new Pealy Ocellatus shell dweller juveniles (with pictures)

[gheitman]

Someone across town had some Pearly Ocellatus (aka Lamprologus stappersi) Lake Tanganyika shell dweller juveniles for sale and contacted me about buying them. I went and picked up all 10 yesterday and put them in their own 29 gallon tank I had just finished setting up (the filter was already cycled). I put 40 pounds of Eco-Complete African Cichlid sand in the bottom of the tank along with some rocks and 18 Escargot shells.

The fish range in size from 1/2" to 1 1/4" total length and my goal is to get a breeding pair or trio out of them and trade/sell the rest. This is the second tank of Tanganyikan shell dwellers I've set up in the last couple of weeks. These have a lot more attitude than the multies I got earlier.

 

[melosu58]

Great addition to the tank. They look nice.

 

[rich311k]

Great fish. I hope they do well for you.

 

[gheitman]

The best part about it was that the fish were only $1 each. The couple that had raised them needed the room I guess. They had some really beautiful tanks and were just getting ready to set up a 180g tank if I remember correctly.

 

[Gillie]

Great deal on the fish! Pearlys are one of my favorite shellies. I think it's their good old
Occie attitude that attracts me to them.

 

[gheitman]

They have been really going to town digging in the sand. They dig around their shells. They partially block the entrance to their shells. They make pits in the sand near their shells. The activity never stops.

 

[chase33]

nice looking fish. good pickup and you almost can't beat the price.