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heys guys,use are probly sick to death of me asking qeustions about my multis,but what can i say i love them,and every new day brings a new question.
i could ask 50 questions about them,but for now ill just ask 4.
ive been reading and hereing that multis will like just a shell bad and NO gravel or sand.
1st question,wouldnt it be better to have gravel or sand as its holds good bacteria,ie better for the fish.
ATM i have 11 shells in a 5gal,witch dosent leave much room,plus 2 fake plants and a small bit of driftwood!question 2,when its time for a vacume should i take the shells out,or just try to vac around them,so i dont disturb there homes.
ive been feeding my fellas all different types of food,just once a day
question 3,how many times a day do you guys feed your multis.
im not sure if this last question can be answered,but some suggestions would be nice.
question 4,how come my smallest multi has dug him self a cave under the driftwood,instead of taking a shell,he has 2 shells rite near his cave,but dosent like them!
the other multis love there shells dearly,and they defend them well toi just thought it was a bit odd

1 A substrate is better IMO as the multis are able to bury the shells a little. I am sure they would survive without but sand or gravel is better. I dont like the look for bare tanks personally.

Can you upgrage to a 10g?

2 I would vac around the shells as taking them out will disturb their community. Whats to guarantee you get the same shells back in the same territory? There could be eggs in there you dont know about, they need to be left alone as much as you can.

3 I fed mine once a day, i guess it depends on what your schedule is normally.

4 I am sure I had an odd male that did that too. I put it down to being the odd one out.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

No matter how long you have been keeping fish you never stop learning that is one thing I like about FP.
Now what are the next 46 questions.
I guarantee I can answer every one very easy.
Don't ask me I am only a learner.
If I had not gone for the Cardinal Tetras and CRS I certainly would have a tank full of them just think a 5ft tank of them.

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

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Would have to agree with Lindy on the majority. A 10g would be better especielly if they begin to breed.

The only part i would advise again is a gravel vac. I find and most others do too that if you vac directly over the bed you end up sucking up fry you dont see. What i normally do is sweep the vac over the bed slightly fast. this causes turbalance to sweep through it and all the nasty flies out. vac it up as you see it. the fry get swooshed around a little but they simple swim back to their shells.

could also use your hand. either way takes some trial and error. better to start really easy and work your way up. try not to toss the shells around.

The only part i would advise again is a gravel vac. I find and most others do too that if you vac directly over the bed you end up sucking up fry you dont see. What i normally do is sweep the vac over the bed slightly fast. this causes turbalance to sweep through it and all the nasty flies out. vac it up as you see it. the fry get swooshed around a little but they simple swim back to their shells.

I do agree with you there Sin, but I didnt specify properly, apologies.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

ahhh sweet thanx guys.
lindy,i did have them in a 10 gal,but it sprang another leak.
as this was the 2nd leak,and the tank was fairly old,i just tossed it out.
so now the next tank size up for me,is the 29 gal i have,but NO room to put it.
the 29 gall,just fits under my 89gal,but its not practical,as it leaves zero room for cleaning,ect,ect!
so i was forced to put them into the 5gal.
atm the moment they dont seem to mind the downsize,but IF eggs are put down,there aint much room for the others to run.
also i think your rite about the odd 1 out.
ive been watching him over the last few days,and now youve said it,it does fit his weird behavour!hes a real loner,and the smallest,the runt.
also heres just 1 more question.
i have 2 small bns in with the multis,on clean up duty just untill they reach over a inch.now ALL the multis in the tank shoo the bns rite away everytime they come near there shells.
question 5,is this a personal thing toward the bns,or is it just because the multis see them as intruders?

They would be seen as a potential threat, thats all.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

You do know the tank is far too small, right?

great thanx again lindy,and yes mez i do now that this tank is to small,and im in the process of getting them a upgrade.as i said,I WAS FORCED to put them in the 5gal,as my 10gal sprung a leak,and theres zero room to set my other larger tanks up
anyway they seem pretty happy!

Happy? As far as i understand, there in a bare bottom tank with tannin leaking wood in it that is far too small. Not to be harsh, but they need moving to a larger system. as long as you know that, and you do it, its fine. if not its cruel imo. and silly to have wood in there, and no substrate.

I have two empty 20's they can move into.


But that means I get your multis and you get none.... which IMO is a fine idea




I want!


sorry, carry on


^_^

Heres my little lot.

Some have moved shells elsewhere, hehe..

na mez you got it a bit wrong bro,the tank they are in,is too small ok,but the tank is crystal clear now,(great filtraion now,i upgraded just after i put them into the 5gal.)and the yuckie leaking wood,has been replaced with a nice clean peace from my 89 gal.i only really chucked the wood in for the 2 bns take be able to take some shelter,and thats what they done too.plus 1 multi also dug a cave under the wood,so thats 3 fish the wood has housed!so in my opp,the wood was a good move.
also they do have substrate,im not sure where you got that from,but they have a really fine gravel in there for them,and 11 shells too.
they have moved the gravel like yours have done in the photo,kind of left the shells in the middle of the dugout!
so i hope that cleared that up.
im not just saying this,but i think they are doing well,there were rather drab looking when i got them home,but now that they have settled in they are doing well.
the purple is dark and the yellow is bright,they look great!
i THINK fry is just around the corner,the female is constanly in the shell over the last week,and she will not let the male in anymore.
so hopefully thats a good sign.
i was even thinking,instead of a 10 gal,id like to find a 15gal,i know its only a extra 5 gal,but hey every gallon counts.
a 15 gal,would be a perfect fit under my 55gal,not to big not to small.
oh and babs sorry babe,the mission i went on to get these cool little fellas,there coming to the grave with me...lol
but on the other hand,IF i do get some fry,and im able to raise them ok,i be glad to send em all to you for nothing, as long as you cover postage

What dimension under your larger tank are you dealing with? the best bang for buck tank would be a 20g Long for multis. has great floor space for little money. isnt a huge tank so should fit under your existing tank. I dont know how your stand / cabinet is situated. I cant fit a 10g under my 75g due to my cabinet. I built it so i had no intentions of a tank under it lol.

im not sure ill have to measure it.
i never intended of having tanks underneath my larger tanks ether.
but as there is zero room where im living atm,this was the only place where i could fit another tank.

But you are going to put them in something bigger, soon, right?

yeah OF COURSE!first they will be upgraded to ether 10 or 15gal,.
at the end of this year,when we move,they will have my 29gal,to call home..
so mez is 29 gal ok with u

A 10 gallon alone is fine really, the more floor space the better, not familiar with tank sizes in gallons really, but unless you are planning to add more shellies (or keep fry) a 29 gallon (if its three foot ish?) would maybe even be a bit excessive. Of course, it would mean you could buy more

yeah im not real concerned with keeping/raising fry,id rather use the extra tank space for some different shellies.also im happy with the small lot of multis ive got,all i wanted was a pair,and i got them plus some more,so im content with them.
the 29 probly is a bit to big,but when they do go in there,id like to get some other small shell dwellers(shellies).
ive been reading up on punks,and they are very nice.
id like to be able to have some punks and multis in the 29gal.
i seen a 10 gal today while i was out,but i can get a 15gal made to the size i want for the same price,but i have to wait another week for the 15gal.
so i decided to wait,id figured the multis will like the extra room.

What in the hell are punks?
Lets talk on an 'adult' fish keeping level here and start using latin names. This is reminding me of several bad encounters with customers. Kissing grannies, and 'a medium sized dark fish' are up there with 'punks'....
The only shellie i would describe as 'punkish' would be Neolamprologus ocellatus. These fish rival A. citrinellum, convicts, nandopsis sp in inch for inch aggression. A foot long N. ocellatus wouldnt be messed with by anything..