never thought a front would not eat them, LOL.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

That male is huge for a brevis, and he is ferocious. He bites into my arm every single time I reach into that tank, and even my Frontosa alpha male - whose tongue is about a big as a brevis - does not dare get too close to the shell that the brevis pair calls home 

More than the fronts I was worried about the leleupi. I know they are usually not recommended for keeping with shell dwellers, because they can be quite mean to the females trying to steel eggs and fry out of the shells. Yet, I have never seen them do that in this tank, and the brevis breed very regularly. The only way I managed to get fry though was to remove a shell with eggs and female, and let the mom take care of the kids in a 10G.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Well my leleupi wiped out both my brevis and my caudopunctatus, so I became a believer.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Mine is an 8' tanks, and they have been in there together for more than 5 years. Still, I have other tanks and could pull out the brevis at a moment's notice if the leleupi ever forgot about their good manners. I wouldn't have tried it in a tank smaller than 8'.


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