10 Gallon Shell Dweller Tank

[DigDug]

I know Cory has suggested that you can do Shell Dwellers in a 10-gallon tank

Has anyone been successful at doing this?

[CJs Aquatics]

Haven’t tried it but would love to, and don’t see why it wouldn’t work if you dial things in correctly 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/26/2022 at 6:35 PM, DigDug said:

I know Cory has suggested that you can do Shell Dwellers in a 10-gallon tank

Has anyone been successful at doing this?

@Zenzo seems to have done every shell dweller known to man!

[Zenzo]

@DigDug I have done shell dwellers in a 10 gallon before (smaller breeding and grow-out tank). A 20 long would be more ideal though (for just a bit more $ and space). 

Here is an article about them on the Aquarium Co-Op website that I had a hand in writing: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/shell-dwellers?_pos=1&_sid=bb24ebb5b&_ss=r

[TOtrees]

Agree with @Zenzo, it's possible in a 10 gallon, but you'll enjoy it more in a 15 gallon or a 20 long. I think you could do it with a small colony of multis, or a pair of something relatively docile like brevis. If going with multis, you'd need to regularly net out youngsters to keep the number of fish in the tank under control. 

Here's the long-form response 🙂   I breed gold ocellatus shell dwellers. The grow-out tank is a 10 gallon (they don't produce huge numbers of fry), but the breeding setup is a 20 gallon cube. They are pretty laid back as breeding adults, until/unless they're not. What I mean is that if you have a known pair that work with/tolerate each other over the long term, and that's been proven in a larger tank, then yes you could keep them in a 10 gallon, if it's appropriately furnished with sight-line breaks and a few extra shells [they don't need lots of shells like multis, but they do need a few extras for those random territory changes that you can never see coming]. Adults or sub-adults that don't get along are where things can go wrong. If you're buying a pair or group, you're far more likely (in my experience) to get fish that don't get along than fish that do. Unless you get super-lucky, you have to mix and match and fail and try again in order to get a successful pairing. At least that's been my experience. I've had fish leave the tank due to persistent aggression. And it's not physical fighting, but rather intimidation and retreat. Eg the submissive fish retreats to a top corner of the tank, right up at the waterline, and will eventually choose to leave rather than put up with the bullying/aggression. And it's not always one sex over the other, it could be either. The larger tank size (floor space) gives you enough space to include the sight line breaks and other things that allow the fish to make it work. So mis-matches don't end up costing lives (or rather, are less likely to cost lives). 

But yeah if you're doing multis then half a dozen in a 10 gallon, with deep(ish) sand, lots of shells, a few rocks, some fake plants (or real) and you're good. If you put in rocks, make sure they are pushed right down to the glass bottom, because the fish will dig under them and you don't want the rocks to shift and trap them. 

[DigDug]

Thank you everyone, The issue is more the space vs the money

If it was up to me, I would have a fishroom with all type of sizes tanks 😄

10 gallon is the max i can do in the space i have right now, and based off everyone is saying, it really not ideal for the fish long term.

I might try a GBR breeding project in the tank instead!