Neolamprologus Multifasciatus Display Tank

[p3x704]

I recently set up a new display tank for my multies. 

  

The new tank in all of its glory.

 

The Backstory:

I started keeping shell-dwellers earlier this year with 10 multies in a 20 gallon long.  The starting number was a bit high, but I had considerable trouble finding them online so I added a few extras to my order to account for potential DOAs and to improve the odds of getting multiple pairs.  Within a few months I spotted the first fry, so like all overenthusiastic fish keepers, I started feeding a little bit too heavily.  A week later and there were more fry.  Another week and all of the adults were starting to look bloated.  This is where I realized I had a problem.  

As I cut back on food, the the number of fry that I saw each day slowly decreased.  I assume that many of them starved and the adults were too bloated and unhealthy to continue breeding.  The tank that I had spent months trying to set up was on the verge of collapse, and I was beginning to panic. I decided to move the most seriously bloated adults to a hospital tank and treat with epsom salt as a laxative.  Fortunately, multies are one of the easiest fish to catch and I quickly had 4 very constipated fish and their shells in the hospital tank.

Poor little bloated multie hating life in the hospital tank.

All 4 of the fish in the hospital tank recovered (and a bonus fry that hitchhiked in one of the shells survived).  The adults in the other tank also pulled through.  Of the dozen or so fry that I had when I was forced to cut back on feeding, only 3 made it.  As a result of this incident, I decided to always keep 2 tanks of multies going at a time.  The original 20 long quickly recovered and has been starting to get a bit too crowded.  The backup colony that I was keeping in a spare 20 high never really took off.  I've been feeding both tanks a rotation of Coop Fry Food, Hikari First Bites, and live baby brine.

The New Tank Setup:

• 40 gallon breeder 
• 60lbs of CaribSea African Cichlid Mix (~3 inches deep)
• 40 escargot shells
• Fake rock pile decor, placed directly on the glass before adding sand.  It's located directly under the HOB to redirect flow, but a few of the fish seem to like hiding under it as well.

Panoramic of the new setup.

I introduced 3 adults and 1 juvenile from my backup colony and 3 adults (+1 hitchhiking fry) from the original 20 long colony on Sunday, July 12.  They are still settling in, so the tank still looks aquascaped, though this shouldn't last much longer as at least one fish has started digging a hole.  

As an added bonus, I've kept an iPad recording a time-lapse of the tank each day from when I turn the light on in the morning until turning it off at the end of the day (Co-Op , please get more light timers in stock ASAP): 

[Mr. Ed's Aquatics]

I can't post a long back story as I got a big male and 2 females and nature provided, but I did just change the scape a bit.

Mbuna on top, shellies on the bottom. 

Nice tank, love the multies.

[indOor FisHiNg, iNsiDe! ™]

Lol, how we learn. Nice tanks