Shelldwellers shell dwellers?

Question

can diff shellies species get along with each other without cross breeding?

4 lamprologus strappesi ( 2male 2 female) 10g tank

3 brevis (1 male 2 female) community 60g tank

3 caudopunctus (1 male 2 female) community 29g tank.

not sure if the last pair are considered Shellies but I am thinking of putting them in a 40g tank together, would they do okay in a 29g?

Answer 1

Well in terms of a breeding value, it's going to lower it to almost 0 if you end up with cross breeds.  I haven't actually kept any of these species before, but I have read a group of articles on them.  Basically, shell dwellers compete with each other on a very high level for breeding.  It's not uncommon to have males steal the shells of other males when not looking, and thus steal an entire harem.  However, this is in the actual lake, not a tank.  My advice would be to keep these in a species only in order to avoid the cross breeding.  I don't have any actual odds of it happening, but I'd estimate that at being rather high.  Given the overall size the shellies get, I don't see why they would have problems in a 29