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hey guys,well after alot of driving and phoning around,1 of the 4 lfs i use can order me in some multis.(neolamprologus multifasciatus)i just got back.
im so happy,and my neice will be over the moon too.
he said the cost would be $30 each(a bit dear in my opp,but i coundnt get em onywhere else),but if i get a bunch he will do a deal on price,the only thing he said was i have to pay up front,as he not getting stuck with fish that people order,then never pick up!
so i guess ill have to check my neices water,and make sure thats ok!
so now ive just gotta get the cash of her mum,place the order then wait about 2-3 weeks for the fish to arrive!
the tank (5gal)has been sitting there up and running with one tiny green terror baby(about 1 inch),that i chucked in there to keep things going untill her multis arrive!
id say the tank will be a little over stocked at first,i was going to put 5 in,to see if she can obtain a pair,then take the rest out(maybe for me).
it has sand in it with a bunch of shells to pick from,plus 1 small plant for some extra cover!
i also added a small internal filter,to help the filter in the lid(thats the 1 that came with the tank,its not real good).so if anyone can think of anything else ive missed,or some other tips.i rekon my neice and i can begin

After doing a Google on (neolamprologus multifasciatus) they certainly sound a very interesting fish to keep but at that price you certainly would know what you are doing.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
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Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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ah im not worried about that keith,they will be ok..they are small but pretty hardy.

Another bonus with multis is that they are not extremely difficult to breed. This will help to offset that hefty cost, IMO! Good luck!

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

If you fill a shoe with tap water, throw a dead snail and a pair of multis in, leave it for a month, come back, there will be a shoe full of multis! They really are easy to look after and breed, plenty of shells, high pH, sand, thats it.
Maybe few vallis or anubias for the look.

i second the anubias, it would be a hardy plant to get her into the real plant bit, then she can move on to harder to keep plants.plus i think real plants look all that much better, how bout you guys?

yeah thats why i went for the multis,as mez said,sand,high ph,lots of shells,and the tank has all that!easy doneas for the offset for price,my fish buddy next door and across the road,have already put dibs on the first batch of fry
id love to put a real plant in there for her,but the tank is only five gal,the shells and the fake plant have already takin enuff space,plus the small internal filter i added,
thats hanging the the side,blowing across the tank,im really pleased with how it turned out.
i think the multis will like there new home

yea wait on the plant until you get her a bigger tank.the pant would be nice tho.

the more i hear and read about the multis,the more i want them,and for me,the issue is space,some where to put another tank,as its my mother in laws house,and i already have 2 tanks setup,i cant setup anymore.
ive got left over sand and shells too,plus a complete 10 or 15 gallon tanks out the back in the shed!
ether 1 of these would make a great home for some multis,i was thinking of waiting untill the mother in law is in a good mood,and see if she will let me set up the 10 or 15 gallon,underneath my 89gallon in the dinning room.
IF she were to say yes,do you guys see anything wrong/bad with this location,the only thing i can think of would be water changes would be harder to do as it would be so low to the ground!
but as it would probly be the 10 gallon tank,i could just scoop the water out with a larger cup!
the 15 gallon will fit underneath( i had it under there at my old house)but its a bit of a pain in the bum,as its a tight fit,it makes it hard to do any genral matainence!
so id rather the 10gal!
so waddas think?

hmmmm, sounds a bit like the "guppies" of the cichlid world. they might be fun for a new 10g I am contemplating. My son is dying to have a tank in his room. So, I could move the 10g I have now with his Betta, some harlies, skunk botia and panda corys into his room and do the multi set up... I come by the high pH water naturally so that would be no problem lol.

yeah there pretty cool,the whole shell thing that the multis do,it would be a blast to watch.as said above,they are easy to keep,and 1 member from this site,said he gets more enjoyment watching his multis in a 20 gal,then watching his mixed africans cichlids in his 75 gal.
he said watching a colony of multis is like watching a soap opra on tv...

Be advised that they will be hidden in their shells for the first week or so. Once they get comfy they will be out alot more but their natural instinct is when in doubt hide.

Pretty sure yu reffering to me when mentioning the soap opera. its a 30g not 20g heheh. Once you can tell each fish apart you will be able to tell what relationship each has with each other. The bully, the neighborhood honey, usually a cool guy in there, the shut out, and the badas* keeping everyone in check.

Think the funniest thing ive seen with multies is watchone one dig out a shell for days down to the bottom of the glass. once it bottomed out it rolled over and he never botherd with it again. Like seeing it from a new angle he realised it wasnt what he wanted in the first place. Weird little critters.

The 75g african tank is more like a royal rumble then a community. everyone is pissed off and its every man for themselves. With the multies an argument breaks out and the female usually crosses by and argument over lol. Deffinetly the tank that keeps my interest more often then not.

ahh i wasnt sure,but yeah i never forgot the way you discribed there behavourthe soap opera thing!
but yeah now ive got multi fever and want some too!
ive been running around the house with the tape measure seeing where i can sqeeze a 10 gallon tank.
i cant wait to see em all settled in,than i can kick back and watch the soap opra unfold

hey sin,how many multis do you have in your 30gall,and how many did you start with...
also do you have any open space on the bottom of your tank,or is it shells all over?
i seen pictures on the net with the whole floor of the tank covered,however ive been told they like both!
have a slew of shells 2-3 per fish,but also have floor space aswell!
oh and 1 more thing,how many fish makes a colony,ive always wondered that

started with 6 have 9 right now. sub male keeps eating fry unless there his. real pain in the butt. i have the hole bottom coverd with a lava rock in the middle with a plant and a pile of rocks in the back corner. the shutouts took residents in the rocks.

i have recently redoen the entire tank. after recieving some juli transcriptus they really didnt function well togetehr because so many julies trying to get a pair. so i took all but the shutouts out and ptu them in a 10g. leaving the shutouts in the 30g to keep control of the shell bed. this way its not a suprise when the colony moves back in after a juli pair forms.

http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/42597/2165670810053844551S600x600Q85.jpg

pic of before i ripped it apart.
102 shells, yeah i counted.

your sub male sounds like a rite cheeky little turd!
anyway that looks great.sounds like its all happening atm.
just 1 more qeustion!
what filtration do you run on this tank?
i can see the hob,but is that a internal filter in the back right hand corner?

Multi pregnant?

I've had 6 multies, 3 adults and 3 juveniles. Well two weekends ago, I bought 5 more juvenile multies as well as adding more shells too to the tank. One of my adult multies looks a little plump on its stomach, could that be a sign of pregnancy?

Gosh Hokese what part of Australia do you live in?
I got 14 multi shelldwellers from a breeder for $30 the lot! I coulda express posted some to you in breathable fish bags.

I have mine in a 2ft x 1ft tank with nothing but a bit of coral, some sand, escargo shells, and an aquagenie air filter. Aquagenie wasn't such a hot idea for multies as they have found they can use it for a sand dump and boy do they shift some sand. It looks like a BHP mining site.

Mine are just getting their little bar markings now so hopefully they will breed soon. Can't wait to see the babies.


The plant, urn and seeding internal filter are no longer in the tank. Neither is the red scat who was kindly cycling the tank for me.


If you want some shells, I know an online aussie store which sells the proper french snail shells in the pic.


Nothing to do with multies at all, but I am using a secondhand 75w Jager heater in their tank which is green. In Australia nowadays they are blue. How old do you think the heater is?
Its still going like a beauty.

the small HOB is a penguin 125 i think. Does a good job i just found that i ended up with dead spots at the far end. I added the small internal for a bit more current and it helps alot. Also comes in handy with electricity goes out. being in the water it lives alot longer so i dont have to stress as much as the biowheels. Gotta take those off and put them in the water to keep them alive and repeat when the power comes back on.

anyway the small internal is purely for movement.