Setting up a Neolamprologus Multifasciatus tank...

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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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
 
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? :)

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:
 
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?
 
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