The Aquarian's Net

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The Similis is one of the prettiest of the shell-dwellers.

Shell dwellers are really just a subset of egg-layers.  I include them here as their own category due to their very interesting behavior.  Discus and Waroo and another set of fish that deserve their own category, but I unfortunately do not yet have any experience breeding them. 

Shell Dwellers live and breed in shells.  This is most commonly achieved by the creation of a colony as in the case of the multifasciatus and similis, but may be in more of a pairing fashion as in the case of the black and the gold ocellatus. 

To breed shell dwellers, it is not necessary to have shells.  What the fish is really looking for is any small tight protective area.  However, it is highly recommended that you do have shells.  Any shell that has at least a ¾” opening should work fine.  I’ve used sea shells, garden snail shells, and apple snail shells.  They all work great, and there doesn’t appear to be one that is any better than any other.  The only key to the shell is that it is large enough to get into and that it doesn’t have anything dead and decaying inside.

While it is not necessary to have shells, it is nearly necessary to have a sand or very fine rock substrate.  Shell dwellers are great sculpters, and they will use the sand to define their territories.   Many species will also bury unused shells so that other fish do not move into their territory.  What’s more, the females often will bury their own shells so that the only thing visable is the actual shell opening.

Breeding shell-dwellers can usually be accomplished by placing 5 or fish together when they are very small (ie 1” and under)  Since no shell-dweller gets over 2 inches, they are great fish to keep in small tanks.  A 10 gallon tank will usually work great for a breeding colony.  However, a 10-gallon aquarium only really allows for one male, so if you have more than one male, you will find the other one hovering in the corner.  Still, I’ve had over 80 shell-dwellers in a 10 gallon at one time running minimal filtration. 

If you really want to see these fish shine, try a much larger tank, say 65 gallons.  It will allow for the fish to set-up multiple colonies, and frankly, that is something to see.  Very few fish are small enough that you can see how the act in nature in your own home, but the shell-dweller fits that bill.

A typical bubble-nest, Day's Paradise fish is pictured here

Anabantids, more commonly known as gourami, paradise fish, and betta are an amazingly interesting fish to breed.  Not only are they fairly easy for the beginner to breed, the way that they breed is extremely showy.  What’s more, the males of these fish are typically among the prettiest among aquarium fish.  They include such favorites as the betta, dwarf gourami and pearl gourami.  Sexing the fish is not difficult.  They, like most cichlids, have a dorsal fin that is a big tip-off.  Females typically have a rounded dorsal fin, whereas males have a pointed dorsal fin.   Females also tend to be much bulkier than males in the tummy section.

The bubble-nest builders will typically breed by having the male build a nest out of bubbles.  The male will display, by extending his fins, and will try to entice the female under the bubble-nest. The male and female fish will embrace near the surface of the water, with the eggs being released and falling towards the bottom of the tank.  The male will catch the eggs in his mouth and place them into the bubble nest.  The process will continue until the female is out of eggs to release, at which point the male will become very antagonistic towards any other fish it sees.  Due to that fact, it is advisable to remove the female after breeding.  The only trick being to do so without damaging the bubble-nest.  After removing the female, leaving the male with the eggs is advisable.  You will see that the eggs will continue to fall out of the nest, and if there is no one there to put them back, they will be lost.  The nest will also need to be rebuilt as time goes on, and the male will be there to do that when it is necessary.  In most cases, the male should be removed when the young are fully free swimming.  After the young first hatch, they will do more falling than swimming, so leaving the male in will remain an important thing, as he will help to place the fry back into the nest.  However, once the fry are able to swim on their own, most males will eat them, not realizing that they are the same fry that he has been caring for. 

A personal favorite of mine, the Sparkling or Pygmy gourami. (trichopisis pumilus)

A couple more thoughts about breeding bubble-nest builders.  You will be much more likely to get the fish to breed if the tank is full of plants.  Many of the bubble-nest building fish will incorporate bits of plant matter into the nest that the build, making plants a necessity.  What’s more, having plants will often help provide microscopic food that will be eaten by the fry as they are born.  The second suggesting is that you keep the tank shallow.  I recommend filling a 10 gallon tank about half-full of water to accomplish this.  The reasons are two-fold.  First, the fry require surface air when they are young.  If the tank is too deep, and they are unable to make it to the surface quickly, they will drown.  Secondly, the air that the fry breathe from the surface needs to be moist.  If the tank is half full, and covered, a warm moist area of air will form, that will be perfect for developing the surface-air-breathing organ of these fish. (The labyrinth that gives this class of fish one of its common names)

Feeding the fry is often a very difficult task to undertake.  A much finer food must be used.  The best food I can suggest is a VERY small live food.  I have tried fine “flake” foods such as OSI’s microfood with mixed results.  Powdered flake, such as tetra’s fry food is much too large for the tiny mouths of most anabantid fry to eat.  Liquid food are good, but if the food sinks to the bottom of the tank, it will not be eaten, and it will become possible danger to the tankdwellers.

The anabantids are a very interesting class of fish that are as much fun for a beginner to keep as they are for a more advanced hobbyist.  They are my personal favorite type of fish, and I always seem to be looking for a new species to breed to see how they make their slight variations on the generalities listed above.

Egg Scatters and Live Bearers --->