Wanting To Keep Multi's

[dazsmith69]

ive read loads of articles on these little fish, how facinating they are to watch etc

id keep them in a 55 gallon tank, and i think they would look a little lost in there

what other fish can i put with these that would occupy the upper regions of the tank without disturbing their natural behaviour?

and also is there al aglae eater tha can mix with these fish? as i would want the rocks etc algae free

thanks Darren

 

[moll]

Hi I love my multis they are best in a species only tank from what I have been told although I plan to put a few ottos in with mine a 55 gallon is a bit big for just them IMHO

 

[Soaup]

I dont have any expierience with multi's. I have Mbuna, I do however have a common pleco in my tank about 8" and they never bother him. I also plan on getting a few bristlenose plecs and several synodontis cat's. I have been told and read that they are compatible with Mbuna so i couldnt see why they wouldnt work with multi's. I will do some research for you and get back on here a bit later.

 

[dthoffsett]

Multi's tend to reproduce so quickly that your tank will soon be a hot bed of activity. However, some mid/top dwellers will definately add interest. You could go with rainbowfish as a nice shoaling non-cichlid. For other lake Tang cichlids you could go with Cyprichromis leptosoma, Altolamprologus calvus, Altolamprologus compressiceps, or Neolamprologus buesceri as a few suggestions.

For algae eaters bristlenose plecos usually work with african cichlids, however, despite their size, shelldwellers can be pretty aggressive, so I'd keep a close eye on things.

 

[jennybugs]

I have multies in their own 60L set up (my thread's on this section somewhere) and was going to try dither fish with them purely as I'd read it would bring them out of themselves a bit. however, having had them now for a fair few months, I can honestly say that there's nothing shy about these little fish

The initial facebiting between the cichlids made me take the dwarf neon rainbowfish I had in there out of the tank - they hid behind the anubias all the time.

My tank is rather empty but I have a bit of planted bogwood in the back, the rock and the majority of the shells I had in the tank have been completely covered up by sand and I have resigned myself to just enjoying the tank for the fish and not the decor (or lack of it)

It's hilarious to watch one fish shifting sand onto another's territory and then the other one shifting it back again

For the record I have no babies yet *sigh* even though I am sure I have at least 4 females and 1 possibly 2 males.

 

[dazsmith69]

thanks for the replies!

subrstrate wise, sand is the only one, does it matter what colour and type? i like the idea of black sand so the white/light colours of the fish stand out more, or would they not like this as their natural sand is, well sandy colour lol

i understand u have to buffer the water with crushed corel to maitain a higher ph, is this just the case of putting a handful in a filter compartment and keeping an eye on the ph levels?

other than that there is no other special conditions? and they are relatively hardy fish?

thanks again!

 

[jumpman]

thanks for the replies!

subrstrate wise, sand is the only one, does it matter what colour and type? i like the idea of black sand so the white/light colours of the fish stand out more, or would they not like this as their natural sand is, well sandy colour lol

i understand u have to buffer the water with crushed corel to maitain a higher ph, is this just the case of putting a handful in a filter compartment and keeping an eye on the ph levels?

other than that there is no other special conditions? and they are relatively hardy fish?

thanks again!

Whatever sand you put in there they will just dig and move it around anyway....either will be fine.

Depends on your water conditions, if you have hard water anyway I would not change it. I am lucky enough to have hard water out the tap and only add dechlorinator. Stable water conditions are more important than perfect.

They are ae re a relitavely hardy fish yes, I have kept mine in a variety of sized tanks and they have stood up and bred with tropheus, cyps and even Calvus in their tank. The colony defending young is impressive to watch.

On the dither fish side anything fast moving that is an open water swimmer would be fine, rainbowfish are well liked and I have seen success with Danios as well. Currently mine are housed with 10 black neons, a bristlenose and a single young A.Comp.