What are shell dwelling cichlids?

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Shell dwelling cichlids are small fish from tanganykia that lay eggs in snail shells
 
No rams are new world fish that spawn on open areas. Shell dweller include lamprologus ocellatus and multis.
 
Unlike rams, the shells are their homes - they spend time in the shells, and usually have a 3-4 shell "territory." They do dig, however. They are usually small - "multies," a popular type of shell dweller, maxes out at 1.75-2".
 
Honestly to this day I thought they were cichlids that hid in shells all day and I always thought, how boring!
 
Yeah. These are one of the few Africans that you can do in a small tank too. People put them in 10 gallons sometimes.
 
I'd love to breed them. My aunt is working on setting up a tank for one of those fish. Her friend is providing the fish so I'm not sure what species it is
 
Like bud said, they are very active diggers. They rearrange the scape all the time. Its not even worth having fake plants in there. They are also really active breeders, and you can get some huge spawns!
 
Like bud said, they are very active diggers. They rearrange the scape all the time. Its not even worth having fake plants in there. They are also really active breeders, and you can get some huge spawns!

They sound fun! So I take it a long tank is best suited for these?
 
They sound fun! So I take it a long tank is best suited for these?

Yeah, because they need lots of shells, and stick mostly to the bottom. But they are common and breed so much that it can be hard to get rid of them. My LFS has turned down fry from shell dwellers now cuz they breed like crazy! You might want some other fish with them that can make some of the fry disappear. But yeah they are really cool!
 
Yeah, because they need lots of shells, and stick mostly to the bottom. But they are common and breed so much that it can be hard to get rid of them. My LFS has turned down fry from shell dwellers now cuz they breed like crazy! You might want some other fish with them that can make some of the fry disappear. But yeah they are really cool!

Ive seen them and they are really neat but ive never really looked into them
 
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