Shell Dwellers

Shell Dwellers-Shellies

In the wild, Shell Dweller Cichlids live on the bottom of Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Shell Dwellers colonize the thousands of Neothauma snail shells and form territories of their own shells. They live, sleep, and breed inside these shells. They mainly stay near these shells, and on the bottom, so it is best to get a short, long tank.

Shell Dwellers are the smallest cichlid in the world, the male's maximum size is 1.5 to 2 inches, and the female's maximum size is only around .75 to 1 inch long! This means that they are easier to keep in smaller aquariums. One of the most popular Shell Dwellers in the hobbly is Neolamprologus Multifasciatus.

Shell Dwellers tank setup:  You can use almost any tank, preferably a 10-20 gallon, and if possible, go for a longer tank, since they use mainly bottom space. Shell Dwellers are big diggers, so definitely have either sand or very fine gravel if you want to see this behavior. Also, they should have about 2-6 shells per fish, so they can choose which ones they want. You can use Apple snail, mystery snail, escargot, or practically any other type of shell you want. In my own experience with Shell Dwellers, Escargot shells work best. Also PVC elbows with caps can work fine too. Most filtration can work, just be careful that the fry can't get sucked up and make sure you do not use an under gravel filter due to the possibility of sand compacting under it.

Care Level: Easy, as long as you have enough shells and good parameters.

Size: Males grow up to 1.5-2 inches; Females grow to .75-1 inch

pH: Around 7.6-8.2

Temperature: 78 - 80°F 

Water: Hard  Use Tanganyika Buffer for Optimal Water Conditions

Origin/Habitat: Lake Tanganyika, bottom shell beds

Temperament/Behavior: Shell Dwellers can be aggressive to fish in their territory, and may eat fry if population gets too big.

Breeding: Make sure you have the tank set up like described in the opening paragraphs. Males will spawn with multiple females. They are egg-layers, but typically you will only tell that a spawn has occurred by seeing the tiny fry. Fry typically do not pick on each other, and parents are protective unless the population gets too big. Feed fry foods, baby brine shrimp, or finely crushed flakes. There should be from 4-30 fry per spawn.

Aquarium Size: 10-20 gallons, the longer the better.

Tank Mates: Depending on the size of the tank, you may be able to have other fish that live in the upper regions, though do this with caution, as other fish can eat your fry. Don't mix different species of shell dwellers.

Diet/Fish Food: Need a diet slightly high in protein. Use high quality small sinking pellets or flakes, variety of small frozen meaty foods.

Tank Region: Bottom

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