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Hello everyone,

I am somewhat new to aquariums and fish and whatnot. I am still currently building my 55 gal tank after doing a little research and thought that this forum may be a good idea for help. I had obtained the tank from a neighbor for free with a stand. I hope to learn a lot here and make my fish as happy as possible! I am currently trying to find one fish, by itself, for the 20 gal that will be happy on its own.
 
:welcome: to AA! :)

In a 20 I think a pair of either shellies or rams would look good.

What are those? I am sorry I dont really know all the types of fish yet haha. I am assuming they are freshwater? Where could I find them? Thanks
 
What are those? I am sorry I dont really know all the types of fish yet haha. I am assuming they are freshwater? Where could I find them? Thanks
your LFS might have the rams,but youd probably have to order the shellies(shell dwelling cichlids). both are calmer species of cichlids,but one shell dweller in a 20 would make for a pretty lonely display tank IMO


edit: and welcome to AA
 
Shellies are Small ( 1-1.5") African cichlids from Lake Tanganyika that live, spawn and raise fry in small shells. I wouldn't say they are "calm" they are pretty busy little buggers. In a 20 gal I would start with 6-10 because depending on the species they will breed like bunnies. Neolamprologus' multifasciatus are one of the more common of the shellies.

Welcome to AA
 

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Shellies are Small ( 1-1.5") African cichlids from Lake Tanganyika that live, spawn and raise fry in small shells. I wouldn't say they are "calm" they are pretty busy little buggers. In a 20 gal I would start with 6-10 because depending on the species they will breed like bunnies. Neolamprologus' multifasciatus are one of the more common of the shellies.

Welcome to AA
i meant peaceful,not calm. i really need to reread before posting:facepalm:
 
alLexX said:
i meant peaceful,not calm. i really need to reread before posting:facepalm:

I am going to have to disagree with that, like allot of African cichlids they can actually be pretty aggressive towards each other. Also I forgot to mention it's not normally a good idea to keep more than one type of Shellie in the tank for this for this reason.
 
I am going to have to disagree with that, like allot of African cichlids they can actually be pretty aggressive towards each other. Also I forgot to mention it's not normally a good idea to keep more than one type of Shellie in the tank for this for this reason.
really? i did not know that,thanks:)
 
Neolamprolongus brevis is the species I am referring to, they are very mild mannered for african cichlids and live in monogamus pairs. They will attempt to protect the area directly around their shell but if challenged will generally choose to flee rather than fight. They would do well with german rams as the generally inhabit different areas of the tank.
 
Those are nice species of fish everyone mentioned! I dont currently have a good enough setup to raise fry nor the money to buy one. I will keep that in mind when looking for the fish for this tank. There is a fish store in lancaster, pa that sells rams but I read that they were not the hardiest of fish and I am still a beginner.
 
roseabelle7 said:
Neolamprolongus brevis is the species I am referring to, they are very mild mannered for african cichlids and live in monogamus pairs. They will attempt to protect the area directly around their shell but if challenged will generally choose to flee rather than fight.

I was making a broad statement about shellies not narrowing it down to a single species/genus. As with everything there is always exceptions to the rules.

roseabelle7 said:
They would do well with german rams as the generally inhabit different areas of the tank.

I am going to have to disagree with this , As a rule of thumb cichlids from different continents should not be mixed to do differences in aggression, dietary and water parameter needs. Rams and Shellies both occupy the bottom of the tank and will defend their territory when spawning.
 
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