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Why larger tanks?
Given that shelldwellers are one of the only cichlid choices for small tanks, why would one go larger? If a group of multifasciatus or two pairs of brevis can live in a ten, why put them in a 30? Here are ten reasons it’s worth it to keep at least one larger shellie tank.
10. It’ll make them happy!
Shellies enjoy space to move as much as the next fish; although pairs of certain species may prefer to stick “close to home,” bachelors, fry, and groups all like a bit of roaming space.
9. Better opportunities for decoration
Shelldwellers need their floor space, so one of the underappreciated benefits of a larger tank is that decoration, usually kept to a minimum, can be let out to play a little. Even for species like multifasciatus, which love being surrounded by shells, extra leg room will allow for rocks, plants, even diving dogs, all of which usually take up too much space.
8. Multiple males
In a smaller tank, having more than one male is asking for significant trouble, even among the most peaceful species. With more space, multiple males can cohabit, which gives the owner ample opportunity to see their beautiful displays. Of course, visual boundaries like rock piles (see reason 9) can be used to keep territories well separated.
7. Colonies
One of the most fun aspects of cichlids is seeing their family behaviors. While multifasciatus will live in colonies in fairly small tanks, basically every other shellie species will, sooner or later, begin to harass and attack their own fry as the young intrude on the too-small territories. With a larger tank similis, calliurus, and others will be able to live in a colony, and a number of species will be able to live in a group.
6. Stable water parameters
It’s a well-established fact that larger tanks are easier to manage; their parameters don’t jump around as much and they don’t get out of control as quickly. With shellies this is particularly important, as Lake Tanganyika, a massive body of water, is extremely stable, and its inhabitants are quite used to “the same old thing.” Keeping old-tank syndrome from dropping the pH to conditions the shellies just cant handle is much easier in a larger tank.
5. Fry can grow up in the main tank
One of the hassles of maintaining one 10 gallon tank with a fairly prolific species is that, sooner or later, a second 10 gal is going to be necessary to grow out the fry. In a larger tank, all or most of the fry can grow up in the tank, because they’ll have enough room that they won’t be constantly in their parents’ territories.
4. Keeping larger species
Although the most common shellie species are quite small, usually around or under 2”, many of the most interesting species are larger and need room to move. The fascinating calliurus has males as much as 20 times bigger than its females; caudopunctatus has beautiful yellow fins and loves to display them; Altolamprologus compressiceps “Sumbu Dwarf” is a variety of comp that has developed much smaller so as to utilize shells, and has the traditional odd comp shape. The list goes on, but big shellies are as fascinating as the little ones!
3. Tanganyikan communities
One of the greatest things about keeping Tanganyikans is that their variety allows for an all-cichlid community tank, where, like the no-cichlid ones so many people start out in the hobby with, each group of fish has a job or a niche in the tank. Shelldwellers make wonderful bottom-dwellers for tanks with rockdwellers, cyprichromis schools, or even (given plenty of space) substrate spawners.
2. Better opportunities to observe behavior
One of the greatest joys of keeping small fish is that, in a large environment, behaviors can be observed that may never be seen with larger fish. With small fish in a large tank one can see interactions amongst large groups of individuals, between family groups, between separate colonies. Keeping small shelldwellers in a very large tank is probably as close to seeing the fish behaving naturally as one can come without scuba-diving in Lake Tanganyika.
1. Because, you, and they, deserve it!
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