Fishperson
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hello AA!
This will be long, so please bear with me. Any help is appreciated!
Now, I'll get right into it: I have a 20 gallon tall tank (24 x 12 x 16 inches L x W x H) that is currently planted. Unfortunately, I don't like the planted aspect of the tank because I'm simply bad at caring for them. The tank, as it was, had very little potential. So I'd like to turn it into a shell dweller tank. I have three different concerns: maintenance, set up and stocking.
Maintenance
I know how to maintain a tank, but I don't know what the extra duties of a shellie (shelly?) owner are.
My city's water report says the pH is 8.4, but my ambiguous API master test kit says my tap is somewhere between 7.6 and 8.4. I think 8.0 is a safe estimate.
My TDS is 150, and my hardness is 28 ppm.
My tap nitrate levels are below 5 ppm.
I plan on feeding fish flakes, freeze dried brine shrimp, or sinking cichlid pellets, whichever is best (probably a combination). I'd rather not keep live food. I do plan on buying frozen bloodworms.
1. Do I need to add anything to act as a buffer for my pH, or is it fine as-is?
2. Do I need to add any additive or chemical to raise my pH or hardness?
3. Do I need to stir the sand around to prevent anaerobic pockets, or will the fish themselves do that?
4. Are there any other special considerations for shellies?
Set up
I plan on getting some really nice rock and having a pile on the far left and another smaller one around 2/3 of the way to the right. There will be some shells (probably 2 per each shellie) in the middle, spread out to the sides. I assume that the fish will do some redecorating with the shells anyway.
I'm planning on using escargot shells, I think those are what most people use.
As for sand, I've narrowed it down to white play sand, silica blasting sand, or crushed coral/cichlid sand. I think it will be some combination of play sand and crushed coral. It's my understanding that the crushed coral buffers the water well.
5. How many shells per fish would you recommend?
6. What are the advantages to each time of sand (just some brief info would be great)?
Stocking
At this point, stocking is my largest concern. The focus of the tank will obviously be the shellies. I think I'll have multies (Neolamprologus multifasciatus). I've narrowed it down, I think, to 3 options:
Option 1: Simply multies! A harem of multies, and that's it. I think one male and the rest females or maybe 2 males? Or I could start with 1 male and ~3 females and let them breed and populate the tank (I'll remove the excess fry and sell them in that case).
7. How many multies could I have in this case? I'd like to keep a low bioload if possible.
Option 2: A harem of multies and a centerpiece fish. Probably 1 male, 3 females, and some fish that won't be too aggressive towards them and will be a nice addition to the tank. I'm considering the masked Julie (Julidochromis transcriptus). My only concern for this option would be that the shellies would get aggressive while breeding, or that perhaps the centerpiece fish would attack the shellies.
8. What centerpiece fish are compatible with shellies?
Option 3: Dither fish! This is perhaps my favorite option. It would be exactly like Option 2, except instead of a centerpiece fish a centerpiece school of bright, peaceful, tolerant fish. They would hopefully inhabit the upper part of the tank, which the shellies usually avoid. I'm thinking Rasbora heteromorpha, the harlequin rasbora, or perhaps the Flame tetra (Hyphessobrycon flammeus), the Red Eye tetra (Moenkhausia sanctaefilomene) or the Diamond tetra (Moenkhausia pittieri).
9. Does anyone have any experience with these fish?
10. Are small schooling fish compatible with shellies?
Thanks for any and all information or tips you can provide!
This will be long, so please bear with me. Any help is appreciated!
Now, I'll get right into it: I have a 20 gallon tall tank (24 x 12 x 16 inches L x W x H) that is currently planted. Unfortunately, I don't like the planted aspect of the tank because I'm simply bad at caring for them. The tank, as it was, had very little potential. So I'd like to turn it into a shell dweller tank. I have three different concerns: maintenance, set up and stocking.
Maintenance
I know how to maintain a tank, but I don't know what the extra duties of a shellie (shelly?) owner are.
My city's water report says the pH is 8.4, but my ambiguous API master test kit says my tap is somewhere between 7.6 and 8.4. I think 8.0 is a safe estimate.
My TDS is 150, and my hardness is 28 ppm.
My tap nitrate levels are below 5 ppm.
I plan on feeding fish flakes, freeze dried brine shrimp, or sinking cichlid pellets, whichever is best (probably a combination). I'd rather not keep live food. I do plan on buying frozen bloodworms.
1. Do I need to add anything to act as a buffer for my pH, or is it fine as-is?
2. Do I need to add any additive or chemical to raise my pH or hardness?
3. Do I need to stir the sand around to prevent anaerobic pockets, or will the fish themselves do that?
4. Are there any other special considerations for shellies?
Set up
I plan on getting some really nice rock and having a pile on the far left and another smaller one around 2/3 of the way to the right. There will be some shells (probably 2 per each shellie) in the middle, spread out to the sides. I assume that the fish will do some redecorating with the shells anyway.
I'm planning on using escargot shells, I think those are what most people use.
As for sand, I've narrowed it down to white play sand, silica blasting sand, or crushed coral/cichlid sand. I think it will be some combination of play sand and crushed coral. It's my understanding that the crushed coral buffers the water well.
5. How many shells per fish would you recommend?
6. What are the advantages to each time of sand (just some brief info would be great)?
Stocking
At this point, stocking is my largest concern. The focus of the tank will obviously be the shellies. I think I'll have multies (Neolamprologus multifasciatus). I've narrowed it down, I think, to 3 options:
Option 1: Simply multies! A harem of multies, and that's it. I think one male and the rest females or maybe 2 males? Or I could start with 1 male and ~3 females and let them breed and populate the tank (I'll remove the excess fry and sell them in that case).
7. How many multies could I have in this case? I'd like to keep a low bioload if possible.
Option 2: A harem of multies and a centerpiece fish. Probably 1 male, 3 females, and some fish that won't be too aggressive towards them and will be a nice addition to the tank. I'm considering the masked Julie (Julidochromis transcriptus). My only concern for this option would be that the shellies would get aggressive while breeding, or that perhaps the centerpiece fish would attack the shellies.
8. What centerpiece fish are compatible with shellies?
Option 3: Dither fish! This is perhaps my favorite option. It would be exactly like Option 2, except instead of a centerpiece fish a centerpiece school of bright, peaceful, tolerant fish. They would hopefully inhabit the upper part of the tank, which the shellies usually avoid. I'm thinking Rasbora heteromorpha, the harlequin rasbora, or perhaps the Flame tetra (Hyphessobrycon flammeus), the Red Eye tetra (Moenkhausia sanctaefilomene) or the Diamond tetra (Moenkhausia pittieri).
9. Does anyone have any experience with these fish?
10. Are small schooling fish compatible with shellies?
Thanks for any and all information or tips you can provide!