My Honest Review of Shell Dwellers (and How They Ruined My Aquascape)

[@GirlTalksFish]

*If you missed the previous video about how the aquascape used to look before the shell dwellers "improved" it, check it out: **kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWSug3qrhJKsobM*

[@Ozich_]

thanks for making i video in my kind lol😅

[@cadenlikespigs]

The baby shell dwellers moving the sand is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.

[@noelbrucker135]

The shellie doing his lawn maintenance “clearing the weeds” of algae in his front yard at 1:18 was my favorite part! That and the baby helping pick up his room and help out ❤

[@GirlTalksFish]

Yes, you noticed! I laughed so hard when I saw them doing that. Very fastidious creatures.

[@noelbrucker135]

@@GirlTalksFish Right? I keep imagining a little thought bubble above him that read, “ Get off my lawn!” 🤣🌱

[@PipkinXIV]

haha, I noticed the same thing! They're *so* cool.

[@sarahwoodring5587]

The "redecorating" is my favorite part of owning Shellies, but different strokes for different folks!

[@Bitterstone3849]

I agree. I've been keeping fish off and on for 40 yrs and these seem to me to be one of the most interesting fish watch. More so than many others I've never heard of them before.

[@lemonlizard1]

the juveniles picking up sand is the cutest thing ever omg 🥺

[@Definitelynotacelebrity]

The baby with a single grain was adorable

[@Definitelynotacelebrity]

Sorry, about three comments on one video, but if you want your Aquascape to be more permanent. People who keep reef tanks have the same problem, lots of sand sifting fish as well as burrowing fish and inverts can undermine scaped rocks. To solve this they build the scape first, then add sand. That way the rock is supported directly by the tank bottom. They also use uglier base rock for what will be hidden under the sand, saves a few dollars as well.

[@audrameyer9558]

I love this so much! Multis are one of my favorite types of shell dwellers. I have a 20 long with a very large community. I sell them at my Aquarium Society meeting auctions from time to time. It is so fun to watch them go about their day!

[@GirlTalksFish]

Yes, I love watching all their antics! Recently, the 5 biggest adults started bullying the 6th adult, to the point of damaging its tail, so I'm not sure what's going on there. It's currently in isolation where I'm providing extra food, but hopefully it can join the crew again soon.

[@TazawaTanks]

Yay! Shell dwellers are doing well!

[@GirlTalksFish]

Thank you again! Just wish they didn't constantly block my view by building sand mountains in the front. 😆

[@SequoiaElisabeth]

It's been fun to follow along on your hobby. This is a big step up in my opinion. Great job of aquascaping. Thanks for sharing, as always.

[@GirlTalksFish]

You're so sweet, Sequoia. Thanks for all your encouraging comments!

[@alenaxp]

Amazing video! :O I am getting them, amazing personalities and behavior!

[@alaskacosplay]

One piece of advice for keeping rocks from shifting because of the sand is to put some small PVC pipes as supports to essentially lift the rocks off of the bottom so the cichlids could dig underneath. I've tried this and it worked well as long as the rock had a flat bottom and the supports were underneath where there wouldn't be any weak spots but not so close that the rock is at risk of teetering off and crashing. I've seen others use this method for saltwater tanks too so that any sand burrowing or sifting fish can bury safely without the risk of landslide but the supports and the support rocks are bonded together especially with larger reefs and rockworks

[@johncameron4194]

I love that they are decorators. Very smart

[@markvonwisco7369]

It's amazing to see how much sand those little fish can move around. Re plants: I have naturally hard water in my area. Hornwort does very well for me. You may want to try that.

[@carolebraswell982]

Wow! This was perfect timing! I had 3 ($60 worth) of those fish in a 20 gallon tank that I set up just for them, and they stayed hidden most of the time. I got lucky at my local fish auction and picked up 5 more for $36... now I have the giant mound of sand! LOL. I needed your video today! 👍💚

[@lp22aquatics]

Great video! Makes me miss my Multies that I had for 2.5 years. Mine were healthy I'm a 29 gallon, but I never got them to breed and couldn't figure out why. Watching your video it makes me wonder if I wasn't feeding them enough. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Glad you're having such a great experience!! Btw, I replaced the Multies with Brichardi and actually love those even more! May want to look at those for your next African Cichlid project!

[@alexunruh7255]

I've had a group in a 29 gallon for about 3 years now. I started with 7 and I would see a few juveniles every few weeks but pretty recently(about 3-4 months ago) I starred feeding g more and was a little more consistent with water changes and now there's babies everywhere. I think feeding is really key cause like she said in the video the adults are pretty aggressive eaters so it's hard to get the babies enough food

[@mattriggs.aquaria]

Good quality filming, I. Been waiting for this one. 🤘

[@PipkinXIV]

If you were so fascinated by the fish carrying away some litter at 1:15 that you couldn't remember which con Irene was speaking about, you'll like them. ^^ They may not be the most photogenic fish but, there's something neat about seeing them in real life that doesn't come across in digital images, I think. If you want to stunt your multis on the 'gram, as the kids say, a dark background goes a long way imo.

[@onlywei]

Yayyyy I’ve been waiting for this video!!

[@GirlTalksFish]

Haha, thanks again for the reminder!

[@aquablaster86]

I love my multis! Always something interesting going on. I'm the complete opposite, i think multi mountain was awesome! People would ask why you did that to the tank and they wouldn't believe you when you told them those tiny fish made it themselves! Thanks for the video!

[@GenRN]

They are $29.99 at my LFS. I bought 8 online and now have about 1000. I feed mine Xtreme Nano pellets mostly. They are amazing fish and very hardy. If you want to buy some in DFW, hmu.

[@kasperaquatics]

Thank you for a wonderful video. I’m so excited to construct my 20 long for the Shellies. Now to just find a few pair to stock it. ❤

[@cosmoplakat9549]

All those babies of various sizes are so cute! I want a shellie tank so bad but can't due to health plus very limited on where to donate babies. They look like a fascinating fish to have and I already have an extra 20L stand...

[@marka9556]

For the rocks, an easy solution is to cut PVC pipe (1 1/2") and set the big rocks on top of the pipe. Now the fish can dig under the rock with no worries about it crashing down on them. You can cut PVC pipe with a simple pipe cutter.

[@JustMe-os2yr]

I am so glad you did this review. I've wanted shell dwellers for a while, I think they are just delightful

[@gregghorner9107]

I have three 20 gallon longs for with these multis. I have also found that their breeding slows considerably as the population gets denser, and now I no longer have extras to give to my local fish store, as the population in each tank is pretty stable around 25 or so. I gave up on trying to control the scape years ago, and just let them do their thing.

[@natalianaic6634]

Try anubias for plants. That's what i have with my shell dwellers and they do good with the PH lvl. Also i jave some jungle val and the melt a little but mostly do ok.

[@CreativePets]

They’re so cute😂 I have blood parrots and they like to burrow under my logs

[@matthewmoorecichlids2323]

After keeping them for years now I’ve learned that they really don’t like the sand. I keep sand to a minimum and shells to a higher number. Shellies are and always will be my favorite fish.

[@bustatron]

What?!? They LOVE the sand. Arganite or if you're cheap like me pool filter sand. Multis without sand is like watching race cars sit still. What's the point?

[@ilovefishes5294]

I really would like some shell dwellers, unfortunately where i live a simple 20 gallon is a bit too pricey but i would love to get them someday :D

[@bustatron]

Also, that is a very good multi tank. They will breed until they've taken up all the space then they will chill out. For a while I had a 100g tank with cryptochromis leptosoma and Multis and it was amazing to watch. With that size of tank there were multiple colonies set up with a number of alpha males. Occasionally they would all get together and school or have a sand spitting war or all sorts of stuff. Easily the most keep able and interesting freshwater fish I've had. I love them. I've kept a multi tank now for about 20 years and never got tired of watching them.

[@KhaeLikesCoffee]

I would love to have these fish one day. Seems like just watching them rearrange the tank all day would be extremely entertaining.

[@lizzieb6311]

I started with six and now have (guesstimate) 60 or so….they are the BEST! So much fun to watch the little bulldozers rescaping the tank…I chose them because my water is naturally hard which is what works well for them. I resell mine back to the breeder I purchased them from. They are wonderful little active fish ♥♥♥

[@johncameron4194]

Cute personality for a fish

[@majorbruster5916]

Shell dwellers alter their environment, that's what they do. Watching them clean up after a storm on the lake is fascinating. They take some time getting used to the noise of the exhaled air from the demand valve, but after that, they settle down to moving sand. They don't build large heaps like they did for you, rather, they couldn't carry the excess aragonite far enough away. So it ended up in a heap, unfortunately in your case, at the front of the tank. But you shouldn't hold this against them, they are delightful little fishes, always busy. Stabilising the bedrock would help some.

[@gavinstatikgoddard4340]

Multis are awesome, they are next on my fish to own list

[@johncameron4194]

So nice of him to send you some

[@gryffbirb]

Have you thought about getting plants that sit on the rocks like anubis?

[@AVspectre]

Our Engineer Goby is a big redecorator too :)

[@cicatank]

really enjoyed this review. I had my fair share. cichlids are annoying yet cute at the same time ruining those scape. mixed feeling😅. lol.

[@billyshadoan6881]

happy thanksgiving irene love you

[@Twinkley1981]

These fish are so cute, I would totally keep them if they had them locally. But basically, they are to be avoided if one likes things uniformed, have OCD or control issues with your surroundings/belongings, because these shell dwellers are going to do their own thing, if you like the look of their home or not. 😂 I thought that mountain was fabulous. 👏🏼😆

[@johnjwedrall4290]

Throughly informative video, thanks 👍 😊

[@gibbnasta]

My favorite fish! Love to watch them work. You must have a bad dad😂. My 2 males protect the fry a lot.

[@galejohnson8086]

I know you like color. Have you considered pseudotrophius solosci? I may be spelling it wrong, but beautiful bright yellows and blue. Would they work in soft water of Washington/Oregon?

[@jenasteiner6611]

Hi I live off a well a limestone aquifer to be exact. The water is hard. Liquid rock. Eats valves and pipes. Phosphates are added in. Anyway I was looking into small cichlids because of my hard water but is my gh and Kh too hard? They are over max testing abilities of API and I know they are very hard.

[@kendalladams5975]

Hey, I was looking forward to you putting this video out. I had been slowly building up a 20-long tank over the summer for some shellies myself. Then I saw you posted your original video on them! I was finally able to get my first six this week. I'm looking forward to them doing some interior decorating! I wanted to mention the water sprite. I have a 15-gallon planted tank that's sorta Asian themed biotope. I tried to get Water Sprite to grow in there and it just refuses to grow and actually finally died off after 8 months. I tried everything!!!...... but I have well water and it's pretty hard water! Very interesting that your water sprite didn't like the hard water either. I finally gave up on it and put in some jungle val. Keeping my fingers crossed! my Java fern, crypts, and java moss do just fine. I'm putting in two Anubis nana petite in with my shellies and will probably do a pothos at some point as well. My local fish store said they for sure would take babies for store credit!

[@GirlTalksFish]

That's so cool to hear! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Ooo, I wonder how the anubias will do. I have a bunch of A. nana petite that have been floating around in my quarantine tub, so I probably should move them at some point.

[@TenorCantusFirmus]

They actually seem amazing - My tap water would be hard, calcareous and alkaline, thus fine for them; unfortunately its quality is so bad I'm forced using mainly reverse osmosis one. Maybe, I'd like to try some Kribs or Apistos in the future, Cichlids are still fascinating and deserves at least a chance.

[@deanmorier5353]

Fun video. I have thought about getting these fish but I do think they are not that colorful. I had mbuna for 7 years and that was fun, and there were many babies, but I moved on to planted South American tanks with Angelfish. Still looking around for what to put in a 20 gallon tank that I have, maybe back to guppies for a change of pace or platies.

[@shipwreck8847]

Girl, do they change colors when you give them a darker substrate? Maybe the color is more of your substrate?

[@sgprpj]

How did you do the crushed coral? Did you layer it or did you just sprinkle it in or did you just put it on the top ?

[@Rifqi_h3b4t]

but good for u its easy to get your hands on them ....... BC I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THEM IN YEARS!!!!! I've never seen them in any petstore here in MALAYSIA😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@bradleyviljoen7740]

Hi there, what is your parameters of the water. GH, KH? Can I buff to the correct amount of these and not add cichlid salts? Or does the cichlid salts buff gh and kh to the correct amount. I'm refering to RO water.

[@monicaharmonica7152]

What are those foam looking things in the shipping containers?

[@yourmomsbff7670]

How did the red root floaters do?

[@brianp6180]

I had to do the same thing, put the rocks on the glass for my peacock cichlid’s. I was afraid the large rocks would hit the glass an break It

[@kiki-drawer2669]

This is the fish that's gonna launch me into multi tank syndrome

[@RealRuckus]

What was dropped in at 3:07?

[@JoseRodriguez-bv5ns]

If I have a divided 5 gallon 2 betta tank (they look happy and active) are they supposed to be fine or good?

[@lakeshiamills1454]

I haven't had shell dwellers in many years I think it's time to start another tank 😅

[@IamHomeless692.0]

Can these little goobers hide in any aquarium ornaments if i can't find shells?

[@Dj-xv2ei]

Is a 15 gallon okay?

[@bustatron]

Yeah, for breeding the female will shimmy by the shell then swim in and ask the male to follow. You will never see actual mating because it's always inside the shell.

[@Greenhenben678]

I have guppys and molys that allways hide in rocks.

[@elgringo1893]

I think my favourite species is probably similis, lovely fish, unfortunately rare and somewhat expensive (at least where I am in the world).

[@kenjiro2676]

How long do shell dwellers usually live?

[@GirlTalksFish]

Not sure since I just got mine this year, but Google says 5 years and above.

[@kenjiro2676]

@@GirlTalksFish that is pretty long lived, I’ll have to give them a try then

[@garbagegremlins4707]

When you see that aqua imports scape

[@micahholmstrom3470]

lol. I thought this was going to be about actual snails.

[@lwill834]

I love these fish

[@Susbaguetteman]

Self sustaining feeder fish supply for other fish

[@Hamster7678]

you do not aquascape for multis. the multis aquascape for *you* they are such funny little guys tho i hope you enjoy them!!!!

[@johncameron4194]

Who cares about Aquascape that’s too cute

[@Alamo-cz5xc]

Shout out to your dentist

[@shellysmith1037]

There is no such thing as 'aquascaped' when it comes to shellies.

[@AG-6969]

Your "honest review"???? Why would you give a dishonest review? LOL.

[@DecayingReality]

I love the fact that you can own shellys and not have to spend $300 on plants that are grown outside of water and just melt when you throw them in the tank...Its the poor persons fish.

[@himlolo]

Besides the fact the fish are 20 dollars each

[@MagnaRads]

Super glue them to the rocks

[@kdmedic2005]

What if you used regular black sand?