I need my Lamprologus Multis to stop digging. How can I do it? Please read to understand me.

[bela]

Hello:

I have got a 15 gallon tank with a Mutifasciatus colony. They are doing just fine. 

The problem is that the tank has an undergravel filter and it is becoming (the tank) very dirty because the fish keep moving the gravel around big time. I do not plan to change the filtration system any time soon so I was wondering if I can make something to stop them digging so much. 

A couple of ideas that have come to my mind are

1.- putting a layer of medium sized lava rock all across the bottom. Heavy enough so they cannot move it.

2.- putting some type of net or mesh between the gravel and the shells

They would keep their shells anyways

Any help would be great 

Thanks 

[beastie]

Try to submerge / half burry the shells in the sand and see if they like it better. Mine spent a lot of effort trying to reach the bottom to create a hollow under the shell and rotate the shell in a way that the opening was facing downwards and they could squeeze through it.

I think the lava rock is a valid test scenario but in my 10 or so years i have had them they never stopped digging and rearranging and moving... Maybe the layer of a coarse substrate is going to stop them from reaching the undergravel filter...

[Cory]

That's quite a problem. Maybe the rocks deep enough would work. I feel like the path of least resistance is just dropping in a sponge filter and leaving the undergravel filter bed in there though.

[bela]

An answer from the man himself!

Thanks Cory and greetings from Madrid!

Do you think the beneficial bacteria in the undergravel would all die if I do that or would I be able to "reuse" it in the future if I wanted to?

Edited March 29, 2023 by bela

[NOLANANO]

On 3/29/2023 at 11:50 AM, bela said:

An answer from the man himself!

Thanks Cory and greetings from Madrid!

Do you think the beneficial bacteria in the undergravel would all die if I do that or would I be able to "reuse" it in the future if I wanted to?

I don't have an undergravel filter so correct me if I am wrong about how they work but don't they just suck the water through the gravel and the gravel bed acts as mechanical filtration? Meaning there are no sponges or fliter floss or anything like that, just the gravel, right?

If I have that correct, then the beneficial bacteria living on the gravel should be just fine seeing as the gravel will still be in the tank (theoretically at least).

And why not just keep the undergravel filter going and just add a sponge filter in addition? Does the undergravel filter being on make the amount the multis are kicking up worse? I am thinking that it couldn't hurt to have both filters going seeing as the fish are likely to dig no matter what you do so you would just be adding to the filtration's capacity to clear the water.

Like I said, I don't have an undergravel filter so my thoughts are based 100% on theory, just thought I would add my two cents in case it helps you think it through. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by NOLANANO

[bela]

On 3/29/2023 at 7:56 PM, NOLANANO said:

I don't have an undergravel filter so correct me if I am wrong about how they work but don't they just suck the water through the gravel and the gravel bed acts as mechanical filtration? Meaning there are no sponges or fliter floss or anything like that, just the gravel, right?

If I have that correct, then the beneficial bacteria living on the gravel should be just fine seeing as the gravel will still be in the tank (theoretically at least).

And why not just keep the undergravel filter going and just add a sponge filter in addition? Does the undergravel filter being on make the amount the multis are kicking up worse? I am thinking that it couldn't hurt to have both filters going seeing as the fish are likely to dig no matter what you do.

Like I said, I don't have an undergravel filter so my thoughts are based 100% on theory, just thought I would add my two cents in case it helps you think it through. 

Yes, you are right. That is how they work. The problem is that the bacteria needs a certain amount of water flow through the gravel to thrive so, removing that flow you get with an undergravel and air pump or powerhead and throwing in a sponge filter, imho would will at least kill part of the bacteria, if not all.

But undergravel filters work best if you do not touch them (almost no gravel vac) so they tend to accumulate debris which is what is coming up as the fish dig, making the water "dirty". And that is what i am trying to avoid.

 

[jwcarlson]

I don't think I'd be worried about it from a beneficial bacteria standpoint.  You'll still have a BB colony in the existing filters, and all of the other decor/sides/etc.  I'd be more worried about them rooting around in all that waste and stirring it up.  

 

To be honest, though, you're kind of asking to stop a fish from doing what it does... I'm not sure how to make that happen.  If you've got substrate they can fit in their mouth, they're going to move it.  Could you maybe put some bigger gravel on the bottom that they wouldn't be able to move so easily?  Or some sort of mesh barrier that would still allow waste and water to settle through it, but not allow the fish to dig in it?  Just spitballing.  That might create even more issues.

[NOLANANO]

On 3/29/2023 at 3:10 PM, jwcarlson said:

To be honest, though, you're kind of asking to stop a fish from doing what it does.

This is my feelings about this as well. I know that it was originally stated that they didn't want to change filtration but this seems like a square peg, round hole kind of deal. The multis are gonna dig and given that the under gravel filter sucks all the debris into the gravel its gonna cause a mess, the easiest solution would be to change filtration. It doesn't have to be a sponge filter either. A HOB would work and so would an internal filter that sticks to the wall.

[bela]

Ok. Let´s say I change the filtration system. I may put an internal or a sponge. Do not know yet. 

Would I be safe if I just remove the powerhead from the undergravel´s uplift and install the internal/sponge or it would be more advisable to keep both filters running for a while?

I mean, the bacteria would still be in the subtrate for a while, wouldn´t it?