Neolamprologus Multifasciatus

[Alasse]

Hope to be picking up 8 of these tomorrow, never had shellies before, so really looking forward to giving them a go.

I fully cleaned the tank they are going into tonight (was stocked wih fish and planted). Very bare at present but just letting the filter tidy the water up after me disturbing the sand substrate. Will add a few rocks and plants tomorrow, along with shells for them.

Any tips on these guys, i have researched but still tis good to hear from those that have kept them

 

[webbie]

Alasse any plants you put in the tank,what size is it by the way?,will probably be dug up or disturbed by multi who love to dig in the sand,these fish are real fun guys and will breed readily,they do prefer hard water, any idea what yours is?

 

[Alasse]

Plants will be mostly java fern, so shouldn't be an issue with diggers. The tank is 2.5ft (this will not be there final home though. eventually they will be moving to a 3.5ft tank.)

I havent tested the water, but have kept other 'hard water' fish with very little problem, the substrate has shell grit mixed in with it to harden it up some more.

 

[kiriyama]

Hi, I woud resist the temptation to put lots of sand in to watch the bulldozing antics of these fun little fish. They actually dint like a lot of sand , they prefer to move it away from the shell to let it rest on a firm base. Lots of options for tank layout, think the best det up I had was the entire tank floor covered with 3 to 4 layers of shells and no sand, lots of fry with lots of hiding places. Saying that if you put the shells at either end of the tank you may end up with two small colonies, also fun to watch . . .


Cheers, Sean

 

[Alasse]

There is a fair bed of sand/grit in there, bulldozing is fine. I'm sure they will soon get the tank how they want it lol

The tank is now setup, just waiting for the inhabitants. Sand, rocks, wood, java fern and of course shells

 

[Alasse]

Still cloudy, but this will settle.

(not a brilliant pic as its daylight and sun reflects onto the glass of the tank

 

[webbie]

Alasse that tanks looking good,got to disagree with Kiriyama ,dont think I would want a tank with no sand at all!,any tanins being leeched out of that bit of wood by the way ?

 

[Alasse]

Yeah i dont like the no sand either...digging to get comfy would be somewhat natural behaviour i would think.

The wood pieces (3 of them) no longer leaches tannins. I have a pond full of wood, any new wood gets put in there to "age" a bit, and also it is then presoaked for when i want to use it

The multis are now in the tank, and are busy sorting out shell ownership. What a pretty little fish it is, am in love with em already. I can see more shelldweller tanks in my future!

 

[webbie]

Yes know what you mean about another shellie tank I have been trying to talk myself out of setting up a 2 foot gold occies tank and at the mo I,m not winning,dont know what the shellies would do without the sand to shift atait all day long!! ,looking forward to seeing some pics when your fish have settled in

 

[Tizer]

my multis HATE sand, they end up burying half the shells in the tank, would be far better with a couple of layers of shells only and no sand, but i cant be bothered to take it all out

 

[Alasse]

Burying the shells & moving the sand around is natural behaviour, cant see where the fish would hate it *shrugs* I think its more the fishkeeper hates it, cause they mess up the 'look' by burying shells, and having piles of sand.

As i stated i am happy for them to go and do their thing.

 

[kiriyama]

Its fun watching all the digging and moving, my punctatus really make a day out of moving all the sand to one end of the tank, natural behaviour same as the multies, not saying dont use any sand , just saying the multies will move it away to allow the shells to be on a more "solid" base. Another wee trick I tried a while back was placing variour thickness of slate across the bottom of the tank then burying with the sand, its amazing to see how many shellies will breed in these small gaps between the slate. Also good for fry hiding in and also under the shells. (also stops us having to look at the glass bottom)


Cheers, Sean

 

[Alasse]

They have only excavated area with no shells sitting on it....

Regardless this tank will stay with the thickness of sand it has....i prefer it and it seems they do to as they are already starting what looks to be breeding behaviour.

 

[Alasse]

Tank has cleared up heaps

A few pics of the Multis

 

[kiriyama]

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