Neolamprologus Multifasciatus

[julsifer]

i hope to one day in the not too distant future to own these fish, they would be perfect in my hard water they are just the right size for me not to be too overwhelmed with and would look beautiful. Unfortunatley i know nothing about keeping them or cichlids in general so any wise words of wisdom will be greatfully taken on board

i have read the fact sheet on TFF is there anymore anyone can add.

How many can you keep together in a species only 20 gallon?
Should i get a pair or more?
Should i get fry and watch them grow?
How aggressive will things get if i have 6 or so juveniles?
Is it safe to have them with smaller community fish?
What sort of things do they like in their tank?
Is having plants a no no or a waste of time?

etc etc etc > sorry for all the questions

thankyou experts First time i've ever posted here hope you all dont hate me already

 

[demasonisrule]

i hope to one day in the not too distant future to own these fish, they would be perfect in my hard water they are just the right size for me not to be too overwhelmed with and would look beautiful. Unfortunatley i know nothing about keeping them or cichlids in general so any wise words of wisdom will be greatfully taken on board
Hard water is good. Cichlids aren't too much different than other fish really, other than the aggression.

i have read the fact sheet on TFF is there anymore anyone can add.

How many can you keep together in a species only 20 gallon?
I'm not 100% sure, so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but about 10 to start?
Should i get a pair or more?
Definitely more, because of aggression.
Should i get fry and watch them grow?
Completely up to you.
How aggressive will things get if i have 6 or so juveniles?
not that aggressive, but with African cichs you never know.
Is it safe to have them with smaller community fish?
Unfortunately, no. They are too aggressive and need different water params than most. However, any small Tanganyikan cichlid will do, such as a julidochromis?
What sort of things do they like in their tank?
Sand substrate, 3 or 4 shells for each fish, and maybe a few rocks.
Is having plants a no no or a waste of time?
Some plants will get eaten, and most others will get uprooted due to their digging. Some to try would be anubias and valisneria.

etc etc etc > sorry for all the questions
It's what we're here for

thankyou experts First time i've ever posted here hope you all dont hate me already
I'm not an expert, but I hope I helped a bit, and no we don't hate you.

 

[ashemely]

I am a little biased here when I say this, but I think you've made an excellent choice in fish. Multis are small, but they pack a whole lot of personality. These cichlids were my first 'serious' fish choice and they really haven't disappointed me. In my experience they are a hardy fish that are also a joy to watch. A lot of people like to watch their Multis 'bulldoze' the sand in the tank around, but I enjoy watching their territorial displays and disputes (it's almost like watching a soap opera, well probably more like the Jerry Springer show). On to your questions...

I have four adults in a 12 gallon tank, so I think you would be alright with six, of course make sure your tank is already cycled. You can check out the beginners section of the forums on how to properly cycle your tank if you are new to the fish world, trust me it will be well worth your time and patience.

Multis are extremely difficult to sex, so the more fish you get the better likelihood you will get at least one of each gender.

If you do purchase adults, I would be sure to ask the store if for some reason there is too much aggression in your tank, if it would be alright to bring back the aggressive fish. I had to do this, because when I first bought a pair of Multis, I was convinced that I had two males from their behavior. I was able to take one of the males back and swap it for another fish, that ended up being a female.

I honestly can't tell you how aggressive juveniles can be, as I have no experience with them. I would think they wouldn't be as aggressive as adults, but I am not positive.

Keeping Multis with community fish like danios has been done before, but each has their own experience, and it may depend on how big your tank is, how many multis you have, and how many community fish you have. Although, I personally wouldn't suggest it in a 20 gallon tank.

Multis only care about the shells! I've had my Multis for almost a year now, and I am convinced that they don't even like sand. They really do seem to want their shells on a flat hard surface, and if you add sand to your tank, they will just remove the sand away from their shells until they reach the glass bottom. When I rescaped my tank, I added just a little bit of sand to cover the glass, and then I added large slate slabs on top of the sand then placed the shells on top of the slate. I would highly suggest you consider replicating a similar set up.

You can have plants, but the Multis might uproot them. I did have Vallis in my tank at one time, I placed them in the back of the tank away from the shells, and the Multis didn't bother them. Well, they would sometimes attack the leaves, but not eat them. I did end up getting rid of the plants but that was due more to my lack of water plant skills than the Multis attacking the plants.


If you can think of anymore questions feel free to ask.

 

[julsifer]

If you can think of anymore questions feel free to ask.

you're in for it now

Okay so i decided to keep my 20 as a community tank, but have recently gained a 12 gallon. I'm still debating on what to put in there and keeping my options open.

but decided i want a species only tank.

so its down to :

corydoras habrosus
Cherry shrimp or the
multis

I have yet to check a few lfs's further afield from me and my little town (with the one crappy lfs) to check availibility of species. Fingers crossed.

So anyway you say i could keep 4 safely in a 12 gallon like you did? And if they are aggressive towards each other they are almost certainly males?

I suppose not having the plants would be less hassel, but now i am picturing it to be quite bare. Do they like caves? OH and i have plenty of slate to make that kind of set up

What food do you feed yours?

 

[ashemely]

I have to agree with you on the species only tanks for small tanks. I actually used to have my 12 gallon set up as a cherry shrimp tank. I ended up tearing it down because I found that to actually enjoy the shrimp I would have to get really close to the tank to see them. It probably would have worked out better if I had the tank on my desk. I've never had cories so I"m not quite sure what they will need.

I do have four adults, and quite a few fry now, in a 12 gallon tank. I have one male and three females, and the females will 'fight' with each other, but it's more of a show than actual fighting. The reason why I thought I had two males in the beginning, is because one fish had 90% of the floorspace, and he would bully the other fish out of his area, mainly by charging at him. When the females fight it's more of a display fight where they sort of puff themselves up a bit and get in each others faces, and that's about as far as it goes. So, no the males are not the only ones who fight, making it even more difficult to sex Multis.

Yes, my tank is extremely bare two inches above the floor, which is why I put in the Vallis. And the vallis did add some height and interest to the tank, but I just wasn't good at keeping it alive! Multis will use the caves. I used upside down pots as caves before my shells arrived in the mail. I think the reason why most people don't use caves is because they take up too much floor space and it's suggested that each Multi have at least three shells to pick from. But it's not a rule breaker if you want to use a few caves to break up the monotony of the shells. Kiriyama has a few pics of his tank, where he's opted to use quite a variety of sizes and types of shells for his Multis. And AdAndrews chose to add some visual interest by placing a few large rocks in his tank.

I feed mine just regular old flake food, and a frozen pellet food especially for cichlids. They really like the pellets, the pellets sort of float down to the bottom of the tank and simulate live food. I used to feed them frozen brine shrimp, that they also liked, but it was too messy for me. The thing about the flake, though, is because it just sits on top of the water the cichlids won't go up to the top to eat, at least mine won't. So, I take a test tube for the water tests, add the flake to the tube, add some water from the tank to the tube, give it a shake, and then dump the water back into the tank. This way the flake sinks down to the bottom of the tank, and the cichlids will then eat it.

Yes, I spoil my fish, just like every other thing that lives in this house!

 

[kiriyama]

I have to go with the above, 12 gallon would be fine for Multis, I had mine in a 20 gallon with other Tanganyikan, it was fine but I still stumbled on problems occassionally, I have 6 in a small 10(ish) gallon, after reading through some threads by ashemely , this tank now has no sand at all, I have chunks of slate at the bottom, and a few thinner pieces going up at angles, lots of shells piled up, the Multis even use all the gaps in the slate, one lays under a piece of slate that is raised up from the glass. As for plants I have a "clump" of Java Fern that I scrounged from LFS , it just floats around the tank....

 

[julsifer]

ok i am hope i can find some of these guys cos i think it would ace if it i could set this up

So basically if i've got this right i can have 4 in my 12 gallon that all get along, i should ask the LFS before hand that if i see signs of over the top aggression, can i bring one back.

The tank will ideally have a flat slate bottom maybe some rocks and a cave construction from slate etc and it is ok to have floating plants e.g. amazon frogbit...oh and no sand lol

When it comes to feeding i should be aware that they dont feel confident about feeding from the surface so should prepare foods that will sink a little or even to the bottom.

quite a few fry now, in a 12 gallon tank

How are they doing? How many did you get? and if you don't mind me asking what do you plan to do with them, i bet they're cuties

kiriyama, sounds like your multis are very content

 

[ashemely]

I think you've got it all down packed.

You most definitely can have floating plants, AdAndrews had some frogbit in his tank. I'm quite positive the fish would never swim up that far to the surface to attack it!

One thing to remember when picking out sinking pellets is to make sure that the pellets are small enough for the Multi to eat. I bought sinking catfish pellets and they were WAY too big for the fish. Luckily, one of the stores sort of in my area carries that frozen pellet I mentioned earlier, it's only 1mm in size, and perfect for the Multies.

As for my Multi fry, I currently have four bigger fry that are around an inch in size, from two different females. Plus I have about three teeny tiny ones that are less than a quarter of an inch, from again two different females. All of the females have had at least one batch of fry. The very first fry I had there were about seven of them, but only one is still alive; more may have survived if they were all in a bigger tank. The second batch of fry came from a different female, she only had three and they are all still alive and growing really nicely.

I am supposed to be selling all of my fish, because I am supposed to be moving to the US. If you live anywhere near Huntingdon, CAMBS or within driving distance, I'll sell my fish and whatever fry I can nab to ya