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I researched on the weekend....

This is what my lfs has:
neolamprologus caudopunctatus
neolamprologus multifasciatus
neolamprologus hecqui
Julidochromis dickfeldi


I was almost certain I wanted * multis]http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_multifasciatus.php[/link] since they stay so tiny and I love tiny fish. Then watched the **[link=caudopunctatus
and thought if I was only going to do ONE species that I should go for them since they are so attractive close up with their lavender spots.

BUT caudopunctatus do not set up camp in the shells do they? And I really, really wanted to observe that shellie behaviour since the tank is on my desktop.


So what are the beauties and benefits? What do you shellie experts think? One species only in my 10g? And which species?




I only have a light with one tube in it... maybe I will have to save up for one that has two tubes to show them to their best advantage?

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* multis in our own backyard
**Caudo's in our own backyard
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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

First off, J. dickfeldi are not shellies - they're rock dwellers.

N. caudopunctatus, from my experience, prefer rocks over shells and spend a lot of time in open water patrolling the tank. I like these guys a lot.

I've not kept hequi, so I'll say no comment on these guys.

If I were you, I'd go with the N. multifasciatus. First off, I think caudos would be a little large for your tank - I'd prefer to keep them in a 20 gallon tank. Multis are great...I love their colonial behavior, they're constantly rearranging their tank (they're bull dozers with fins) so get them very small gravel or sand for a substrate and lots of shells. They're the ideal cichlid for a 10 gallon tank...plus their fry are usually sellable for cash at the LFS!

Eric

IMO, I would either go for the multis or the caudopunctatus.

The multis are just like Big E stated. They are great to watch and will multiply. But, knowing how you don't want the fry, well this is another story. They are great parents however, and very peaceful with each other. In fact, you will see multiple generations living together, and even caring for each others' fry.

The caudopunctatus, do get larger. But mine spawned readily in shells. The difference here, is the male will only hover over the shell as he cannot get into it. And the female is smaller and will do the in the shell game. For this reason, you may not see much action out of her, and only see him sitting over the shell most of the time. I spawned them in a 10 gal some years back without any problems. As they were the only ones in the tank. But, as the fry get older, they will have to be removed or the male will start taking them out. My male actually ate them vs just killing them. They lived about a month before he did this, so I just removed them from the tank after a couple of weeks. Also, the male can be very aggressive when guarding the shell of a spawn, so be very cautious if placing any other fish in the tank. Mine killed several different types of fish including catfish and upper level surface dwellers.

So, IMO, I think you should go with the caudopunctatus if you are only keeping the one type of fish and don't really want the fry. But if you want to see more fish action and movement, I would go with the multis.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Even with fry multies won't out-grow a 10g. I set mine up almost a year ago with 6 adults and have only removed fry once to sell, and that was by request not because I had to.

As far as looks, I had a fish-photographer (no kidding) do a session here. He'd never shot shellies before and was very impressed with them, especially the blue eyes of the multies (photo here).

Keep us posted on what you decide, I'm always interested in hearing about new shellie tanks

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Colony of Multies is the winner.

Stay small so appropriate for the tank.
Shell dwelling behaviour is what attracted me in the first place
Can have a colony
Will have only the multies in the tank so they can be happy chappies kings and queens of the castle

Hope they have a modicum of self control with the duplication effect tho'

Gotta get the substrate in first....

{Great pic Theresa M... was going to ask if I could get some multis from you but you are in the US... bit difdicult, anyone else in Sydney?}

2nd choice would be the caudos if I had another tank.... which I do not.
One at home and one at work is enough for me


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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~