New 10 Gallon

[Billsgate]

African shell dwellers is a good idea! And where do the shells come from? Some lfs' carry them. I once saw someone with a shell dweller tank and it looked very cool. No plants, no decorations, just a sand substrate and empty shells. And you don't have to start lowering tap water ph.
I would personally go for 1 male and 1 female. From what I've heard, they're not that hard to breed. But they do become very agressive towards other fish when they breed, so it should be a species only tank.
Here's a link to the smallest of 'em (2")
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/neolamp-multi.htm

 

[Kari]

Question: I've been learning that putting shells in a fw tank is NOT supposed to be done...is that not for all species of fw fish then? Are there other species, besides the african cichlid shell dwellers that you can put shells in with? I'm SO confused! :|

 

[bzbee]

African cichlids live in higher pH waters in general, while most other FW fish prefer a more neutral or even more acidic pH. The shells will very slowly raise the pH, but will not be significant with your regular PWCs. My water here is ~pH 8.2 out of the tap, so most of the LFSs around here carry tons of african cichlids, but they also carry lots of other fish that thrive in the same high pH. Speaking to my LFS, I found out that they don't do anything to lower pH, so all the fish they sell will definitely do well in pH 8.2 . If you're talking about mixing the cichlids with other fish, I suspect there will be aggression issues.

 

[Islandgirl82]

You could do a colony of maybe 5-6 shellies ( mulites ). Really interesting behaviors, not real colorful- but fun to watch. ( Can you tell my next tank is going to be a shellie tank )

 

[jersysman]

These shellies seem fascinating. I might just get a 20 gallon long tank to put them in. I am leaning toward some small tetras and corys for the 10 gallon. Yep, I'm gonna get me a nice tank for some shellies.