# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Cichlids >  Sharing my brevis tank

## orhlulu

Hi guys,

Been lurking for a while and decided to post my brevis setup. The tank consists of a trio, 2 male 1 female. Got them from AquaOne a few months back. Wanted to get mutlies but they were out of them and decided to get the brevis a try. No regrets till this day.  They are indeed very interesting and intelligent as others mentioned.
The female seems to be constantly flirting with both males but no signs of breeding yet. Any advices?

Tank: Gex Glassestior 450
Filter: Eden 501
Substrate: Reef sand
Shells: Mixture of apple snail, turbo shells (hermit crab)
PH: 7.5 - 7.8

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## outspoken

Hi Bro,
Nice and Clean Setup you had there. On my personal view,maybe you may need to add in more shells or rocks to make them feel "safe/home". I previously add in some dither fish to make them "busy" guarding their shells. It would be better if the ratio is 1 male and 2 female. Picture attached is my old 2ft setup in 2007

I myself just started back my shellies again last week. Oh..you got the N.Brevis from Aquaone? I did ask the owner if he do bring in shellies but he quote as saying that he doesn't bring in anymore because it's hard to sell. Currently on the market is only L.Occelatus gold/blue and N.Similis. I'm currently having Similis juvenile in my small tank.

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## orhlulu

Thanks Bro Outspoken for your suggestions. I am scouting supermarkets for escargots shell which seems to have a bigger entrance to fit the male brevis. 
Planning to add more sand as well. As for rocks, the tank is slightly small (4 galleons) and more rocks would reduce the area they would have. 
Nice setup by the way. Love the background and rocks.

These trio were the last of what i saw in AquaOne and i bought them all. If i could, i would create a harem for the male. haha
He mentioned he has contacts for shellies and if any bros here are willing to pay a slightly higher price, he might be able to arrange something for you.

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## outspoken

Bro Orhlulu,
Do update if you found the shell in which supermarket. I may consider getting them when my current juvenile grows up. At the moment i got my shells from Y618.
Oh i was thinking that the tank is a big as 2ft. My bad.... That picture of mine is an old picture. Didn't last long as i had to give up due to my wedding. Space constrain and not
having time to take care.

It's quite difficult to get Brevis from any LFS. Best hope is to around for other people who keep them. But even so it would be quite stressful to add in a new addiction, the new 
female may not last long due to the aggression from the other 3 fellows especially when they are already adult size. 

The Boss talk to me and was reluctant to bring in unless he can get people to order like you said. Anyway how much did you get the trio?

This is the picture of my current setup

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## whitedash

I thought I saw brevis at Qian Hu recently? May wanna try your luck there



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## outspoken

Oh really? I couldn't find any information of which LFS that stock up Shellies. Previously I got my shellies from CF but they are closed now.
Was recommended by someone with regards to NKS having shellies available.

By the way what other species do they have?

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## whitedash

Couldn't remember but I'm certain I saw a tank of brevis there. NKS carries similes and occies now.

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## orhlulu

Bro Whitedash is right, QH do sell Brevis and another lamprologus species. Seen them a couple of times there. 

Shellies are hard to get in SG. So far, the only LFS i seen shellies sold in are QH ,NKS and Aquaone(got lucky perhaps). For specific species, probably got to order through Stone Aquarium. I got all 3 for less than $30. Probably he wants to clear the tank fast to make way for new fishes. 

As for the escargots, just bought a dozen for $14.80 from Cold Storage at Vivo. Its sold in a round aluminum tray and located in the frozen section. Had a friend over to finish up whatever the contents in the shells are. 

Cleaning part was a pain, shells felt brittle and the oil contents were difficult to remove. Had to scrub the shells in hot soapy water and boiled them several times to remove the oil and detergent. 

The trios are now happily exploring the new additions and one of them is busily moving them around.( Sorry for the poor picture)

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## whitedash

I tried ordering from stone aquarium. Boss angus acknowledged my order then after I didn't heard anything from him any more. I texted him but no reply from him too. Quite a bad experience I had

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## orhlulu

Encountered similar issues with Boss Angus. He did message back that shipment will be delayed as there are insufficient orders. 
Probably issues with suppliers or something else caught up.

Let's just hope for enough interest around for LFS to bring back these cuties back to the scene like the recent apisto fever.

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## outspoken

Thanks for the information bro orhlulu regarding the escargots shells. Will take note but to go through the cleaning process kind of turns me off.

You got the trio brevis at a good price. Do you guys know how much QH charge for the brevis?
I got my similis at a rather high price based on the size and unable to confirm the sexes. Bought total of 6 juvenile but now i'm left with 3 only.
3 of them died the next day.Suspect due to ammonia level haven't gone completely to 0. Just hope the rest survives and also hope can get a good
ratio of male/female.

I don't think it's easy to get more people to be interested in shellies due to their lack of colouration and availability.
But they definitely have interesting behavior that is hard to match.

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## whitedash

.ImageUploadedByTapatalk1377646261.119205.jpg
My similis colony 
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1377646359.495170.jpg
My brevis pair. Bonded staying in the same shell. But I think I may have lost the male due to bloat. Still waiting for him to float out of the shell.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1377646618.897017.jpg
My occies pair.

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## whitedash

Brevis at QH is about $20+. Shellies are so scare in Singapore

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## whitedash

Bro orhlulu so after the first failed attempt, you ordered from stone again?

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## orhlulu

> .ImageUploadedByTapatalk1377646261.119205.jpg
> My similis colony 
> ImageUploadedByTapatalk1377646359.495170.jpg
> My brevis pair. Bonded staying in the same shell. But I think I may have lost the male due to bloat. Still waiting for him to float out of the shell.
> ImageUploadedByTapatalk1377646618.897017.jpg
> My occies pair.


Very nice setup you have there. Are you housing the brevis and occies together?

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## whitedash

Thanks. Current I'm housing a pair of occies, brevis and Multis in my 2 ft tank. Similis colony in my com tank. Not easy to have a pair of occies, most will just fight each other to death. I have 1 occies in my com tank. Too aggressive and keep beating this pair up



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## orhlulu

> Thanks for the information bro orhlulu regarding the escargots shells. Will take note but to go through the cleaning process kind of turns me off.
> 
> You got the trio brevis at a good price. Do you guys know how much QH charge for the brevis?
> I got my similis at a rather high price based on the size and unable to confirm the sexes. Bought total of 6 juvenile but now i'm left with 3 only.
> 3 of them died the next day.Suspect due to ammonia level haven't gone completely to 0. Just hope the rest survives and also hope can get a good
> ratio of male/female.
> 
> I don't think it's easy to get more people to be interested in shellies due to their lack of colouration and availability.
> But they definitely have interesting behavior that is hard to match.


I agree with you. Sexing them is a pain especially when they are clustered together. QH and NKS sells them around the same range, $15 - $20.

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## orhlulu

> Bro orhlulu so after the first failed attempt, you ordered from stone again?


No news from Boss Agnus after the delayed shipments. I will update if i see more sightings of shellies in LFS.

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## orhlulu

I think 2ft is pretty spacious for them to establish their own territories. But even the smallest occies is a tyrant.

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## whitedash

> No news from Boss Agnus after the delayed shipments. I will update if i see more sightings of shellies in LFS.


What a waste. His list of tanga fishes is tempting.



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## whitedash

> I think 2ft is pretty spacious for them to establish their own territories. But even the smallest occies is a tyrant.


ImageUploadedByTapatalk1377657127.334017.jpg
My lone piece in the com tank. This is the tyrant. My hand has been bitten by him so many times. The other 2 in my 2ft tank have really mild temperament though. Thinking of putting them in a 1ft tank hopefully they will breed



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## orhlulu

Haha he does carry himself like one. 

Probably you can try what i did. My 2 male brevis were very aggressive to one another initially till i added a plastic mesh between them for them to establish their own territories. 

2013-05-06 22.48.01.jpg

Left it there for close to a month and after removing the mesh, both males do not venture pass the area where the mesh used to be till this date.

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## whitedash

> Haha he does carry himself like one. 
> 
> Probably you can try what i did. My 2 male brevis were very aggressive to one another initially till i added a plastic mesh between them for them to establish their own territories. 
> 
> 2013-05-06 22.48.01.jpg
> 
> Left it there for close to a month and after removing the mesh, both males do not venture pass the area where the mesh used to be till this date.


That's an idea. Will try it next time if I need to deal with aggression level.



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## outspoken

By the way, saw Stones Aquarium pre-order list and just wondering what you guys tried to order? He do list out some uncommon Lamprologus species.

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## orhlulu

Just the common multis

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## whitedash

I wanted the uncommon lamprologus



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## outspoken

Oh so meaning he can't actually get the supply from his suppliers? 

Bro whitedash, 
How many Similis do you bought from NKS? I just went yesterday to add another 3 into my tank
and seems like now he only left with 4-5 pieces. Previously i saw quite a lot of them. My similis seems to be interested
in the shells though. 1-2 of them prefer to lay or stick around the rocks. Not sure if they are male/female and only 1
is hiding inside the shell, the rest just seems to swim/hanging out on top of the shells.

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## whitedash

Duno about stone aquarium but they have kinda lost my trust. 

I didn't get my similis from NKS. Got them from a bro in AF, so they are all big and fat (adult size). Similis are more aggressive than Multies and can grow slightly larger. It is near impossible for us to sex juveniles, best to buy 6 juveniles and grow them out. Just provide ample shells for them to hide and let nature take over.

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## outspoken

Oh ok. Then i guess someone else must have grab them on tuesday. Bought a total of 10 from them which amount to $135 but only 6 surviving.
And also all are so small at the moment, not sure how long it takes for them to grow to adult size and by when will they start to mate.

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## whitedash

Are you dosing any ph buffering salt / powder? To save the trouble I just use seachem buffer, salt and trace element. Tanga are quite hardy just remember not to select those already have sunken bellies. Learnt my lesson the hard way. 



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## outspoken

No i didn't use any buffer for my tank. Only PH Up and KH Up during the cycling process. Maybe i put a small amount of PH up to raise slightly but the similis may not be able to take it. Other dither fish like lamp eyes and white cloud seems to be ok. I put in coral chips to help stabilize the PH.

Thinking of buying the Tanga buffer or seachem like yours but worry that the similis will not be able to take it. Learn my hard way also. 
4 of them equaling to $54 just gone like that within 24hrs.

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## whitedash

Get the salt at least. It contain essential minerals found in tanganyika which is good for tanga fishes? You got those with sunken bellies too?

Very soon you will have to remove your dither fish. The similis will attack them. 



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## whitedash

My male brevis up lorry yesterday due to bloated stomach. Left the female. Very sad case. This is a very nice bonded pair a fellow hobbyist traded with me. 

Btw bro outspoken how big is your tank?



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## orhlulu

Hi bro outspoken, here is some information from Shelldwellers.com in regards to similis.

Extracted for gender identification: "similis do have some definite color – males especially display yellow and orange in the unpaired fins and blue in the paired fins, and the whole body can take on a pink hue in certain lights. The blue of the eyes can also be quite striking in many individuals and is the first readily noticeable attribute of young fry." 

http://www.shelldwellers.com/similis.php 

Good luck =)

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## orhlulu

> My male brevis up lorry yesterday due to bloated stomach. Left the female. Very sad case. This is a very nice bonded pair a fellow hobbyist traded with me. 
> 
> Btw bro outspoken how big is your tank?
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Heartpain for you. Especially after rearing for some time, the bond you had with him , just gone.

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## whitedash

> Heartpain for you. Especially after rearing for some time, the bond you had with him , just gone.


Thanks, though Tanga fishes are one of the hardiest fishes out there. I have killed 2 brevis. Now left one female neither here nor there.

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## orhlulu

Agreed, most cichlids are highly tolerant and highly adaptable esp Tangas. 
Unlike other species, cichlid interacts a lot with their owners thus a loss is still ...... 

If you have plans to let go of the female, drop me a pm

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## outspoken

Bro whitedash,
I didn't get those with sunken belly. They are juvenile so hard to see for sunken belly but their fins/tails are nipped for most of them. Not sure
if they are brought in with that condition or aggression among them. Previously i think there is about 20-30 of them in a small tank.
I'm just holding them in a 1ft tank so once they grow up,may need to remove some of them.

Bro orhlulu,
Thanks for the extract, wondering though what is unpaired fins and paired fins.

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## orhlulu

The paired fins are the pectoral and pelvic fins. The unpaired fins are the dorsal, caudal (tail) and anal fins.


In lame man term, paired fins are those fins a fish have that are the same. Like human arms and legs
Unpaired fins are those fins that are unique or only one. Like mouth and reproduction organ. :Wink:

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## outspoken

Bro,
Thanks a lot for the explanation. Need to go back and study my Similis later at home.

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## whitedash

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1377826219.708231.jpg
My biggest similis. Can anyone tell if its male or female?



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## orhlulu

> Bro,
> Thanks a lot for the explanation. Need to go back and study my Similis later at home.


No worries, Similis are in my "to get" list as well, their stripes and colonial behavior have been tempting me since i got into shellies. Just that their agression puts me off. 
I am also learning new things as it goes.

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## orhlulu

> ImageUploadedByTapatalk1377826219.708231.jpg
> My biggest similis. Can anyone tell if its male or female?
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Poisonious pics. Makes me wanna start a new tank of similis.

If its the biggest among them, high possibility of it being a male. 
Other factors:
- The unpaired fins shows vivid hinges of yellow. 
- The forehead looks bigger and more protruding than the rest.

The one in the extreme right side looks like a female to me.

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## outspoken

Seems like what Bro orhlulu says quite true. Most probably it's the Dominant male.

So sad yesterday,i'm about to check out regarding the sexes and found 2 of them dead.
Mouth Open face to face with each other. Quite puzzling and i did a check on ammonia level and it's 0.5mg/L

Not sure if the small amount of ammonia kills them or the aggression from the others. I still can't find another one.
I do know that one of them is female as she seems to be pairing up with one of them. They seems to be doing the mating "dance" and
no aggression.

Think i will just monitor these 3 and hope for the best. Too much loss in livestock and money within 3-4 days

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## whitedash

Great. It's a pretty male. 

I had the same experience, one of my brevis died with mouth open wide wide which I guess is due to my poor filtration back then. Check your filtration system if it's ok?
I'm going down to NKS tonight to check out their fishes!

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## orhlulu

> Seems like what Bro orhlulu says quite true. Most probably it's the Dominant male.
> 
> So sad yesterday,i'm about to check out regarding the sexes and found 2 of them dead.
> Mouth Open face to face with each other. Quite puzzling and i did a check on ammonia level and it's 0.5mg/L
> 
> Not sure if the small amount of ammonia kills them or the aggression from the others. I still can't find another one.
> I do know that one of them is female as she seems to be pairing up with one of them. They seems to be doing the mating "dance" and
> no aggression.
> 
> Think i will just monitor these 3 and hope for the best. Too much loss in livestock and money within 3-4 days


Yeah bro, focus on the pair. Probably throw in an air pump to the tank for more oxygen and water circulation. 
Small investment that could be a contingency some time later. 

Don't worry fret about the losses, treat it as a learning experience.
Hope the missing one is a female and probably you will have a harem soon =)

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## orhlulu

> Great. It's a pretty male. 
> 
> I had the same experience, one of my brevis died with mouth open wide wide which I guess is due to my poor filtration back then. Check your filtration system if it's ok?
> I'm going down to NKS tonight to check out their fishes!


How did shopping went? Any new stocks at NKS?

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## whitedash

adopted a lamprologus helianthus from fellow hobbyist. Thanks to Bro outspoken only left 3 similis tsk. Nothing much today but there will be shipment of altos tomorrow. If you guys are keen there will be pre order of tanga fishes from Africa soon. Keep a look out for the pre order list from NKS. Can't wait to see the list man!

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## orhlulu

> adopted a lamprologus helianthus from fellow hobbyist. Thanks to Bro outspoken only left 3 similis tsk. Nothing much today but there will be shipment of altos tomorrow. If you guys are keen there will be pre order of tanga fishes from Africa soon. Keep a look out for the pre order list from NKS. Can't wait to see the list man!


Thats great. Hope this time there will be multis. Missed ordering on the last shipment for multis a few months back.

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## outspoken

I'm using OHF so i assume the filtration should be ok. Suspect the similis is not settling down in my tank. Found the missing one,hiding between the rock instead of the shells. There are more than enough shells for all 4 but seems like only 3 have chosen their spot. Still not sure what sex is the hidden one,suspect should be a male since it's hiding. Maybe aggression from the other 2 male 1 female.

Haha,i only bought 10 pieces from NKS so someone else should have grab them also. Left those with torn finnage and hiding from another species.

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## chanmama

Hi guys... the stocks from NKS are all wc is it? Was thinking bout buying some shellies from nks but realli hesistant cos scared wc fish r too sensitive to water parameters...

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## whitedash

Wc will need to pre order from NKS. Those you see in tanks are mostly captive bred. 



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## outspoken

> Hi guys... the stocks from NKS are all wc is it? Was thinking bout buying some shellies from nks but realli hesistant cos scared wc fish r too sensitive to water parameters...


Bro,
Take note of the SMS lingo.
Don't think they are wild caught but the similis do need to consider for it's small size and price.
Their occelatus is very nice but quite aggressive,may need a big tank to hold on to a few of them.
Similis will be re-stock on next saturday so maybe you can hold on and see new arrival condition.

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## chanmama

Thanks for the reminder. I did not realise it. Yes, from this thread I guess there will be a pre-order stocklist coming up soon. Hopefully multies will be in it. My poor male has been alone for several months since both my females died of disease, and I just can't find any multies anywhere.

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## whitedash

It's a sad case that my Multis are still not breeding  :Sad:

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## outspoken

Too stressful? They are in community tank right? They are suppose to the easier shellies in terms of breeding and colony.

Anyway normally how big size is considered matured for breeding?

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## whitedash

maybe they have yet to settle down. Housing them with a lone brevis female now. My hands are too itchy keep shifting them. They used to be from the main com tank and I shifted them to the 2ft tank. As for size, I'm not too sure myself since mine have yet to breed. Bro are you fully into tanga now?

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## outspoken

Maybe just let them be alone. I'm leaving my similis alone with a small group of dither fish. Only 3 is guarding their shells while 1 more still cannot be seen. Think it should be dead somewhere inside the shell. Can't move the shell as i worry it will stress out the other 3.

Why don't you buy a male from QH since they are selling brevis. Pair it up and who knows the pair may take off and breed.

Nope i not fully into tanga, only 1 small tank of shellies and 3 tanks of apisto/killifish.

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## whitedash

This is the worse way of dying cause you won't know if he is dead or alive. Then one day you see a dead carcass floating in the shell. 

Thinking of trading some of my fishes with a fellow hobbyist for a male brevis. I have murdered 2 of his brevis so far.

I'm going full force into tanga. Selling away all my other fishes as I'm not as fascinated with them compared to tanga.

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## outspoken

That's the problem but i do not want to disturb the other 3 since they already stabilize. They may be stress out if i touch their shells. Just hope the decompose body doesn't foul the water much.

Your fellow hobbist having so many stock? Thought QH selling?

Anyway you are going full into shellies only or full tanga?

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## whitedash

No choice but to just leave it there already. By the way the order list for wc tanga from NKS is out and there are brevis and occelatus in the list. 
I might be going down to QH this friday, shall see what they have. His brevis spawn quite a few previously. Just adopted a sunspot brevis from a friendly hobbyist yesterday. Letting the pair settle down and see if they do pair up and share the same shell. So far the male is rejecting the female though.

I'm going into full tanga but starting small first. I will need to upgrade my 3ft tank to something bigger if I really want to keep other tanga. That's why you see I'm clearing my other assorted fishes in the marketplace.  :Smile:

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## outspoken

Yup i saw the list but what's the difference between the normal occelatus and this Variant? Size wise it's seems to be smaller so maybe juvenile?

Anyway this fellow,his brevis is better than the LFS or his price is lower? If my similis is not working out,thinking of switching to either a pair of brevis or occelatus.

That's the thing. To start full tanga,need a very big tank so space is really a concern.

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## whitedash

Beats me too. Size wise yes maybe juveniles though. This fellow hobbyist is a nice guy and his fishes are nice. Getting fishes from a fellow hobbyist feels safer to me as I know the fishes are well taken care of. For occelatus, just take note of their aggression, they are really really fierce to their own species, other species and also human so be prepared to lose the weaker ones. I have lost 3 thus far, the most dominant one just basically wack everything in his sight was thrown to the 3ft com tank. The other 2 somehow have paired up but still not certain. Aggression level is low and they are both living well in their tank. 

I do not know how difficult to get a bonded pair of brevis, may need to get a few and let them pair up themself. NKS preorder list might be a good start to get some wc brevis for a start. 

Other than a very big tank, still need many other smaller tanks for other purposes like breeding which is the most rewarding event that can happen in my pursue of this hobby

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## whitedash

Hey guys, was talking to a lfs boss, is it ok to divulge here? Anyway he is able to help bring in tangas from Taiwan if you guys want. At least 5 - 10 per species. Will help to check the prices. I'm eyeing the meleagaris  :Smile: 



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## outspoken

That's nice but how's the pricing like? Not sure if can get people to join in. I myself can't confirm unless i get a big tank. Space constrain is a big issue for most of us.

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## whitedash

For shellis the price range between 10 plus to 20 plus. The usual price. 



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## gyjd

Hey whitedash, I'm keen in the meleagaris if you're compiling order. Let me know the price before ordering, thanks.


Tapatalk

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## orhlulu

> Hey guys, was talking to a lfs boss, is it ok to divulge here? Anyway he is able to help bring in tangas from Taiwan if you guys want. At least 5 - 10 per species. Will help to check the prices. I'm eyeing the meleagaris 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hi bro whitedash, 

i am keen for the order for mutlies. looking at around 6 - 8 of them
Let me know if you have consolidated enough orders.

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## orhlulu

> That's nice but how's the pricing like? Not sure if can get people to join in. I myself can't confirm unless i get a big tank. Space constrain is a big issue for most of us.


As shellies are majority bottom dwellers, longer tanks would be a better choice compared to deeper tanks. Thou not popular, i am using Gex Glassetior for my shellies and apistos. 
If you have a bigger space, can probably consider the 600 series. But this is in consideration if you are keeping a species only tank.

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## whitedash

Great. Now we have orders for Multis and meleagaris. Once I confirm with the boss should take 1 wee arrive. Keep you guys updated



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## orhlulu

Some updates on my brevis.

With the additional of the escargot shells and alternate feeding of frozen bloodworms/ brineshrimp, it seems like the pair breeded. They have turned extremely cautious and aggressive. The female has been guarding her shell ferociously and the male have been patroling the outer region keeping the other male away. She even chase her supposingly spouse off her shell at times, something that never happened before. 

Lets see in the coming weeks if there are good news.

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## whitedash

That's a piece of really good news! Hope to see your update of fries soon

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## outspoken

Good news bro,do update us with photos.

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## orhlulu

No brevis pictures yet but heres some apisto fries for some insipration. Fries are 3 days old and free swimming, probably 20 odds of them now. 

2013-09-05 19.57.23.jpg2013-09-05 19.57.34.jpg

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## whitedash

How you post pictures here? Flickr?



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## orhlulu

Upload from Dropbox.Camera auto syncs to dropbox

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## whitedash

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8owait38dx...2008.35.26.jpg

My brevis started sharing the same shell! 



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## whitedash

Saw around 4 pieces of brevis at aqua empire today. Check it out!



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## outspoken

That's good news bro. Mine is 90% confirm 2 males and 1 female. Got 1 pair seems to doing the dance at the female area. Both seems to darken the stripes on their body. Just hope they will pair up nicely.

What else they have in stock?

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## whitedash

So now your female is choosing the male to share the shell already?

These are the list of stocks they have. Friendly boss  :Smile:  
julidochromis dickfeldi
brichardi
leptosoma cyprichromis
limnochromis auratus
Neolamprologus tetracanthus
Brevis

Qian Hu no more shellies. I bought 5 pcs of enantiopus melanogenys. 2 Jumped through my cover hole and died.  :Sad:

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## whitedash

Testing. A picture of my new purchase

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## outspoken

I don't think the upload of the picture works. I can't see from my phone.

Anyway how's the update from the supplier for the shellies that you guys ordering?

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## whitedash

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1378608602.976401.jpg

Test again using tapatalk. 

Anyway I have sent the list out yesterday. Waiting for reply now



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## rainbowdarter

Where you get the fish?
Nice cichlid.

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## whitedash

Hey bro, I bought them from QH. This is the species name enantiopus melanogenys.
Just take note they are very good jumpers. 2 jumped on the night itself so I'm left with 3 now.  :Sad:

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## outspoken

Nice Catch Bro, Looks good if they are in a big tank. Anyway they are top dwellers or mid dwellers?
How much u paid for them?

I'm thinking of removing some of my tank mates especially the danio as they seems to disturb my similis.

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## whitedash

Thanks bro. They are currently in my 3ft tank. I'm getting a 4ft tank this Friday and I will transfer them over. They are sand sifters so bottom dwellers. It's $40 per pc. 
Yeah I have come to a point where I will not mix other types of fishes into my tanga tank. It's better in the long run.

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## outspoken

Wow Bro that's quite an expensive lot and 2 already gone within 1 day.... heart pain.

Yup that's true that it's better not to mix with other types but most tanga fish are on the higher end of price and also size do
play a part. Mine is a nano tank so doubt can fit any others.

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## whitedash

Hey guys, just a quick update, the list had been sent out to the supplier. Pending reply now. Have a great day ahead!



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## rainbowdarter

> Hey bro, I bought them from QH. This is the species name enantiopus melanogenys.
> Just take note they are very good jumpers. 2 jumped on the night itself so I'm left with 3 now.


Hi Bro, 
I once a month go QH see-see look-look fish too.
I just set up one tank for Tanganyika fish too.
Now still learning

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## whitedash

Hey Bro, welcome to the tanga club! I just cleared most of my fishes (left with pygmy cories) and convert all my tanks setup to tanganyikan too. 
What fishes are you keeping?

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## outspoken

Have anyone been to NKS recently?
Heard that a new batch of Similis just arrived last saturday.
Wondering how's the size and quality.

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## whitedash

Hey bro outspoken, yes new batch of similis are there already. Looks very healthy and active but size is about the same as previous batch. So will need grow them up 



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## outspoken

Ok Thanks. Then i guess have to wait. Was hoping to get 1 female but with that size,i don't think anyone can differentiate them.

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## whitedash

just a little update, I bought a used 3 tier 3ft by 2ft rack 2 of the tanks being partition to smaller partitions of 2ft by 1ft (total 6 partitions) and 1 main tank. 
This allow me to have more species tanks thus providing them a safer environment. 
Filtration is a headache for me as I'm using canister for my tanks. I want to make it neat and tidy. Any suggestion on this?

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## outspoken

I think if you did partition then the most common option is using big sponge filtration like most LFS.
Get a Big controllable air pump and some splitter. Then you have to throw in some coral chips in the tank.

Canister filtration will be good but very messy and power consumption.

Another is internal filtration with low flowrate. Power consumption and messy switches need to consider.

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## rainbowdarter

I'm setting up for Alto. Comp
I'm using old 4ft tank. Scratches here and there.....
Need to buy new tank. Heheheh.

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## whitedash

the tanks I got not very neat, I might consider getting new tanks. I want to setup for Calvus haha. Anyway bad news, two of my bigger similis committed suicide. What a Friday the 13th  :Sad:

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## orhlulu

6 partitions = 6 sponge filters. Gonna need a strong air pump.
Its gonna be unsightly but should be the most effective method.

Thanks for the info on NKS shipment. 
Planning to head down to Pasir Ris or QH this weekend see see look look. Now probably heading to NKS.

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## orhlulu

> https://www.dropbox.com/s/8owait38dx...2008.35.26.jpg
> 
> My brevis started sharing the same shell! 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


i just realized that the shell entrances seems too tight for the male brevis.

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## whitedash

> I'm setting up for Alto. Comp
> I'm using old 4ft tank. Scratches here and there.....
> Need to buy new tank. Heheheh.


Great! Let me know where you intend to get your tank? I think I want to make new ones too.




> 6 partitions = 6 sponge filters. Gonna need a strong air pump.
> Its gonna be unsightly but should be the most effective method.
> 
> Thanks for the info on NKS shipment. 
> Planning to head down to Pasir Ris or QH this weekend see see look look. Now probably heading to NKS.


No problem, post your field report here!




> i just realized that the shell entrances seems too tight for the male brevis.


You mean mine? They two seems to be love that hole man!

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## outspoken

Yup what a friday the 13.

Mine also seems to hiding or laying outside the shells only. One of them even abandoned his territory and lay hidden outside a shell that is quite
near to another female/male. Normally they are always waiting for me to throw in some tetra bits but yesterday totally never even go n grab the food.
Check for ammonia level and it's 0. Didn't disturb them much except for small water change 3 days ago.

Hope they do stay alive. It's only coming to 3weeks.

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## whitedash

Cross fingers* yeah better just to leave them alone and see if they can recover. Good clean high ph water for them  :Smile: 



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## rainbowdarter

Been looking here and other forum for secondhand tank.

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## whitedash

U wan 90x60x36cm tank? Bracing at side and centre. Pm me if you want. I'm intending to make a new tank instead 



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## outspoken

I think i'm left with only 2 N.Similis. The other one seems to missing or dead inside one of the shells. The other fellow already took over his territory. 

Hmm wondering should i change to occelatus pair if these 2 are of the same sex. NKS stock is still small to find a female.

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## whitedash

Take your time bro. It's also not easy to find an occellatus pair and they really kill each other. I bought about 6 occellatus and left with 3. 1 pair and 1 super dominant male which I traded with a friend for another fish. 

Some of my recent tank setup pictures. 
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1379261689.058305.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1379261740.656469.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1379261775.115239.jpg



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## outspoken

NKS have some gold and blue occelatus and able to identify male or female. Guess will wait for 1 week and see the development, worst case scenario get a few more similis from nks again.

Anyway hows the order for the melagris?

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## whitedash

All the best bro. Checked with the poc, he is still waiting for reply from supplier. He will drop then a mail again



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## outspoken

I just went down to NKS yesterday to take a look at their stock. The Similis only left with about 10 pieces. Since can't really sex them up,bought 2 of them that i'm guessing is female since smaller and pairing with another one.Now i can't seems to find one of them and the other one seems to be always flaring and not choosing any shells.
Guess it's wasted again.

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## whitedash

Tanga sales have been moving fast lately. Hopefully LFS will take notice and bring in more varieties. Anyway, new tanks made! New fishes ordered! Super excited! If you guys need a 3ft tank or 3ft partition tank can come over my place and tank. FOC for tanga khakis only. HeHe

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## orhlulu

Came home after a week trip for work and guess what i found  :Grin:

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## whitedash

> Came home after a week trip for work and guess what i found


Waaaa congrats bro!!! Whose the parents?


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## orhlulu

Its the same pair of Brevis. They probably had a good time with me being away. lol

So far spotted only one little fry, not sure if the rest are still inside the shell or dead. 
The poor soul is just swimming around the perimeter of the parent's shell.

Should i take him out or keep it inside for another few weeks?

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## whitedash

I would say take it? Grow it up in another tank. Spotted anymore fries?

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## orhlulu

No sightings of other fries, can't even locate the lone ranger now. Just hope he is hiding in some shells or blind spots.

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## gyjd

Still see any fries?


Tapatalk

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## orhlulu

Sadly nope. Most likely a casualty.

Both parents turned dark and passive. Keeping to their shells all day long. Not sure what's happening.

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## orhlulu

latest update.

10 fries down to 2. Had to net them out before i lose them.
Once free swimming, they wander between shells and hide around them. 

2013-12-23 23.19.05.jpg

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