Similis shell dweller

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep them as a small colony, one male with several females or a mixed group, in a tank of 75 liters or more where horizontal floor space matters far more than height. They are mostly peaceful overall but fiercely territorial around their shells, each fish defending a patch about six inches across, so this is not a fish for a gentle community tank. Keep them on their own or with non substrate Tanganyikans like Cyprichromis up top and small Julidochromis on the rock. They sit on the bottom near their shells and feed on small foods like micro pellets, frozen daphnia, and baby brine. Hold the water warm, 24 to 27 C, hard, and alkaline at a pH of 7.5 to 9.

In the wild

Similis shell dwellers are endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa, where they live over open beds of fine sand scattered with empty snail shells. Each fish claims a shell and digs in around it. To match that, give them a tank with a footprint of at least 75 liters, a shallow bed of fine sand, and more empty snail shells than you have fish, Neothauma or escargot shells around 5 cm work well. The water is hard and alkaline, so run it warm at 24 to 27 C with a pH from 7.5 to 9. This is a rift lake fish, not a soft, acidic blackwater species.

Good to know

This is Neolamprologus similis, a dwarf cichlid in the family Cichlidae. It stays small, with males around 4.5 cm and females nearer 3.5 cm, so 5 cm is a fair figure for a typical adult. It is a shell brooder, spawning inside an empty snail shell where the female guards the eggs and fry. They live several years in good water.

Did you know

Every fish in the colony picks an empty snail shell and treats it as home, backing into it tail first at the first sign of trouble. They will rearrange the sand to angle the opening just how they like it, and a breeding female will spawn and raise her fry inside the same shell. Give them more shells than fish or the squabbling over real estate never stops.

Related species

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  Multie shell dweller

  Neolamprologus multifasciatus

  1.8 in (4.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Brevis Shell Dweller

  Neolamprologus brevis

  2.4 in (6 cm)16 gal (60 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Caudopunctatus

  Neolamprologus caudopunctatus

  2.8 in (7 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–79°F (24–26°C)

• 

  Cylindricus cichlid

  Neolamprologus cylindricus

  4.7 in (12 cm)29 gal (110 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Five-bar cichlid

  Neolamprologus tretocephalus

  5.9 in (15 cm)53 gal (200 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Lemon cichlid

  Neolamprologus leleupi

  4.5 in (11.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)