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Im setting up a 20g shellie tank but not sure exactly what to put in it.Would i be able to mix simili n multi w/o problem?And how many can i house in a 20g?

A 20 is a GREAT size for shellies. Is it a 20 long (30" long) or tall (24" long)?

You definitely don't want to mix multis and similis. First, generally only one species of shellie should be kept in a tank because, as they share the same niche, one species will generally kick the other out and/or kill them. It can sometimes work in tanks that are 4' or larger but can still have problems. Secondly, multis and similis can easily interbreed and hybridize, which leads to no end of problems.

But, keeping one species'll be more fun anyway. Both of these fish are colonial species, although they're not entirely the same behavior-wise, so they're happy to live in large groups. If you start with 6-8 juveniles of whichever species you choose, you can remove any males that get kicked out and then the fish will quite happily spawn and spawn and spawn until the tank's quite full.

One thing similis and multis need that's a bit different from other shelldweller species is a thick carpet of shells. In the wild they can live on shellbeds as deep as 20' and as large around, with nothing but shells, shells, shells, and a bit of mulm-filled algae. The old "two to three shells per fish" guideline doesn't begin to be enough for these species, so you'll want to find cheap shells and LOTS of them - you might try [link=here]http://www.shelldwellers.com/index.php?board=11;action=display;threadid=103" style="COLOR: #4040FF[/link] for ideas on where to get shells in bulk and on the cheap.

-Molly
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Its a 20 tall.Kinda figured i couldn't mix the 2 just couldn't decide which 1 i wanted.Guess i can see what the lfs can get in and go from there.Thanks for the tip about the shells i wouldve went with 3 per fish.Are there any other shellies that are also nice?I,ve checked out a few that i could find but nothing i really cared for.Rare and different would be good.Thanks again for the advice!

There are lots of good species - it'd probably be best to find out what species are available locally and choose from among those. However, since it's a tall and not a long, the best fits for the tank size are multis, similis, or N. brevis.

-Molly
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