Neolamprologus Multifasciatus

[scouse_andy]

I have a colony of 8 Multifasciatus, shelldwelling cichlids and a load of shells for them.

They are housed in a ten gallon tank and I have had them for a couple of months now. I picked them up from a fellow forum member and they have bred in the past.

I wondered if there was any way that I could add a few surface dwelling fish to the tank to entice the shellies out a bit? I know the filtration can cope as I have been constantly getting zero readings for ammonia and nitrite and nitrates of about 20.

Would the cichlids be likely to bully/kill the other fish?

Does anybody have any suggestions?

I was thinking maybe 3 or 4 male guppies or maybe a few male endlers. The last thing I want is expensive fish food for my cichlids but it would be nice to add a little more activity to the tank if it were safe.

The previous owner kept them with furcata rainbowfish. Could you let me know if any of these are suitable tankmates and perhaps suggest some others?

Many thanks, Andy.

 

[WaterBender1995]

8 MULTIES IN A TEN GALLON
sorry, I'm not going to suggest adding ANYTHING to such a small tank.

 

[scouse_andy]

Everything that I have read on here and on other sites seems to suggest that a ten gallon is adequate for a colony of these.

They all seem to be getting on fine too.

 

[poopsydrew]

I dont think its crazy, I dont know if water bender has ever kept them but thhey take up a very small territory and really arent aggressive for africans. I have 6 in my 10 gallon, i could see 10 working out ok if I stepped up the filtration or water changes more.

Anyway, to answer the question, I have never kept mine with any surface dwellers, I dont think guppies would be good because they are too slow with their long caudaul fin. I dont know much about rainbows, they would like the hard water though, maybe someone could suggest some rainbows for a 10 if there is such a thing.

If your ok with breaking your african setup and you like how they look go ahead and try a few endlers, they sure would like the water chemistry, I just dont know how the multies would respond to them, but I think it might work. Endlers are pretty quick, I could see one getting chased off every once in awhile when it got too close to the shell, but adding more than 1 endler would spread it.

I like to keep only fish and invertabraes they would encounter in lake tangayika (sp?), but if you like the endlers, up the filtration and give it a try.

Drew

 

[jrh]

I have a colony of 8 Multifasciatus, shelldwelling cichlids and a load of shells for them.

How many shells is a "load" of shells?

This is their natural habitat...

I've got 6 in a 12 gallon, and mine have been pretty bold from day 1. They've avid feeder (avid beggars is more like it!). I've had them about a month, and they've had their first spawn, after which the males have seemed to start playing together more nicely. They used to fight more, although nobody every got hurt.

Here's the proud mama.

In my experience, females tend to stay closer to their shells, and be inside of them more often. The dominant male should have his run of the tank, and patrol around, harassing the others as he swims by.

 

[ollyhtafc]

I envy you lot..i'd love a trio of these little things!Can't find them anywhere.

 

[jrh]

Where do you live?

 

[ollyhtafc]

West yorkshire/Greater Manchester. England..

My LFS told me i'd be lucky to find any in captivity and they'd never heard of them.The shop is a member of some kind of cichlid society aswell!!

 

[Luketendo]

West yorkshire/Greater Manchester. England..

My LFS told me i'd be lucky to find any in captivity and they'd never heard of them.The shop is a member of some kind of cichlid society aswell!!

I bet a couple of lfs' near me have them (south east england.) At least 2 do tang cichlids maybe even 3. I remember seeing brichardi ones.

 

[jrh]

Several things come up when I search on multifasciatus at this site. I'm not sure if any of them might be good for you or not.

http/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/php/...p?action=search

 

[scouse_andy]

Thanks for all the replies

How many shells is a "load" of shells?

There are about 25 shells in there so about 3 per fish. I should also have said that 4 of them are juveniles.

I thought I was ok to be stocking 8 of these in that size tank, thanks for the reassurance people - I'd hate to think I was being cruel to them.

I love the picture of your female. I find it really hard to sex mine, I can spot the dominant male quite easily but after that it is diffifcult. I have noticed that the young ones are paler but one of the larger adults is pale too, is this a sex thing or dominance issue or just coloration?

It's great watching the behaviour in the tank, I'm hoping for a spawn sometime soon, they are real characters.

So back to my original question - do others think that endlers may work in there, what about furcata rainbows or gertrude's rainbowfish? I am not too fussy about keeping the African biotope. I am reluctant to do this if others have had bad experiences.

 

[jrh]

I don't know. Multies aren't terribly aggressive fish, but in a 10 gallon, they're pretty much going to think the whole thing is their colony. They also like having more shells than that. I'd have a minimum of 6 shells per fish, and a maximum of shells covering the entire floor, 2-3 layers deep even.

The dominant male tends to patrol around the tank, harassing everyone else. Females are smaller and tend to stay near their little cluster of 3-4 shells, and spend more time in their shells than the males do. If you have shells stacked on each other, females spend more time exploring the nooks and crannies between shells.

I don't really know about adding the fish you mentioned. I personally don't think multis need dithers in a 10 gallon tank. I figure they'll harass them, but now much I don't really know. And it might change as the juvies mature, and as your fish start having fry to protect.

 

[scouse_andy]

I figure they'll harass them, but now much I don't really know. And it might change as the juvies mature, and as your fish start having fry to protect.

Fair comment. I guess as the juvies grow up there will be more chance of aggression as spawnings occur. I hope to sell a few sub-adults on to my LFS if I am lucky enough to get fry.

I will try to keep my eyes open for some more shells then. I want the fish to be as comfortable as possible. Where did you find your shells?

Thanks for the suggestions.

Andy.

 

[jrh]

I got most of mine from ebay auctions.

 

[WaterBender1995]

"poopsydrew" (Ok I feel weird after saying that..LOL)

I've kept em'
bred em'
sold em'
so I know what I'm talking about and I still would not suggest a ten gallon. PERIOD.