All Our Shell Dweller Cichlids - Ranked! (Ok, One Isn't a Shell Dweller)

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

If you want to learn more about shell dweller check out these videos! How to Set Up a Shell Dweller Tank: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4SUkIhtbd1gmNE Multi Shell Dweller Care: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqrQgIadfsh3qdU Neolamprologus Similis Care: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJvOi56vnZZlmas Gold Ocellatus Care: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqKkgKV7dpuZr9k Neolamprologus caudopunctatus Care: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6ObdWR6mN9_bpo Also, our new shirts can be found at: www.primetimeaquatics.com/merch For the latest in the fish room check us out on Instagram primetime_aquatics For more cool behind the scenes stuff consider becoming a member! kzbin.info/door/YVN7EN0ALL6CE4U7NpMUTAjoin If you want to see all the cool stuff Joanna does with other types of scapes check out her channel! kzbin.info/door/PEZk1MpOTGiBVh6BtWjlRg

[@josuedraven3070]

i realize I'm kinda off topic but does anybody know of a good place to stream newly released movies online ?

[@jaspermarshall3973]

@Josue Draven Ehh atm I've been using Flixportal. You can find it by googling :P -jasper

[@josuedraven3070]

@Jasper Marshall Thanks, signed up and it seems like a nice service =) I really appreciate it!!

[@jaspermarshall3973]

@Josue Draven you are welcome =)

[@Geneticlyinsane1]

This video couldnt have come at a better time , Ive just finished setting up a tank for shellies and i was trying to decide which to get

[@katebattista7400]

Same! Sand and shells came in this week. Very exciting.

[@martyborst5645]

JWA79, how exciting! What size tank did you set up? Sincerely, Marty Borst

[@Geneticlyinsane1]

@@martyborst5645 not sure on what the sizing in US gallons would be buts its just over 2foot ( 90 uk litres ) which i was going to have a play around with and then they have a larger 4 tank ( twice the size ) as an upgrade at a later date once the Jaguar fry have grown out and been moved on

[@naegwut]

Loving that tank with the floating hornwort

[@jasonpeculiar]

My favourite parts of the whole Prime Time Aquatics fishroom. Awesome vid!! Cheers guys

[@NWHSBL]

I plan on starting a Muli tank in my Waterbox 15 Gallon Peninsula Mini that's been sitting in the box for 6 months now!

[@NYGOLD]

I have to say Similis because I have them BUT after seeing those Neolamprologus caudopunctatus non shelly, shellies I think I have a new favorite. What a nice looking fish, like swimming candy!!!

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Ya, they are really something!

[@adammason4454]

I currently have a multi tank for about a year now. I plan on getting more shellies in the future though I love these little fish.

[@drflocks]

Howdy Jason, a couple of weeks ago I've setup a multitank and I love these little guys. I want to thank you because your videos are the reason I choose to start with them!

[@audrameyer9558]

I have Multis cause of seeing your tank. They are one of the best (okay- cutest!) looking fish, if you ask me. Their personalities Crack me up!

[@tjautocross]

Didn’t expect a video today due to Aquashella, but happy you put this out. I currently have a group of multies. No surprise that they are my current favorite.

[@laurabustos6560]

I have had a hankering to set up a 20 long and get some shell dwellers. But I've never done anything but shrimp and nano fish so this is super informative! 🙏✌️

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Have fun!

[@martyborst5645]

Hi Jason. My favorite fish you showed is the Neolamprolologus Caudopunctatus. I really like the color of the top fin. Sincerely, Marty Borst 👍🐠

[@markhunter2244]

Always love the shell dweller video’s. My favourite would be (although it’s the only one that wasn’t a shell dweller) is the Neolamprologus Caudopunctatus. They look amazing 🤩

[@alekkoomanoff7281]

Tremendous template for choosing between the species. Think I'm down to 3 species when I finally set up the new fishroom . Y'all enjoy Aquashella now.

[@Alto1960]

WOW your videos are getting so good. Like the gentle music in background. Periods of not talking and just being able to take in the video is appealing also. Very informative and entertaining.

[@samuelwolf2779]

Speciosus aka black occies my personal fave just because of their coloration and personality

[@carolebraswell982]

I intend to set up a shell dweller tank this summer!

[@Brisco_County_Jr]

Same. Tough choice between Multis or Similis. Probably end up with Multis though.

[@martyborst5645]

Carole Braswell, that is so exciting. I’m happy for you. What size tank do you plan on using? Sincerely, Marty Borst

[@TheFishNerd]

Really love the caudopunks!!

[@dmaquatics4207]

Hello from Greece! Nice video!! Beautiful fish!!

[@winningworldwide764]

Uploading in the middle of aquashella! You guys are champs! See you tomorrow!

[@chrishammer4749]

So much plants rooted in the substrate 😮

[@lewis6569]

I love shell dwellers just never been able to get my hands on em

[@augiehong3927]

Awesome video! I started with 4 caudos: 1 died, I gave one away and the remaining pair have bred and bred and I now must have 40 in a 20L. 🤣

[@MiniManAu]

Haha nice are they all happy in the 20l?

[@Kobalt2772]

I was lucky enough to see someone selling caudopunctatus at my local swap meet today and I got a pair of them. Hoping they go on to make many more

[@scrubjay93]

It has been decades, but I had a group of L. brevis. Shellies are like the best of all worlds - personality in a small and beautiful package.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Love them!

[@shesellsfish]

Playing catch up on videos I missed. Multis have been on my bucket list forever. Really liked seeing all the shell dwellers you guys have. 👍❤️👍

[@DreamWeaverPets]

We have TONS of shell dwellers and I must say out of them all I love our Brevis and kungweensis. My wife would disagree as she loves multies and occolotus

[@reginaphalanges7331]

I have the Caudopunctatus and a couple of the Meleagris, which I never knew their type, until I watched your video! Lol, they were labled Signatus at my LFS. They aren't!

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

All great fish!

[@ddc2343d]

I have Multi's and Ocellatus Gold. I started off with 4 and they were super shy. I con't even be near the tank or they would disapear. I introduced two more recenly and they bacame super agressive with each other and now aren't shy at all. My Gold are my favorite though, they are super agressive and breed like crazy. As you said you do have to pull the fry as soon as you see them. I've never had any fry survive unless i pull them.

[@agarsorchids7708]

1. Lemprolagus signatus 2. Neolamprolagus brevis 3. Lamprolagus meleagris 4. Neolamprolagus ocellatus 'Gold' 5. Neolamprolagus similis 6. Neolamprolagus caudopunctatus - not exactly shellies 7. Neolamprolagus multifasciatus

[@jacobbeach874]

Nice

[@rodneywalat8956]

Great video. I would love to set up a shellie tank, but I live in the northern suburbs of Chicago and have yet to come across any stores that sell shellies.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Check out the GCCA and Greenwater swaps as they start coming up this year.

[@sergeiz.5815]

Very cool 😊

[@pelhamsaquatics]

Great video! I got my first shell dwellers on may22nd and I chose multifasciatus, and I think I have 2 prs already lol!🙂👍🏻

[@tankem1186]

Nobody around my area carry shell dwellers. I really want to own and try them out. I do have a question. Can I use apple snail n/or mystery snail shells for them?

[@cattfishing]

My multis use several different types of shells. Mostly because I had a hard time sourcing a large amount of shells at one time. Anyway, I have some smaller apple snail shells and even larger ramshorn snail shells that the babies use. It's the cutest thing to see them going in and out, burying and fighting over such tiny shells. Lol I even have a very large conch shell that I put in for decor, and 2 of my multis use it.lol anyway, I find as long as they fit, they will use them. People have even used pvc elbows. Actually, many breeders prefer to use the elbows to make it easier to get the fry, and the shell dwellers dont mind them at all. :) I had a hard time finding shell dwellers too and finally found some on ebay. With my luck, as soon as I found some on ebay, my local fish store got some in.

[@karenaubrey5737]

Good Morning

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Hey :-) !

[@lizzieb6311]

I love my 6 Multis!!♥️♥️♥️

[@ILLTASEUBRO]

Hey James, I recently became a huge fan of your channel and a member but I am having such a hard time with my tank and have tried to find resources but Nothing is helping… I recently saw your KZbin video on Why your testing kit is lying to you and it totally makes sense.. my issue is that I have been trying to cycle my 75 gallon tank for almost two months now… I was a noob and thought I was good to go when I originally set it up and went out and bought fish, well needless to say I lost all of them but 3 angels… over the last few weeks I have tried using quick start, Fritz and Brightwell to help with my fish in cycle… my current setup is a Seachem 75 HOB that I have added media too including additional sponges and purigen… I have an Amazon sword that has grown rapidly including a shoot that sprouted and I plan on replanting soon… my issue is a week ago I ammonia and my nitrites shot up to about .25 and my nitrates started turning orange but still more yellowish… I tested it this week and now I have no nitrites.. my PH is at 6.0… my ammonia hovers around .25 to .50 I have been using prime and Stability… to also help with my cycle I went to my local fish store and bought a seeded sponge filter, so I have an HOB and a sponge running as well but I haven’t seen any changes in my numbers… my fish seem to be doing fine and are eating and the Amazon Sword I have in there seriously is growing fast like a weed.. is it possible that my plant is eating all of my nitrates? But if so why would I still have ammonia and no nitrites? Is it possible the sponge filter I got wasn’t really seeded? I watched her take it out of a tank that currently have fish in it… I know this is a lot but I am at my whits end and want to save my fish I know this was alot but I hope you can find it in your heart to help me because I love being a fish keeper and your videos help alot!

[@suenosdeltanganyika]

I love multis. It's an amazing fish!

[@jkkgron2]

You’re caudopunks look amazing. I keep and breed them but mine don’t have that nice coloring on the fins. Not sure why they’re different. Mine have yellow fins and also have blue on their pelvic fins.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Mine are the orange fin variety.

[@f4ujmb]

You are very lucky to have access to those fish .they can be a challenge to find in Ny

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

If it wasn't for our local fish clubs they would be hard to find here too!

[@AlexK-ew1mo]

I needed this. I've been figuring out what I could do in a 20g long. This helps. What was the fish in the 2nd tank with the yellow tail? Was that not a shell dweller? The common names of the fish listed would be helpful. I'd like to research more on care for these. Also, just curious... What was the black substrate you used in that one tank? Would Maltis look good with a black sand like substrate?

[@markvonwisco7369]

The fish with the yellow tail is Cyprichromis leptosoma. It's also from Lake Tanganyika and is a mouthbrooder. Here's Jason's species profile: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lX63omNniLR2lZo

[@DCN2010]

What sand would you recommend? I heard you say in one of your videos, you wish you hadn’t used pool filter sand.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Check out Caribsea Cichlid Mix - good stuff.

[@johnwood738]

Ok nice fish but I’m going to have to draw the line, not going to LFS today. Maybe tomorrow,just got back from a fun day at the state park.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Haha = gotta do it. :-)

[@jinthao00]

Currently on day 3 of fishleas cycling my new 75gal, but this video is making it hard to choose the inhabitants 😆

[@markvonwisco7369]

I'm torn between multis and the caudopunctatus. BTW, what kind of flagstone is in the tank with the caudopunctatus?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

It was just labeled flagstone so I'm not sure of the specific type?

[@lo9012]

i like the slabs of concrete! hmmmm good martian feel

[@chrisdellabona7719]

Awesome video! Great profiling on the fish. I have plans for an aquarium with the multis as the main attraction! The tank is 24" long, 18" wide, and 18" tall ( 32 Gal ). Could you please guide me in the direction of the 2 or 3 most compatible tank mates to choose from so I can add ONE more species to the tank for diversity? Also, I would love to see them breed, would other mates such as pleco be an issue? Thank You!

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Plecos are usually ok as long as they have places to hide. Maybe some type of Julidochromis rock dweller as a tank mate?

[@chrisdellabona7719]

@PrimeTimeAquatics as long as you think that tank dimension would work I'd be happy to try them I know she'll dwellers stay small so I didn't want anything in there to scare them

[@joewwilliams]

Recently freed up a 55, and am thinking about putting multis in there. If I gave caudopunctatus some rocks on one end do you think they could coexist? Or should I stick to Cyprichromis leptosoma, all 3? Are these guys going to beat the snot out of any mystery snails that wander towards the shells? I'd like to keep some kind of scavenger but not if they'll just get bullied. As someone else said, this was good timing :)

[@esc0bert]

I personally keep Paracyprichromis nigripinnis with my multis in a 75, they're a bit smaller than Cyps and hang a little lower in the tank while Males like rcoks. But they're super peaceful with the multis. I also keep a group of Synodontis lucipinnis and ramshorn snails as my scavengers. Synodos also help a tiny bit with the number of multi fry. I plan on adding a pair of Calvus to the tank as well.

[@joewwilliams]

@@esc0bert awesome!

[@djditto47]

Could the similus or multies be kept with Pundamilia neyerei?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Possibly, but you probably wouldn't get any fry survival.

[@MasterMascolo]

I Like so much multi...please can u speak about another nice shell dweller ...the Lamprologus sumbu shell...i would put him too in the shell dwellers chart :)

[@DCN2010]

I have ‘off the charts’ hard water with a pH around 7.8/8. Mostly I have livebearers but I REALLY REALLY want to set a shell dweller tank with Multis. Is that hardness and high pH going to make it tough?

[@DCN2010]

I just rechecked my parameters… GH-25, KH 8, pH-8

[@markvonwisco7369]

@@DCN2010 Lake Tanganyika has a pH of 8.3-9.0 depending on the water depth. IIRC, Prime Time Aquatic's fish room has a pH above 8.0. I'm guessing that your water is about perfect for shellies.

[@lizdyson3627]

I've been looking for shell dwellers but noone in the U.K. seems to have heard of them.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

That stinks!

[@waddafaa]

Hi Jason. Can I use sea sand for shell dwellers

[@FlatEarthPhotography]

Hi, would you put 4 N. Caudopunctatus + 6 similis (or ocelatus) +1x 5Bar cichlid into 40g (100x40x40cm)

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

I wouldn't personally add the trets - too aggressive.

[@jensmith8404]

hi again.. what is the floating plants in the 50g lowboy multi tank called?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Hornwort!

[@brittanyberzin7142]

Do the multis have better personalities than the gold ocellatus? The aggressiveness of the golds seems almost endearing lol

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

I think they do - far less aggressive than occelatus.

[@spelle2237]

Can u mix Any shell dwellers with a Tanganyika tank with two baby frontosa included

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Long term the fronts would probably eat them.

[@satjosh101]

So decided to go with a shell dweller. What set up I’m going with. 10 gallon rodi water sand, escargot shells, floating plant 1-2 rock in the center. Species only tank. Advice on which she’ll dweller I’m assuming Multi? And how many? Advice in getting the correct parameters so far I’m planning on using a 3 chamber set up will be using filter floss for mechanical, ceramic biofilter, thinking of purigen for chemical filter. Heater thinking of using crush coral inside the chamber for hardness is that enough to reach the hardness and same with ph since I’m using ro/di. Also let me know if I’m missing anything else.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

With RODI you will have to add a lot of buffering capacity back into the water? These guys love hard water with a pH above 8.0.

[@satjosh101]

@@PrimeTimeAquatics hi after doing research looks like tap water is best. What do you do to get the water ready for these shell dwellers my background is only reef tanks lol so that’s why I assumed rodi would be best guess not

[@macc224]

lovely fish, assuming these wouldn't be kept in a community tank?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Ya, they can be too aggressive for many community tanks.

[@macc224]

@@PrimeTimeAquatics did wonder you show some top fish , and I'm not as experienced as most so better to ask than see fish suffer

[@Coasty_Kai]

What are the fish with the yellow tails there wicked

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Cyprichromis leptosoma!

[@cndmarksmen7383]

How spread out do I need to place shells, I'm planning a heavily planted tank 150gallon, if I only have sand and shells along the front 4-6" across the tank will that be sufficient?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

They will move them all around. If your plants are rooted they will also dig them up when moving the shells.

[@cndmarksmen7383]

@@PrimeTimeAquatics appreciate the insight. Thanks.

[@aquariumhacksbymarcus5653]

Hey Jason I know this is an older video but I'm getting back into shell dwellers again but this time I'm going to get multi cichlids multi-fasciitis what color sand would you say that would look good with would it be pool filter sand or a dark substrate like a black sand

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

I really like the Multis on light colored sand.

[@aquariumhacksbymarcus5653]

@@PrimeTimeAquatics thank you Jason I think that's going to work great

[@supershiu]

been doing some research on the shell dwellers. i am planning on getting some multies, but i am really worried about over population in the tank. is there any suggestions on how to keep the population at a manageable level?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

If you add any other Lake Tanganyikan fish they will probably keep some of the fry in check.

[@supershiu]

@@PrimeTimeAquatics would you suggest adding other fish in a 20L?

[@row8753]

You missed your group of ‘Lamprologus’ callipterus. 😃

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Oh my gosh you’re right!! Haha

[@pisto_run_cycling]

Do shell dwellers need fine sand? Or is fine gravel ok..??

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

They do best on sand.

[@bja3569]

How many multis could you fit in a 20 long? Any recommendations? This is my first time trying a cichlid tank.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

I would start with six and let them breed. :-)

[@lwill834]

Where can I get them?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Maybe The Wet Spot?

[@CullenKawano]

For reference: Lemprolagus signatus Neolamprolagus brevis Lamprolagus meleagris Neolamprolagus ocellatus 'Gold' Neolamprolagus similis Neolamprolagus caudopunctatus - not exactly shellies Neolamprolagus multifasciatus

[@飛雲-o7g]

🐟😍👍🫶🥰