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Tanganyikan shell-dwellers of the Genus Neolamprologus are lovely small Rift Lake Cichlids, that offer the aquarist a relatively fuss-free introduction to Rift Lake Cichlids, being less troublesome than reprobate Mbuna, and a LOT less finicky about water conditons than the likes of Frontosas. However, one requirement that might prove difficult to meet for some is the need for shells.

As far as I am aware, no-one is importing native Tanganyikan snails into the UK for the purpose of providing a supply of shells for shell-dwellers. This would be the ideal choice, of course, but until some enterprising individual starts importing native Tanganyikan snails, substitute shell sources are required.

First of all, I have been told that the discarded shells from edible snails are a useful substitute, but how many of us live within easy reach of a French restaurant? And even those that do might find the number of shells available to be relatively low, unless they are fortunate enough to live in an area populated by gastronomes!

Marine shells of the right size could be another alternative, but marine shells are subject to all kinds of provisions on collecting nowadays (and rightly so). And, some marine shells would look out of place in a Rift Lake aquarium anyway, being 'obviously marine' in appearance.

However, my visit to Maidenhead Aquatics provided me with another possible alternative. One of the aquaria contained creatures labelled 'Apple Snails'. These snails were not the tiny things usually seen in an aquarium, but robust creatures whose shells were up to 4 cm across. The question I have, therefore, is this: would shells from these aquatic snails be suitable for use with shell dwellers?

I'd like to hear from the shell dweller keepers and discover what shells they use for their Cichlids - I suspect that once again, the US is ahead of the game, and some stores over there are starting to sell native Tanganyikan snails. I'd also like to know if the shell dwellers will wait for a snail shell to become vacant, or whether some are likely to hasten the process by dispatching a shell's original owner!

According to an article in the June 2004 edition of Today's Fishkeeper, an aquarium for shell dwellers should contain a surplus of shells for the inmates to choose from, as they can be quite fussy. Which means that in an aquarium containing 8 shell dwellers, for example, one needs as a bare minimum 9 shells, and preferably a good deal more (say 16 or even 24), to provide room for exapnsion should the aquarist be fortunate (or skilled!) and the fishes breed. After all, how many stores sell Neolamprologus shell dwellers with their own shell? Probably because they too have the same problems obtaining shells, and once again, if someone is enterprising enough to import Tanganyikan snails and farm them on a large scale, then that person could make quite a financial killing supplying shell dweller enthusiasts with the 'real thing', as it were!

Over to you ...



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Well, here in Canada Tanganyikan shells are impossible to find - literally. I bought a pair of ocellatus a little while ago and the lfs did through in a couple of large shells. One looks like it could be from an apple snail.

To give them some choice I bought a few shells from a craft store and some from the dollar store. The ones from the dollar store are actually the best b/c they're light and have no spirals for the fish the get stuck in.

Now that there are ~ 16 little fry swimming around the excess amound of shells (just over 20) will come in handy. And as for the ocellatus breeding, I'm definitely fortunate, b/c believe me there was no skill involved.

Of the shells I've used, the fish completely ignore every other type when extra-large escargot shells are on offer. They were easy to find (yellow pages under "gourmet," first store I called had them), not terribly expensive, and came with canned escargot, which made a lovely mother's day main course. In comparison, the craft store shells were smaller than even the juvenile fish liked, far from natural-looking, expensive as all get out, and ugly. Apple snail shells that I've seen and ended up with have all bee too small and frankly also not on the natural side, as they're all too often the shells of the yellow snails, "blue" snails (white shells), or other odd shades. The escargot shells are attractive, roomy enough for the fish to turn around in (they bury them for protection but can still do a spin inside), and clearly acceptable since they all seem to be spawning.
Someone did send me a Neothauma shell with some wild-caught shellies I purchased - they quickly abandoned it in favor of the escargot shells. Wild-caught fish! That seals my opinion.

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

Hello Cali, Great to see you interesting in shellies!

The biggest thing about buying shells, is that you always have to have your eyes open. Once you own shelldwellers, you will always be on the lookout for more shells.

I believe I may have some authentic Neothauma shells given to me by the owner of the LFS that sold me my multies.. although I never confirmed it.

My favourite shells to use are the escargot shells. I was amazingly lucky to find two cans of them at a garage sale (that I stopped at impulsively on the way home) for 1$ each. This was quite a find!
Unlike LM, I had a lot of trouble finding escargot shells from stores... although I was looking for already emptied shells (I hate escargot). I phoned about a dozen delis and came up with 2 shells.
Try looking up Delicatessens in the Yellow Pages and go from there.

I've also used large apple snail shells. They worked fine.. the fish certainly don't mind the yellow colour, as they investigated and made homes with them just as much as anything else. So long as you don't mind the yellow, these would work great!
You may want to keep a lookout for actual empty Apple snail shells. To buy a number of these would be rather pricey, but usually stores that have apple snails will have empty shells as well. Every visit to one such store I would ask for any empty shells they had, and the owners were great, they gave them to me for free.

There are definitely different sized apple snails, but you can always find large enough ones. Smaller shells are fine too, because the inevitable fry will make homes in them when they are small.

I've also bought 2 larger conch type shells from the dollar store, which have been great. It is in one of these that my female has made her 'nest'.

Cheers,

BP