Cichlid in 16 gal bowfront?

[Bubbles0oO]

I'd like to restock my 16 al bowfront, I have it planted and filtered, it is cycled ,

Could I do some shell dwelling chichlids in there? How big an usually how much do they cost?

Thanks for all advice, even if it means I can't it's just an idea

 

[absolutangel04]

There are a good handful of shelldwelling species, but for your tank I suggest either Neolamprologus brevis or Neolamprologus multifasciatus. They are some of the more common species anyways. The price will always depend on availability in your area or online. Just to give you an idea, I have found brevis for about $7-9 a piece. Maybe your area has them cheaper though.
You can start with 3-5 and then keep some of the offspring if you want to for a larger total, but I only suggest a maximum of 2 males (though somebody else might have a better idea on the numbers).
Just a note, these guys are good diggers so your plants may not fair well with them,

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I wouldn't put them with plants. If you can find. them they are normally in the $10-25 range. I think most shell dwellers are 3 to 4inchs

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Do they have a common name? Lol I am going to be calling up my Local fish stores hehe

 

[absolutangel04]

Do they have a common name? Lol I am going to be calling up my Local fish stores hehe

Just google the 2 latin names I listed and there are probably a couple of common names listed for each species.
If your lfs doesn't have them, this site Home has brevis for $9.

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Would they need anything special bit shells? How big do the shells new to be?

 

[absolutangel04]

I suggest you research the species a bit to know what you are looking at to make sure its the right fish for you, especially since you have a plants which probably won't do well with shellies.
For shells, the ones I know of that work are the marine shells sold for hermit crabs. You can also use other sorts of decor too like small pots.

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Ok cool is there any other kind of chichlid that could work in this tank? I'd like to have something diffrent from livebearers I have now lol the breeding seems interesting

 

[absolutangel04]

What is the footprint of the tank?
Maybe a dwarf striped cichlid or 2 would be ok. They are pretty small, but not very common.

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Well it's 9 inches without the bow wide
16.5 inches tall
20 inches long

The bow makes it 13 inches ish wide