View Full Version : Setting up a Neolamprologus Multifasciatus tank...
Natosha24
11-16-2007, 7:41 PM
I am in the process of setting up a 10 gallon sand bottom tank for Neolamprologus Multifasciatus. I'm sure I'm going to have a lot of question so I'm going to ask them all in this one thread. Any tips, ideas, or advice are welcome and appreciated. So here is my first question. How deep should my sand be? I wasn't sure so I just went ahead and dumped some in (after rinsing, of course). Is this too much? At first glance I think it's too much and I should take some out, but then I'm like well maybe it's okay. So I decided to come here for the experts opinion! LoL. Thanks in advance guys!
http://lh6.google.com/Hiya.n.Crim/Rz43jm2lWyI/AAAAAAAAANA/vdowc1MU2SU/s800/11-16-07_10%20Gallon%20Sand%20Bottom_Sand%20Depth.JPG
jpappy789
11-16-2007, 8:19 PM
Mine isn't that deep but I do not see any major problems with the depth.
Lots of shells. Basically all you need for them. :)
Have fun, I LOVE mine!!! :D
Natosha24
11-16-2007, 10:25 PM
I'm considering mixing Florida crushed coral in with the sand. Any comments?
cichlidsrextrem
11-16-2007, 11:27 PM
yea well see u should worry about the surface area of the sand more than the hight cuz the more shells the better but a standard 10 gal d othe trick and crushed coral would be nicce of course to increase hardness/ph
Natosha24
11-17-2007, 7:39 AM
I understand the more shells the better, however, I have not got that far yet. Right now I'm working on the sand height--the shells have to sit on the sand so I want it right before I add them. What I'm trying to figure out is what depth the sand should be. Right now I have 2 1/2ish inches and it seems like too much but then again this is my first sand bottom tank so I don't really know. Also, should i mix the crushed coral in with the sand? Bury a small "bag" of it? Or stick it in the filter? I am wondering if it wouldn't look right in the sand.
If you have room for it in the filter, that's probably best. You'll get the most water circulation there.
Also, you might want to check out http://www.shelldwellers.com . The folks there can probably give you some good info.
Natosha24
11-17-2007, 11:47 AM
If you have room for it in the filter, that's probably best. You'll get the most water circulation there.
Also, you might want to check out http://www.shelldwellers.com . The folks there can probably give you some good info.
Thanks! Better be careful, I'll end up coming to you with all my questions. LoL. You do after all have the setup I'm looking to achieve. :hitting:
GirlieGirl8521
11-17-2007, 12:15 PM
Multies would rather have no substrate and just shells. :) But if you use sand, I wouldn't use but maybe an inch high layer. Then, pile on the shells.
jpappy789
11-17-2007, 1:48 PM
Multies would rather have no substrate and just shells. :) But if you use sand, I wouldn't use but maybe an inch high layer. Then, pile on the shells.
Not necessarily true. Mine have dug up the substrate and made the pile of shells their home. Shells are far more important of course.
But whereas some shellies will dig to bury their shells, multis act like they're digging to get rid of the sand. My dominant male will try to do the same with plants. He'll grab a sprig of flame moss that's gotten into the shellbed, and carry it over to the scrap pile and toss it out.
jpappy789
11-17-2007, 9:52 PM
But whereas some shellies will dig to bury their shells, multis act like they're digging to get rid of the sand. My dominant male will try to do the same with plants. He'll grab a sprig of flame moss that's gotten into the shellbed, and carry it over to the scrap pile and toss it out.
I see. Well thats good to know :)
Substrate is mostly for aesthetic purposes anyways. Some fish need it but for others it really isnt a necessity. I like it though :D
Natosha24
11-17-2007, 11:41 PM
I took out about 1/2 inch of that sand. I decided to go ahead and work on setting it all up, put the fish in, and see what they do with it. If necessary, it'll be easy to siphon some out. It's been about 12 hours and I'm still waiting for the water to clear up. I'm wondering if I should make some water changes until it's clear. Just to get rid of the dusty particles or whatever you want to consider the particles that are clouding the water so that they aren't kicked back up in the future.
toddnbecka
11-18-2007, 4:12 PM
My advice would to be keep a betta of some livebearers in the 10 and get at least a 20 long for the multi's. I have a colony in a 55 that started as a trio. They now occupy about 1/3-1/2 of the "floorspace", with some (most likely males) hanging out around the perimeter of the shell zone. A 10 gallon will quickly become overcrowded after several spawns start growing out.
Natosha24
11-18-2007, 8:32 PM
My advice would to be keep a betta of some livebearers in the 10 and get at least a 20 long for the multi's. I have a colony in a 55 that started as a trio. They now occupy about 1/3-1/2 of the "floorspace", with some (most likely males) hanging out around the perimeter of the shell zone. A 10 gallon will quickly become overcrowded after several spawns start growing out.
Thanks for the advice and opinion. Honestly not something that I'm going to consider right now though. I have read of many successes with multis in 10s. Eventually I'm sure they will end up in a bigger tank but for now it is what it is. Another thing, I would never own a betta. I have paradise fish, close enough and not even a fav really.
I took out about 1/2 inch of that sand. I decided to go ahead and work on setting it all up, put the fish in, and see what they do with it. If necessary, it'll be easy to siphon some out. It's been about 12 hours and I'm still waiting for the water to clear up. I'm wondering if I should make some water changes until it's clear. Just to get rid of the dusty particles or whatever you want to consider the particles that are clouding the water so that they aren't kicked back up in the future.
no harm to do water changes to help clear up the water - just be careful when refilling that you arn't simply stirring up more; try putting a saucer down on the sand and pour gently over this.
how are you cycling btw, before you put the fish in ? In a fishless cycle don't do water changes at all until you hit the magic cycled point.
AngJo72
11-18-2007, 9:45 PM
Hiya,
I keep 6 multies in a 38 gallon tank with guppies as dither fish and it works great. My multies as well do not like sand or substrate, they dug it all up, pushed it to the end of the tank and left themsevles with a floor of shells and barnacle and no substrate LOL! These are awesome fish. They should do ok in the 10 gallon, I havent seen any aggression within themselves, they do get aggressive with the guppies, but thats what they are there for. Good luck with the multies. I do have a ton of turbo shells if you are looking for more shells to add to the tank, pm me.
Good luck!
Ang
Natosha24
11-26-2007, 11:04 AM
no harm to do water changes to help clear up the water - just be careful when refilling that you arn't simply stirring up more; try putting a saucer down on the sand and pour gently over this.
how are you cycling btw, before you put the fish in ? In a fishless cycle don't do water changes at all until you hit the magic cycled point.
I am cycling the tank with a filter that was running in it before I tore the tank down to start over with sand. I put the filter in another tank to keep it running during my transformation. I would imagine it was an instant cycle. I have yet to check the water parameters.
So you've already got your multis in? How're they doing? :)
Natosha24
11-26-2007, 1:47 PM
So you've already got your multis in? How're they doing? :)
I haven't got the multis yet. I haven't even had a chance to get the shells cleaned and put in. The heater was quite a hold up. Fortunately, it was on my porch waiting for me when I got home last night and this one works--yay! I'm quite surprised though--FedEx delivered it on Wednesday and apparently just left it on the porch even though I left a note on the door asking them to hold it for redelivery on Monday (today). Much to my surprise it was still there after sitting at the door Wednesday-Sunday. Good to know the new neighborhood that I live in isn't so bad afterall. I sent an e-mail to the guy that I was buying the multis from and he has yet to get back with me and it has now been almost 2 weeks. I really hope he doesn't back out!!! :headshake2:
GirlieGirl8521
11-26-2007, 3:43 PM
I'll be watching your thread closely. :) I'll be setting my 20 long Multi tank up shortly after Christmas (I hope). :D
How many Multies are you going to get for your tank?
Natosha24
11-26-2007, 4:30 PM
I'll be watching your thread closely. :) I'll be setting my 20 long Multi tank up shortly after Christmas (I hope). :D
How many Multies are you going to get for your tank?
I'll probably get 3 or 4 since they will only be in a 10 gallon tank for now. Eventually they will go in my 20 long once I get a larger tank to move the occupants of that tank into. By that time I figure they'll have a few fry and will become a nice little colony for the 20 long. I'm super excited about getting these little guys!
malken
11-26-2007, 5:03 PM
not trying to hijack the thread but I've been trying to get my fiancee to let me get multies but she's not too keen on extra tanks. I have a pretty good chance at one of those 6.6 long bookshelf tanks but I'd like a nice big tank for a sizeable population of multies.
I'm curious, has anyone ever tried offering unconventional homes for multies? can't think of anything specific offhand but, for example, would they live in a piece of deco if not offered shells?
my other question is about their life cycles. basically I'd like to know how long it would take for a 30g tank to be completely populated by multies. the specific bits of info are: age of sexual maturity, gestation period, and average clutch size.
I'm not sure what you mean by piece of deco, but breeders commonly keep them with PVC elbows instead of shells.
I'll probably get 3 or 4 since they will only be in a 10 gallon tank for now.
I'll have to let someone else respond as well, but with only 3, I think they might be a little shy until they start breeding.
When I was trapping mine one time, they really didn't mind my doing stuff in their tank. Well, they hid when I was actually IN the tank, but as soon as I stopped, they were frolicking again. Even when I was catching them in the fish trap, they still weren't shy. However, after I removed a couple, the rest became pretty timid. They stayed very close to the shellbed, not swimming around like they were only minutes before.
malken
11-26-2007, 8:37 PM
just like a little cave or any similarly small mostly enclosed space.
wierd one: little football helmets (I guess if the aquarist in question is a football nut)
I tend to like going with oddities like this though for the life of me I can't think of a suggestion for something like that that I would do myself but I'm just trying to express the general idea of the mulites hanging out in an unconventional home.
of couse I wouldn't want to do anything that would harm them in any way.
Natosha, just wanted to let you know, I've got multi fry. :) You know I've got so many shells in there that I was lucky to get a glimpse of one, and I haven't seen him again. I put some walter worms in there, and I'll get a pic whenever I start being able to see him/them.
I don't even know if I've got more than one or not. :)
Natosha24
11-30-2007, 9:36 AM
Natosha, just wanted to let you know, I've got multi fry. :) You know I've got so many shells in there that I was lucky to get a glimpse of one, and I haven't seen him again. I put some walter worms in there, and I'll get a pic whenever I start being able to see him/them.
I don't even know if I've got more than one or not. :)
Wow! That's awesome! Congratulations! I hope you end up with more. They must be sOo cute!! Get pics when you can. I'm totally jealous! LoL. I think my source may have fallen through. :sad:I'm frantically trying to find someone else to get some from.
Natosha24
12-01-2007, 9:16 AM
I just wanted to post a quick update. I got my new heater, got my shells, bleach dipped my plants (in hopes that the ramshorns wouldn't end up in this tank), and got everything in there. It's fully cycled and ready for some fish. I took out quite a bit of sand. Any recommendations or criticisms are welcome. :grinyes:
http://lh4.google.com/Hiya.n.Crim/R1Fi7f4VV4I/AAAAAAAAAOw/0JsAxuS68WA/s800/12-01-07_Neolamprologus%20Multifasciatus%20Tank_%20%282% 29.jpg
jpappy789
12-01-2007, 5:53 PM
That looks very nice...they will LOVE it
GirlieGirl8521
12-01-2007, 6:03 PM
It looks great! :)
elementkid65
12-01-2007, 6:06 PM
lookin good
Natosha24
12-02-2007, 8:49 AM
Thanks! I think it looks pretty good too. I wasn't exactly sure how to do the shell pile and I wanted to keep the plants away from the shells in hopes they wouldn't dig them up. The plants are a little wimpy from the bleach dip and lacking light for the last 2 weeks, I'm hoping they will start perking up pretty quick. Anyone know what kind of plant I got in there--there's wisteria and a few plants I cut off of a runner from my other tank but I've never identified the plant type. I tested the pH and it's sitting at 7.6 steadily it seems. I've read that a pH of 8.0 but I'm thinking this should be fine for now. After the holidays (if not sooner) I'm going to get an AC filter to replace the whisper that's currently on it. Then I will be able to put my crushed coral into the filter. Right now it's only buried in the sand--which sucks, but was all I could do since it's such a small filter and I use the cartridges that seem to take up a good percentage of the space inside it.
I'm thinking about dropping a few red cherry shrimp and brig snails in there to keep the bacteria healthy until I get some Multis.
Thanks again for the compliments! It's always nice to have someone else's opinion.
I don't think cherry shrimp and brig snails will be enough bioload to keep a good colony of bacteria going.
Do you have a different tank you can keep the filter media in until you're ready for it?
The tank really does look good, but I admit, I'm curious to see if you end up with a big pile of sand in the opposite corner of the shellbed. :)
Natosha24
12-02-2007, 11:21 AM
I don't think cherry shrimp and brig snails will be enough bioload to keep a good colony of bacteria going.
Do you have a different tank you can keep the filter media in until you're ready for it?
The tank really does look good, but I admit, I'm curious to see if you end up with a big pile of sand in the opposite corner of the shellbed. :)
Well it sounds like I'm going to be getting my Multis today *crosses fingers in hopes of boyfriend not backing out going* so I may not have to worry about the bacteria. If I would have had to, I could have put the filter media in one of my 20g filters.
I put the plants on the opposite side of the shell pile for just that reason. I figured they could go ahead and bury the plant roots and keep them secure rather than digging the plants up. LoL. Lets hope that goes as planned!
I'll be back later with some Multi pics, hopefully. :headbang2::grinyes::eek::omg::jaw::dance2::crazy: :jaw-dropping::bowing::nilly::clap::duh::thud:
Yeah, I'm a bit excited. LOL
jpappy789
12-02-2007, 5:43 PM
Any pics yet;)???
Natosha24
12-03-2007, 12:13 PM
Ok so it took me a bit longer to update than I had expected. I did get my multis! Yaaaaay! I couldn't be any happier. I felt like a little kid carrying my fish home. HAHAHA. At first, I was going to get 4 and then when I seen how small they were I decided to get six. However, I brought home 7--gotta love people who toss in extras. :grinyes:
So the stock is as follows: 7 Neolamprologus Multifasciatus, 8 Red Cherry Shrimp, and 3 gold Brig snails.
Floating:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee193/xlxCrimsonAngelxlx/Neolamprologus%20Multifasciatus%20Tank/12-02-07_NeolamprologusMultifasc-7.jpg
Enjoying their new digs:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee193/xlxCrimsonAngelxlx/Neolamprologus%20Multifasciatus%20Tank/12-02-07_NeolamprologusMultifasc-1.jpg
One of the little Brig snails:
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee193/xlxCrimsonAngelxlx/Neolamprologus%20Multifasciatus%20Tank/12-02-07_BrigSnail.jpg
Caution: Snail may appear larger than actual size! *LoL*
And if you'd like to see more pictures, feel free to peak here:
http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee193/xlxCrimsonAngelxlx/Neolamprologus%20Multifasciatus%20Tank/
I gotta say, these guys are even more than I expected. They are sOo cute! I thought they would hide and I wouldn't see them for a while after dropping them into the tank, but the don't hide at all! Very entertaining little fellas. I LOVE 'em! ♥
Congrats!!! They're adorable!
I think having 7 fish instead of 4 makes them braver, and having so many shells is good too. It's being lonely or nervous about not having a hiding spot nearby that makes them shy, IMHO.
BTW, I'm getting prompted for a password when I try to look at your other pics.
Natosha24
12-03-2007, 12:26 PM
Thanks. I think they are mighty adorable myself. oOo and the boyfriend seems to like them too. Yay!
How big are your Multis? I assume they are quite larger than the ones that I got. These are probably right around 1/2" but they didn't seem much smaller than the "adults" that were in the tank. I was very shocked when I seen them. I knew they would be small but not THAT small. It makes them even cuter. LoL. They definitely like the selection of shells. The guy that I got them from didn't have many shells in his tank so all the shells is kinda new to them. They haven't even left that side of the tank to check out the plants yet!
Darn photobucket. I'll see why they're prompting a password. Thanks for letting me know!
Problem should now be fixed!
Yes, they are small. I was surprised when I received mine (in the mail) and they were these itty bitty things. I'll try to see measure them when I get home. My female is very small, but even my dominant male, though bigger than the others, doesn't look big by any stretch. The males at the LFS seem much bigger than mine.
Natosha24
12-03-2007, 1:05 PM
Ok it's good to know that it wasn't just me that was surprised by their size. As far as I know, our LFS doesn't have Multis. I've called a couple of times plus I have looked the last few times I was in there. These are the only ones I've ever seen other than pictures. After work I may try to get an accurate measurement on their size and chart their growth for future reference. I have on that is noticeably larger than the rest and "he" seems to dominate the others. I'm almost certain that one is a male. Dominance=male characteristic. LOL
Yes, he sounds like your dominant male. He'll probably start bullying females to stay close to their shells, and the other males to stay away from him.
Females tend to stay closer to home, and do more exploring down below the surface of the shellbed, IME.
jpappy789
12-03-2007, 7:00 PM
I agree. Out of my three a male has already become the dominant one. They look great! I am sure they love their new home!!!
destined_love7
12-03-2007, 7:02 PM
Those are great! Where did you get your shells?
jpappy789
12-03-2007, 7:03 PM
I posted in your other thread but some more advice. Dont buy shells on ebay...overpriced with shipping...I made that mistake...:D
Natosha24
12-03-2007, 9:40 PM
Those are great! Where did you get your shells?
I got them from a member here. Here is his thread: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132392 He still has some for sale. I wouldn't hesitate to buy more from him. Great guy!
Natosha24
12-15-2007, 12:49 PM
I'm wondering... should I spread the shells out rather than having them in a pile in the corner of the tank? Would the fish prefer to have them spread across the entire bottom of the tank? I guess I'm confused by this.
destined_love7
12-15-2007, 1:00 PM
I don't know, but from what I've read, they'll put them where they want them. Is that right?
Natosha24
12-15-2007, 1:05 PM
Well I've read that too. However, mine are just little guys. The haven't even got a dent dug in the sand yet even though they've been at it for a week now because their so small. LoL. I think it's still going to be a while before then will be able to move the shells where they want them by themselves.
destined_love7
12-15-2007, 1:10 PM
LOL. I see. Got any pics yet?
Natosha24
12-15-2007, 1:31 PM
I've been going to take an updated picture since I ended up replacing the plants that I had put in there originally--I think the 3 minute bleach deep was just a bit excessive. However, I have a brown diatom algae issue that I've been letting go. Who wants brown algae in their pictures, right? Bleh! I was going to clean it but I won 10 bristlenose plecos and figured I'd stick one in the tank and let him have it. However, I got my plecos in the mail yesterday and they're too small to go in my other tanks, so I put them all in my red cherry shrimp & brig tank so they wouldn't be a treat for the fish. I think I will put a few in the multi tank once I get it rearranged if it needs to be. Keep in mind that this will only be temporary until the plecos are about an inch to an inch and a half and can be moved in with my bigger fish. I know I can't keep 3 plecos in a 10 gallon tank. I'm waiting to get some opinions before I move the plecos.