Brevis/shell-dwelling tankers.......need some advice.

[Gulp]

I put (4) brevis in this 12 gallon tank two days ago and everything is going great. The only problem is that I am not sure what their "natural" environment looks like. Is their natural home rocky, with shells in large piles? Is it barren with shells scattered every where? Are the plants or no plants? I can't find any good pictures of the brevis' environment in Tanganyika.

The tank is very boring right now, this is its current state:


Any suggestions on what I can do to make it look better? Any good plants for the sand environment? I know the big pink sea shell looks like crap.......but that seems to be the shell they are fighting over the most. That and the very large pearly shell in the back right hand corner.

As payment for your suggestions......enjoy some poor quality movies of what they little guys do every time I go near the tank.

http://www.roadrashed.com/Aquarium%2...g%20brevis.wmv

And another of a cory cleaning around the brevis's shell (I was really surprised that they generally ignore the cory and only care about fighting each other):
http://www.roadrashed.com/Aquarium%2...ing%20cory.wmv

Any pics you have of your tanks or other tanks would be greatly appreciated.

[Toirtis]

Not bad...toss in a few more shells and some hardy plants (anarchis, java fern, anubias)... a good background could do wonders, too.

[Psyhampster]

I'm not sure, but I think the cory may actually be a Brochis cat of some sort. It just looks too big to be a cory, IMHO. The tank looks great though! As Tortis said, I would add more shells, and make sure none of the shells leach calcites(or whatever its called)

[Toirtis]

Originally Posted by Psyhampster

I'm not sure, but I think the cory may actually be a Brochis cat of some sort. It just looks too big to be a cory, IMHO.

Good eye...I didn't watch the vid until I saw this post...it does appear to be a Brochis splendens.

[Psyhampster]

OOOO! I correctly ID a fish! I feel so special!

[Gulp]

Originally Posted by Psyhampster

I'm not sure, but I think the cory may actually be a Brochis cat of some sort.

You are right. It's an emerald Brochis.

[Gulp]

Originally Posted by Psyhampster

I'm not sure, but I think the cory may actually be a Brochis cat of some sort. It just looks too big to be a cory, IMHO. The tank looks great though! As Tortis said, I would add more shells, and make sure none of the shells leach calcites(or whatever its called)

More shells? 8O I have 15 in there now (there are some behind the rock that you can't see in that view). I actually separated the clusters today to stop the fighting. Once the shells were spread apart, each of the fish picked a general spot to defend and kept the battles to a minimum. Someone on another forum suggested I keep clear "bounderies" of open area between clusters of shells so they don't feel the need to many shells. This is all new to me, so I'm just experimenting with different arrangements.

I found a place that sells Neothauma shells. Other than those three large shells.....the rest are Neothauma. I plan on snatching the pink shell tomorrow as I don't like the way it looks in the tank. I guess I will order some more Neo's too.........the last time, they charged me for 8 and sent me 13.

Keep the suggestions (or PICS of your tanks) coming.

[Gulp]

Originally Posted by Toirtis

and some hardy plants (anarchis, java fern, anubias)... .

I'm hesitant to try live plants again as every time I do........they die and dirty the tank. I don't have a green thumb apparently..... My fish do great, my plants die. I might stick some plastic plants in though.

[Menagerie]

Personally, I only like FW shells in a FW aquarium. You can see parts of my two shelly tanks in my gallery.

I asked this already, but where did you buy the Neothauma shells?

[Gulp]

Originally Posted by Menagerie

Personally, I only like FW shells in a FW aquarium. You can see parts of my two shelly tanks in my gallery.

I asked this already, but where did you buy the Neothauma shells?

I MIGHT leave the other two sea shells in only because the little guys seem to like them so much.....but I'm like you. It will eventually bug me that they don't "match". The only reason they are in there was the Neo's hadn't arrived before the fish did.....and I wanted them to have something for the time until the Neo's were here.

I ordered the shells from here: http://www.exotic-cichlids.com/Stock%20list.htm They shipped Monday, I had them by Thursday. And like I said earlier, they even through in some extra shells.

[Menagerie]

Thanks for the link--I bookmarked it

[Gulp]

Originally Posted by Menagerie

You can see parts of my two shelly tanks in my gallery.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/photop...sort=1&cat=all

Your dogs remind me of mine....she loves to watch the tank.

[Menagerie]

8O
I don't have dogs, but when I checked the link, the dog pic was next to the shellie pic I'm not sure why the shots are put randomly--that is very confusing.

Here's my Mbuna tank.

[fishstixs05]

in my shell tank i used more rocks to create a pile in one corner, which slowly reduced down to come small cobble between the rocks. i also added some low growing plant (microsword) by the shells
Ben

[Gulp]

I'm going to go plant shopping today, and will look for the microsword. I'll try live plants ONE more time.....if they croak, plastic it is. I might buy some more lace rock to use as a barrier on the right hand side of the tank and I just ordered (10) more shells from exotic-cichlids.com.

I'm also going to try and find some top swimming fish that can handle 8.0-8.5 PH levels to balance things out, and maybe draw the shellies out of their shells. These guys are extrememly paranoid at this time and shoot into their shells every time they see me move. How to feed them is a mystery at this point. I put pellets in, the sink to the bottom unseen. I put flakes in, they don't come up to get them and miss them when they finally sink. I put brine shrimp in, they hide in their shells so long most of the shrimp is sucked up the filter before they come out. I guess they'll get hungry enough eventually to stay out of their shells.

[fishstixs05]

I had a pair of brichardi with pretty good sucess, you could alsogo with julies, or replace your cory with a synodontis sp. as for top dwelling fish, try looking into some of the african tetras, they are found some that live in more hard, alkaline water
Ben

[Gulp]

Originally Posted by fishstixs05

I had a pair of brichardi with pretty good sucess, you could alsogo with julies, or replace your cory with a synodontis sp. as for top dwelling fish, try looking into some of the african tetras, they are found some that live in more hard, alkaline water
Ben

What about a synodotis nigriventris? Looks like they stay under 2.5" and will feed off the top. The book I have says they are from "Central Africa", so I'm guessing they can handle 8.0 PH and higher (doesn't say in the book).

[fishstixs05]

those are the upside down catfish, i was refering to either s. petricola or s. multiplincitus (sp?)
Ben

[Gulp]

Originally Posted by fishstixs05

those are the upside down catfish

That's the one I'm interested in.......just wondering if they would work and can handle the higher PH levels the brevis need.

The other cats you suggested might be too big for the 12 gallon when they grow up. Seems they can get 4-5 inches.....I wouldn't want to crowd them. The upside down guys top out at 2.5 inches, which I like. The petricola does look interesting though... I might get one and if it does end up too big, I'll just transfer it to another tank.

[Gulp]

Well....looks like the upside down does not top out at 2.5" like that old book said, and it also shows their PH around 6-7.5........too low for me.

The more I read about the petricola, the more I like it. Now I need to find a LFS that can order one, and find out how much they are. This place says, "High price is the only thing keeping this fish from becoming a favorite among hard water fish enthusiasts." Are we talking $20, $30, $50? I'll find out Monday. Thanks for the suggestion.




EDIT: ARRGHH.... I just noticed from the link above the petricola needs a minimum of 30 gallons. Any other suggestions for a small active fish to put in the tank with the brevis?