Looking for a suggestion

[Dr.Gonzo]

My friend has a tank with a large piece of honeycomb limestone in it and I'm looking for a species of small Shell dwelling cichlid to put in there to live in the holes. Can anyone suggest one for a species only tank?

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I'm not sure you could get the "Shell" dwellers to live in the holes of the rock....Though idk for sure because i've never tried it or seen it done. Never seen a shelldweller tank with just rocks and no shells. But as far as shell dwellers go there are a quite a few choices.

You'll probably have the most luck finding these species: Lamprologus ocellatus, Neolamprologus brevis, and Neolamprologus multifasciatus.

 

[Pure]

From my own exp with Multis and Dwarf Comps, also from the way I know of how other breeders harvest fry...If what ever they are meant to live in is not on the bottom of the tank (if it is elevated) they will simply not use it.

Now you may have some success with them going in the holes out of pure stress and trying to hide somewhere. But IMO that is not a healthy environment for them.

 

[Dr.Gonzo]

Good to hear from you Pure! how have you been?

Also, is there any freshwater fish that like to live in holes like that?

 

[Pure]

Sup Dr. G

Yeah I'm not able to think of any shell dwellers that would make use of it. Some of the smaller rift lake species would probably enjoy it very much. Matt or Orion would be better suited to tell you what species will work.

 

[Dr.Gonzo]

Sweet, thanks.

Matt/Orion - any suggestions? I'm looking for a small 1-2 inch freshwater species that will hang out in small holes.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

You should look into the Julidochromis species. Some stay around 3"...i know a little bit bigger then you are looking for but still on the small side. Some get to 4-5". They are rock dwellers from lake tang.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Something else you might look into is Neolamprologus caudopunctatus. Though not sure how easily you can get a hold of them. They only reach 2-3" and like rock crevices.

 

[Orion]

I can't really think of anything that would 'live' in the holes. Like Pure said, some may use it if it's the closest or only place to hide when they feel they are in danger, but that would be about it. The closest thing I can tell you is N. brichardi from personal experence. I had a piece in with a breeding pair and on their first few spawns they did use the holes in the holey rock for a breeding cave. But once they got a little size on them they could no longer fit and had to move elsewhere.

Also if a cichlid did live in it, you have to keep in mind that for the most part they are going to be very teritorial. So most likley if some did take up in the rock, it would chase all others away and claim it for itself, possibly leaving many fish 'homeless'.

The dwarf julies would be great to keep in general. They do have some color on them, and thier personalities just can't be beat.