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Background
This species has often been called the most colorful shelldweller. Indeed it comes in a variety of colors, ranging from the popular “gold” form, which really is, to a blue form, a yellow-finned form, and “Sumbu Violet.” Its distinctive, pugnacious-look profile and popularity makes it the type fish for the “ocellatus group” which also includes the “Pearly ocellatus,” Lamprologus meleagris/stappersi and the “Black ocellatus,” L. speciosus.
The species bears a few notable marks – Rudiger and Baensch describe it as having “9 blue vertical iridescent strips” on its sides; while that feature is not readily apparent to this occie-owner, there is definite and unmistakable blue/lavender iridescence on the side of every occie.
Common synonyms include Julidochromis ocellatus and Lamprologus lestradi, but these days most people know the occie is Lamprologus ocellatus, as it's one of the most popular shellies, probably second only to the everpresent multi.
Occies are found in areas of the lake that touch Burundi, the Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia. They’re fairly prolific and not, at the moment, in any danger from hobby collection or other activites.
There are various shades of “gold” occies on the market today – do yourself a favor and wait for a bright, true gold to come along before you buy. 
Care
This fish is definitely a shellie with attitude. Requiring a definite and often large territory, male occies have been observed time and again chasing much larger fish the length of a 6’ tank. Some are so intolerant that they bury all of the shells except their own – sometimes with females trapped inside.
To minimize aggression, start with a group and be prepared to remove any fish who is excessively harassed. Arrange the shells with a good bit of empty sand between each and the next, and make a daily check on numbers to ensure no untoward burying is going on. Allowing the male to bury shells is perfectly acceptable (and in any case he is sure to try, try again); letting him bury other fish is, of course, not.
Mainly, though, the occie is just a fish with a rocket in his pocket – active, engaging, intelligent, and aggressive. This can make for an incredible display; who would think that a 2” fish would be wont to attack his owner’s hands, the siphon, the net, and just about anything else that might disturb him? The bites are painless, but the shock sticks around!
A Tanganyikan shelldweller, occies are used to the same sorts of sparse shellbeds as Neolamprologus brevis – indeed, the two species are often found in the same areas. But unlike the “loving,” cohabiting brevis, the occie has taken this setup as a chance to become quite territorial. Therefore it is best to provide a few extra shells rather than dozens, and to spread them out.
Sand, also a feature of the lake, is very nearly a must. The fish can, of course, survive without digging and burying (although many will still manage to dig a good bit in any gravel smaller than pebble-size), but owning this fish is just plain pointless if you can’t watch their incredible, wonderful digging behaviors. They pick up sand a few grains at a time in their mouths and spit it elsewhere (sometimes they pick up and spit snails, as well); they swim into a pile of it, pushing some ahead, some to the side, and some right through their gills; and they hunker down and fan their tails as fast as they can, sending sand flying in all directions (and right on into the intake of your filter, of course). Occies aren’t occies if they’re kept on gravel!
A trio of occies deserve at least a 20 gallon tank. Going smaller than that is not advised, and of course a larger tank will allow for a harem and some extra room to really see behavior.
Occies will eat anything. Sinking pellets are preferred in deep tanks as they don’t like to venture too far from the substrate, but they can be taught to take food from the surface if need be. They like all manner of small live foods, of course.
These fish are, of course, tropical, and like their water at around 74-78 degrees. Although lately a number of people have been keeping shelldwellers at room temperature, I am not aware of any experimentation with that in this species, so it’s probably best to stick with the known numbers.
Occies are quite forgiving, but do keep the tank cycled and the nitrates reasonably low. PH and GH should be kept high, whether with crushed coral in the filter or a buffering substrate.
 Sexing
Another head-scratcher, this fish. In wild-caught and F1 fish, the females nearly all bear a white-tipped dorsal, which makes them fairly easy to recognize. However, later generations can lack the white, and indeed some aquarium-strain males have it, so this isn’t the safest tell. Size is a better indicator, but the safest bet is to buy a group of six and raise them to maturity. At adulthood, the male is significantly larger than the female.
Breeding
Provide shells, a male, and one or more females. Wait. Although not the easiest of shelldwellers to breed, they are still a pretty good bet for fry in clean, hard water. The female will lay the eggs in the shell and the male will hover above and milt them. In some instances, the female exits the shell during the milting and as water rushes in to fill the space she has just left, it drags the milt with it, allowing for a more sure fertilization.
The female will stay in the shell to fan the eggs for a few hours at a time, so a disappearing female can be a sign of fry-to-be – as long as there isn’t a new, buried shell!
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Scientific name: Lamprologus ocellatus
Common names: Occie, gold shelldweller
Synonyms: Julidochromis ocellatus, Lamprologus lestradei
Origin: Lake Tanganyika, Africa (Burundi, Tanzania, Republic of Congo, Zambia)
Niche: Bottom, shell dweller
Optimal pH: 7.6+
Optimal GH: 10-20 degrees
Optimal temperature: 75-78F (23-26C)
Adult length: 2"(5cm)
Diet: Carnivore, micropredator
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