Lamprologus ocellatus

[idesign245]

Probably not for that tank.  Its too small, one will end up getting beat up (most likely the one I'd add because I think he's a male in there right now).  I'm still waiting on the Stapps for my 30 gallon... if he doesn't get them in, then I might put some gold occies in there instead. 

[idesign245]

Ok... so I discovered the macro button on my camera tonight...

[LadiesMan217]

Is there any real difference between Lamprologus ocellatus "Gold" and Lamprologus ocellatus "Yellow Belly"?


Thanks

[Bill]

I expect they are very much the same LFSs tend to come up with all sorts of marketing names to make a fish sound more interesting.

Anyone have an opinion on how many occies could I keep in a 15g (24" x 12")? I'd love to hear if anyone has tried the same thing - I've found one instance on the forum where it seemed to work OK with 4 occies, do you think this would be a good number to start with?

[multieman93]

Im going to get occies for my 20L and it can fit 6 occies? So i THINK 4 or 5 would be the max? My cousin had at least 30 pulcher in his 20g with no problems! But there not as agressive as occies.

[Darkside]

You can keep a trio of occies in a 15 - 20 gallon, well with careful construction you may be able to keep as many as 4 females with a single male.

[Sean]

i got a pair in a 5g..
just a pair with a male guppy in there. had tons of fry in there, before i took 2/3 out.
in a 24x12 footprint, you can fit a pair or a trio, maybe more depending on the aquascaping and how tollerant your male is

[multieman93]

Instead of using a spare tank, I will use a guppy breeder. If the fry become too much for it, I can always put them into the 10g which is already set up.

[Bill]

Thanks for the ideas - I think I'll try and get a trio, depending on how expensive they turn out to be. I'm planning on using quite a lot of well-placed tufa rock, vallis and mopani wood to help keep everything peaceful.

[Darkside]

I'd advise you to be careful with the wood and to ensure that you buffer the water Occies appreciate hard water and a high pH.

[Bill]

Yes, the wood will be boiled and soaked for a long time beforehand to get rid of all the tannins and I'll be using a coral sand substrate

[Bill]

My LFS should be ordering some occies in soon! I still haven't decided on whether to get a trio or a pair...

[Sean]

you have to get a group first 

[JenniBean]

I just got a trio of occies today at my LFS.  I'm hoping maybe you guys can help me sex them? I think I've got a male and 2 females, but I'm not sure.  They were the only 3 shellies the LFS had, so I went with them instead of the multis I was planning on getting.  They are cute little guys though, and definitely entertaining.

I'm so excited to have a shellie tank!

These 3 are all the same fish, he (she) is the biggest:


These are of the medium sized fish:


and these are of the tiny guy, he's barely an inch long, so small the guy at the LFS didn't even see him until after he had netted the other two out and said they were the only two he had, LoL


And just for kicks, a pic of the whole tank.  It's an Eclipse 12 that used to house the meanest Jewel fish on the face of the earth.  I got tired of having a 12 gallon prison cell so I traded him in and decided to go with shellies since I wanted cichlids but my water is WAY too hard for apistos.  Shellies seemed to be the natural choice.  I picked up the 3 shellies and 4 golden white cloud minnows as dithers.  I threw the snail in there from my other tank to clean up the extra food. Hopefully I don't get a mini-cycle, I'm going to keep on top of my water params and do a large water change in a day or two if I have to...

[Miles44]

Wow the fish and the tank look greeat.  Your gonna love the occies!    They have great personality.    Please keep us updated on their progress.