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Thanks so much for the replies. What I would also like to keep and bread is the Meleagris sp? I love the way they look, only problem is I cant find any

They're great but it's rarely a good idea to mix shelldwellers, and I'd be particularly wary of mixing multis, which can be dangerously territorial as the colony grows, and L. stappersi (meleagris), which is easily stressed by aggressive tankmates. Sorry, but a non-shellie (or a few non-shellies) is the way to go with this tank.

-Molly
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ok, thanks for the reply. So is it ok to mix my Multis with ocellatus?

Nope, still two shelldwellers. It rarely works out longterm, and especially won't work when you want to build up a colony of multis. Sorry.

Have you looked at any Cyp pictures? They're GORGEOUS - you wouldn't be disappointed if you went with them, believe me.

-Molly
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OK, thanks for the input. Well, it's pretty much decided that the tank is primarily a Shellie tank, now I'm just lost on upper dwelling species. I was thinking about 3-4 Duboisi. What I would love is to have a pair of Frontosas but I'm sure they would make lunch of my shellies. Any ideas for tank mates? The tank will be HEAVILY decorated with lots of "holey rock" and many caves while still leaving floor space for the shellies.

DEFINITELY no T. duboisi! Tropheus are extremely aggressive fish - with three or four, they'd kill the multis, then kill each other. You'd end up with a 90 gallon tank and one Tropheus.

Can I ask why you're not interested in the Cyps at all?

-Molly
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Ok, so here's the situation. My Midas and Dovii have recently outgrown their 90 so I moved them into the new 125 before they ultimately go into the 300. Now I have a spare 90 with nothing in it. I currently have 7 fullgrown Multis (5 females 2 males) in a 12 gallon Eclipse tank and there is also about five 3/4 inch juveniles and about 15 fry. I'm SERIOUSLY contemplating setting up my 90 as a shelly tank. Only problem is that it's a 4ft tank which don't get me wrong is plenty of space for multis. However, with the Multis being bottom dwellers, what would make some good tank mates for the top of the tank that won't eat the baby multis? Also, can I add some Ocellatus and get a colony of those going along with the Multis? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

well, I haven't actually looked into the cyps yet. If I go with them, how many should I start with and how much do they usually cost in the U.S. for juveniles?

ok, I just checked out the cyps and I was impressed. I particularly like the Leptosoma. Can I get away with my multies and at a later time adding around 5 Leptosoma? Also, I read that there are "jumbo" strains. Is there different scientific names for the jumbos so that I won't mistake them for the smaller type? Do you know of any reputable dealers online where I can find some cyps? My LFS's around here stock mostly marine fish and central american cichlids, not a lot of africans, I had to order my Multies online. Thanks for the help in advance!

Knew you'd like 'em.

They're real schoolers; getting five would be too few. Eight is passable, but I'd strongly recommend a dozen. C. leptosoma is, indeed, split into "jumbos" and "regulars" - but if the supplier can't tell you which a given variety is, you probably shouldn't be buying from him anyway. Utinta's a common, popular non-jumbo you'll see at most sites, and usually cheap. Bluechipaquatics.com tends to have a bunch of Cyps at bargain-barrel prices ($5-8 each).

Oh, and you'll want to stay away from C. pavo, C. microlepidus and C. zonatus - they're larger fish (and much, much more expensive).

-Molly
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OK, thank you so much for all of your help. If I go ahead and get a dozen and add them at a later time there shouldn't be any temperament problems between them and the Multies seeing how the multies were in there first? I know they occupy entirely different parts of the tank but I just want to be sure. Also, will I have any luck trying to breed the Cyps in the future? Thanks in advance!

If you have, say, fifty adult multis when you add the cyps, there's a slight chance you'll have problems. Otherwise - nah, don't give it a thought.
They're sure to breed, but patience is key with Cyps. They grow slowly, they take months to start coloring up and sometimes years to finish, and they take a lot of tries to get their spawning down pat. My group is starting to hold to term and just starting to synchronise spawns; I still doubt I'll have fry within the next few months (My 125 is a slightly modified version of what you're planning - N. similis colony and 14 C. leptosoma "Bulu Point".

The nice thing is, the Cyps won't prey on multi fry and the benthic multis are highly unlikely to go after the large, topdwelling cyp fry. So you can have thriving colonies of both quite easily, without (knock on wood) fry tanks.

-Molly
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Excellent. OK, so I found some Leptosoma Bulu on aquabid for 50 bucks plus shipping, there are 10 of them ranging from 1-1.25 inches. This seems almost perfect. Would the Bulus be a good choice for me? If so I think I'll pull the trigger on this deal and buy them up!

Bulus are great, if the seller has good feedback I'd say go for it. But ask him about shipping - they're not the world's best shippers and IME people use airport-to-airport to ship them; it's the safest method.

-Molly
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