# shell dweller substrate ideas please



## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

If there is ANY possibility that the water might try to get softer or acidic then I would highly recommend a substrate that will correct that. Carib Sea and other companies have substrates that are labeled for Cichlids and they mean the Rift Lake Ciclids. These substrates may be limestone, coral or shell based, but they all will add calcium carbonate to softer water until it is just about the right GH and KH for Rift Lake fish. An odd chunk of limestone is not enough unless your water is already just about right. A whole wall of rock, all limestone types of materials might be enough, as long as you have a neutral substrate. Do not use one of the materials that removes KH. (Most ADA substrates, and montmorillonite clays remove carbonates)

If your tap water is too soft, then when you do a water change you will add minerals as needed to make the water the right GH and KH. 
Then the substrate (or rock wall) will fine tune it. 

When I had shell dwellers and other Lake Tang fish that is how I handled it. 
Tap water GH and KH was about 4-5 degrees. 
So I ran tap water into a garbage can and added Equilibrium and baking soda to raise the GH and KH. 
In the tank was a blended substrate that included coral sand. 

The water chemistry was very stable through the week. GH and KH stayed right where they should. 

Will you have some upper level fish in the tank? A 55 is a very tall tank for shell dwellers. Many livebearers thrive in hard, alkaline water, and there are some other Lake Tank fish that might work in that tank.


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## jrh (Sep 9, 2007)

If you put some crushed coral in the cannister, i think that should buffer pretty well.

As for other fishes, shellies and sandies sort of compete for the bottom. Then there are cyps and paracyps for the upper waters. But if you're not a purist, danios or a big school of white clouds (yeah, I know these are technically cold-water fish) would look good, I think.

If you're using fine substrate, make sure your intakes are high up enough that they don't suck sand into your filter.

There's a black aragonite (grey really) which I think buffers, but it's not going to be any cheaper than the caribsea stuff.

As for plants, my multies always tried to drag my java fern out of the way. Anubias are pretty, but if there's nothing keeping them algae free, then can get icky. Java fern is always good. Watersprite is equally awesome planted or floating, and you can keep it small or let it get huge.

Crypts should be fine if you put roottabs in the sand near the plants, but not right by, to encourage roots to grow out.

Oh, and don't make my mistakes -- I set up similies and gobies at the same time, and the gobies could go anywhere in the shell bed the similies went, so no fry ever survived. I think it would have been fine if I had a colony going, then added gobies or some other fish.


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## Nestle_ (Jul 4, 2013)

I'm going to stick with multi's only. As for the plants that will be on the bottom, will either be on rocks/wood or have rocks at the base to keep them there so they can't be moved. I've looked into that, I'm just wondering if anyone has had a band experience with any substrate with them? 
If nothing else I'll just go cheap with play sand and save my wallet. 
As for filtration. I'm thinking I'll just run a large sponge filter, and add in HOB's as needed. I don't plan to splurge on getting a new filter of any type, though I may just fix my AC50 and use that with pvc hooked up to the intake so it pulls water from across the tank instead of near the outlet. (I love the AC50 btw, the motor just quit out on me)


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## puddleglum (Sep 17, 2014)

I have kept multis in playsand and it was pretty great. They moved it like little mini bulldozers, mouthfull after mouthfull, and ocassionally jamming their heads into the sand and fluttering their tails rapidly, spraying a stream of sand many inches across the tank. Playsand does take a LOT of washing though.

I will warn you that, as much as I love Aquaclear power filters, I will never use them again with playsand and cichlids. In a multi tank and in a Lethrinops albus tank, both with playsand, I got an impossible to remove speck of sand in the motor and it would not stop making the most horrific noise.


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

puddleglum said:


> I have kept multis in playsand and it was pretty great. They moved it like little mini bulldozers, mouthfull after mouthfull, and ocassionally jamming their heads into the sand and fluttering their tails rapidly, spraying a stream of sand many inches across the tank. Playsand does take a LOT of washing though.
> 
> I will warn you that, as much as I love Aquaclear power filters, I will never use them again with playsand and cichlids. In a multi tank and in a Lethrinops albus tank, both with playsand, I got an impossible to remove speck of sand in the motor and it would not stop making the most horrific noise.


Darn it, now I can hear that noise in my head!! Switched to a canister because of that 😂😂😂


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## puddleglum (Sep 17, 2014)

Plinkploop said:


> Darn it, now I can hear that noise in my head!! Switched to a canister because of that 😂😂😂


And I now have images of that Lethrinops albus male in breeding dress in my head and, suddenly, that empty wall in my living room looks in severe need of a 125 full of them, hopefully with a few males showing off. Wait, I hear wailing... oh, it's my checkbook...

Sorry for the threadjack, OP. I really do like the look of playsand, to get back on topic, but it does have a few potential issues to work around.


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