Lemon Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 hi I'm hoping to set up a shell dweller tank and i have some questions what should I feed I'm assuming meaty foods but i don't know how big of a pellet i should feed my ph is a bit low for them(7.8) what is a good way to raise ph how many can I keep in a 20 long what is a good way to help fry survive and will other shell dwellers eat the fry around how many fry will I get per female thanks 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squeegee79 Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 7.8 pH is probably doable for them, but if you use crushed coral substrate that will likely get you to a more optimal pH. Smaller pellets or even flakes are going to be best, I would think not bigger than 1mm or so. I would probably start out with 6-10 in a 20 long. Once they start breeding you want room for the population to grow. The parents are usually pretty good at guarding the fry. I have seen many tanks that have many different sizes of fish from adults to newly hatched, all getting along. Keeping lots of shells or PVC hides for them will greatly increase chances of breeding and survival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 57 minutes ago, Squeegee79 said: 7.8 pH is probably doable for them, but if you use crushed coral substrate that will likely get you to a more optimal pH. Smaller pellets or even flakes are going to be best, I would think not bigger than 1mm or so. I would probably start out with 6-10 in a 20 long. Once they start breeding you want room for the population to grow. The parents are usually pretty good at guarding the fry. I have seen many tanks that have many different sizes of fish from adults to newly hatched, all getting along. Keeping lots of shells or PVC hides for them will greatly increase chances of breeding and survival. I will probably get 6 since they are expensive at my lfs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 I have a 20 L and I started with 6 and they reproduced quickly! I feed frozen foods: blood worms, mysis, spirulina brine and they looove Xtreme nano pellets. I agree with @Squeegee79 they are good parents, with the female claiming a certain territory (usually with multiple shells or in my case the sponge filter has become a shelter) and I've found the more shells they have the more spaces they have to hide. I have aragonite sand to raise my pH and wonder shells for hardness, because we have more neutral water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Use aragonite sand, may have to look in the saltwater section of your LFS or a big box pet store, or add some crushed coral to whatever sand you are using and it will help raise the pH. Most shellies are good parents and will raise their babies and not harm them. Multies and similis will grow and populate a nice community in a 20 long tank. If you don't pull some out and give away or sell occasionally, they will stop reproducing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 would pairs or trios be better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric R Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 @quirkylemon103 did you ever setup a multi tank? I love me some shellies! I started out with a medium sized colony from a local hobbyist in a 20L, then traded in half the pairs and downgraded to a 10 so the 20 could be setup for breeding kribs (which still haven't bred yet...), and have now decided to setup the multies in a 55g Tanganyikan community tank where they'll have room to establish a very large colony hopefully! They are so enjoyable to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric R Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Also, if multies are expensive at your LFS, I recommend trying to see if you can source some from a local aquarium club. I got mine really cheaply that way, and now I'm able to trade extras from the colony to my LFS for a sizable amount of store credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric R Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 On 2/9/2021 at 12:23 PM, quirkylemon103 said: would pairs or trios be better? Also, I think either would work fine, as long as you don't have more males than females. I have two breeding pairs in my 10g right now, and lots of offspring of different sizes. There was a smaller extra adult male from the original colony, but he was constantly bullied by the other two larger males that had already paired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Posted April 1, 2021 Author Share Posted April 1, 2021 I haven't gotten any yet. my parents said I have to finish my 75 gallon before I set up more tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric R Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 1 hour ago, quirkylemon103 said: I haven't gotten any yet. my parents said I have to finish my 75 gallon before I set up more tanks. Aw darn the whole you have to finish one task before starting another trope. Where would we be if da Vinci felt the same way?? [Note - I don't know if this actually applied to da Vinci]. I still haven't setup either of my saltwater tanks since I got sidetracked by north american fish and rift lake cichlids last spring. Of course, I only have to answer to my housemate, not my parents, about how many tanks I have setup and where. Though I don't know that I'm allowed to setup a 75 gallon anywhere at the moment.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSH OUTDOORS Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Just picked up a 50 gallon low boy to move my multis to from their 33 long. I have no idea where I am going to put it yet, but i've got it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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