# Multi's Witty Lake 40G Planted Tank



## Als49

It's my first African cichlid planted tank 

Low Light Low Tech Low Maintenance No CO2

Tank: 90 x 45 x 45 cm / 35" x 17" x 17" (155 liter / 40 gallons)

Lighting: T5 14W 6500K

Filtration: Eheim 2215, Jebo 828, Atman HF-0600

Substrate: Balinese sands, polystyrene beads

Hardscape: santigi drift woods, mountain rocks

Plants: anubias, bucephalandra

Animals: Neolamprologus multifasciatus, Julidochromis transcriptus, Melanoides tuberculata, Clithon corona, Neocaridina heteropoda "Red"

Here's the first scaped.









The Multis came in first. The Trans came 2 days after the Multis. The Multis who are supposed to occupy the shells, occupied the rocks instead. Hence the Trans had to settle between plants.









When I checked with the breeder, he said he never uses shells. He always uses PVC pipes.

Oooh poor my Multis! They've never seen shells before!

After 3 days, 2 of the Multis swam into the shells. But retreated back to the caves. And so far I haven't seen them swimming in and out of the shells.
I wonder when will they use the shells? :-? 









I added 5 more mountain rocks. Can you spot the additional rocks? :wink: 









Here's the left view.









Yay, some of the Trans finally can occupy the new rocks! (Only for a while before the Multis came and chased them away)


















I want to add a few Calvus but unfortunately noone breeds nor sells Calvus here :?


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## Deeda

Your tank is looking great, thanks for posting the pics.

You might want to try rotating the shells so the mouth is closer to the substrate. The multies will figure it out after awhile.


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## Als49

Thank you for your compliment Deeda.

Some of the shells' mouths are very close to the substrate. I hope they'll figure it out sooner since it's been a week since they've seen shells.


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## Als49

There were 2 Multis hovering together above a group of shells! 1 of them spat sands a few time. Is this a possible pair?


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## Deeda

It's possible. Usually the female claims a shell after investigating all of them.


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## Als49

I surely hope so  Can't wait for the fries!


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## LouIE82

REALLY digging your set up, the water and pictures are so clear! Awesome tank.


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## Floridagirl

Great looking tank!!


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## Als49

Thanks Louie & FloridaGirl


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## Als49

I finally located petricola and added 5 of them to the tank. They mostly hide behind the rocks and inside the caves.

Came out a few seconds from the caves, then hiding again. It's cute when they peeked out from the caves and retreated back!


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## Razzo

Very nice!


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## anthraxx4200

i imagine the petricola's eatting any babies you may get from the multies. they are very active at night and just wanted to give you the heads up. love the setup but id just leave it alone w/ julies and multies.


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## rennsport2011

Great looking tank, congrats.


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## Als49

Yes, many people say petricola is a great population controller. That way the Multis will multiply, but not exponentially 

Problem with many of my tanks, always want to rearrange them... add more woods, rocks, plants, etc.


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## Als49

I added some bucephalandra between groups of shells to break line of sights. The Multies already created some slopes though.

Hopefully spawning and fry come soon!


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## Als49

Julidochromis marlieri OR transcriptus?









The shell beds...









Let's count, how many shells are there?


















And here's the witty one!


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## upestfor

Really nice and good maintainence .we have to perform this in the tank means really it will give a good and beautiful view like a lake.


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## Als49

Thank you.

Actually I just rescaped this tank this morning. It has a new layout now


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## upestfor

Good Job..well done...


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## Als49

Thank you.

Unloaded everything and left a bit of sands.










Hardscape using 57 lbs (26 kg) rocks.










Slipped some woods into the rocks and sands bed.


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## Als49

Rescape the tank with more rocks and plants. The total rocks is about 28 kg (61 lbs).


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## rennsport2011

None of your pictures are working for me at the moment.


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## Als49

rennsport2011 said:


> None of your pictures are working for me at the moment.


I wonder how to work it out. So far only images from my Amazon S3 account that work.


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## Als49

Let's try Flickr :thumb:

Danau Jenaka Multi 2.0 by Aldian Prakoso

Danau Jenaka Multi 2.0 by Aldian Prakoso

Danau Jenaka Multi 2.0 by Aldian Prakoso

Neolamprologus multifasciatus by Aldian Prakoso

Neolamprologus multifasciatus by Aldian Prakoso


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## bakl

Try smaller shells, these fish love them and feel more secure in tight places.


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## Als49

Those are the ones that available here. The males don't even fit into the brown-dot-shells and orange-line-shell, only the females do. The males can only enter the hermit crab shells.

(The one that hovers on the shell in the pic is female).


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## rennsport2011

The shells look fine for size. You might want to repost the picture of the Julidochromis if you want an ID. Tank looks great.


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## Als49

rennsport2011 said:


> The shells look fine for size. You might want to repost the picture of the Julidochromis if you want an ID. Tank looks great.


Thank you.

Would you please ID this Julie. Is it transcriptus, marlieri, or gombe?

Julidochromis by Aldian Prakoso, on Flickr


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## rennsport2011

Honestly, I can't tell which it is... The markings are neither exact for transcriptus, or the Gombe Julidochromis, or a mix of them. The good news is that it will stay a dwarf, so you don't need to worry about it being an issue with the shellies.


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## Als49

rennsport2011 said:


> The good news is that it will stay a dwarf, so you don't need to worry about it being an issue with the shellies.


Wow I'm relieved. That's the most important thing. Thanks for the ID Renn :thumb:


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## Als49

Took out the 4 Petricolas using bottle traps and moved them to discus tank. And I can see them swimming outside more often, even during the lights on. So there're not really nocturnal, are they?


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## Als49

I'm so happy, finally after 3.5 months, I saw 6 tiny free swimming fry (or fries)! Blue eyes, white almost transparent body, shaped like tad pole miniature.


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## plug

Great looking tank

I would add a lot more shells in there and just throw and pile them up...the multis will eventually pair up and the more shells the better

Mine took about 4 months before I started seeing fry...the original 6 I had have now grown to about 50....


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## Als49

Thank you Plug.

The open space is covered with shells and most of them were buried by the Multies. And I tried not to disturb them now especially with fry there.

I wonder how to take pics of the fry? My iPhone didn't take good ones.


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## Als49

I have a question and concern. Here it goes:

A few days ago, I found a dried male Multi underneath my tank cabinet. And today I just noticed that one of the male Multi was on top of the rock works and away from the shell bed. I put my hand into the tank, he quickly hid between plants, and then returned there again. Is he banished from the shell bed?

I also noticed that there was a Julie hovered at the filter inlet at the corner of the tank. Is he also banished by the other Julies?

What should I do to them?


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## Als49

The fry from the first batch, and the only one left from that batch. Perhaps calvus or jullies ate the rest of them?

There are 4 - 5 smaller fries from the next batch.


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## Als49

Wow I'm really surprised: my son just excitedly told me he saw 2 julie fry! And when I saw them... So cuuuteee! Little black julie with whites.

Amazingly there are still 3 adult julies in this tank. I read that a pair of julies will kill other julies in the tank... I even never realized that 2 of them form a pair because I never see them together.


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## Als49

They usually hide on the side of the tank, in the crevices, and separated from the Multies and comps by the rock works.

Still small, about 1/4" long. Now I wonder how often do julies spawn usually?


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## Liz777

Wow! Gorgeous! I've been looking at allot of your posts and you're inspiring me to get some plants for my brichardi tank. Keep sharing!



Als49 said:


> It's my first African cichlid planted tank
> 
> Low Light Low Tech Low Maintenance No CO2
> 
> Tank: 90 x 45 x 45 cm / 35" x 17" x 17" (155 liter / 40 gallons)
> 
> Lighting: T5 14W 6500K
> 
> Filtration: Eheim 2215, Jebo 828, Atman HF-0600
> 
> Substrate: Balinese sands, polystyrene beads
> 
> Hardscape: santigi drift woods, mountain rocks
> 
> Plants: anubias, bucephalandra
> 
> Animals: Neolamprologus multifasciatus, Julidochromis transcriptus, Melanoides tuberculata, Clithon corona, Neocaridina heteropoda "Red"
> 
> Here's the first scaped.


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## Als49

Thank you. Choosing the right plants, planted tank is easier than most people think. Almost no maintenance and also helps as biological filtration because plants absorb nitrate, plus they provide living space for micro organisms that serve as fry food.


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## Liz777

I had tried some plants in the 75gal but the guys just messed them up too much.

I didn't know about the micro organisms providing fry food. That's so cool! I definitely want easy plants. I'm not willing to do co2 and all that.

I love looking at your and Razzo's pictures. Very inspiring.



Als49 said:


> Thank you. Choosing the right plants, planted tank is easier than most people think. Almost no maintenance and also helps as biological filtration because plants absorb nitrate, plus they provide living space for micro organisms that serve as fry food.


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## Als49

Thank you Liz. Razzo's pics are very inspiring. It's great to learn from him.

CO2 addition is not necessary, depending on the plants. I never add CO2 in all of my planted tanks.

If I remember correctly, micro organisms in the water column is called infusoria, which usually exist in established planted tanks.

Have you taken a look at cladophora marimo moss ball? It's one of the easiest plants to keep in the tank. Well, actually it's algae, not plants.


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## Liz777

I'll check on the moss ball. I still want to change the sand in the brichardi tank though so I guess I'll do that first. I think I can do it slowly and hopefully the fry will "run" from where I'm working. My LFS guy told me that I don't have to worry about CO2. I used to lurk on a planted tank site and it all sounded so complicated and involved that it overwhelmed me. I'd like to try some anubis but I'm concerned the Bri tank might be too bright. Guess I could shade one side of the tank, maybe?? I'm going to write down the name of the moss ball and start looking for it. I'll take more suggestions. My ph is 8.2 and has been for many years.

Thank You! 



Als49 said:


> Thank you Liz. Razzo's pics are very inspiring. It's great to learn from him.
> 
> CO2 addition is not necessary, depending on the plants. I never add CO2 in all of my planted tanks.
> 
> If I remember correctly, micro organisms in the water column is called infusoria, which usually exist in established planted tanks.
> 
> Have you taken a look at cladophora marimo moss ball? It's one of the easiest plants to keep in the tank. Well, actually it's algae, not plants.


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## Razzo

You guys are inspiring me to start trying plants. I purchased my first ever live plants and started up a new 40 gallon gibberosa fry tank. Starting slow with two small Anubis. Much to learn. I like the that a planted tank can create its own, almost, self sustaining biotope. Think I'll look into that moss ball too.

Thanks, good exchange going on here 

Cheers,
Russ


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## Als49

Liz777 said:


> I'll check on the moss ball. I still want to change the sand in the brichardi tank though so I guess I'll do that first. I think I can do it slowly and hopefully the fry will "run" from where I'm working. My LFS guy told me that I don't have to worry about CO2. I used to lurk on a planted tank site and it all sounded so complicated and involved that it overwhelmed me. I'd like to try some anubis but I'm concerned the Bri tank might be too bright. Guess I could shade one side of the tank, maybe?? I'm going to write down the name of the moss ball and start looking for it. I'll take more suggestions. My ph is 8.2 and has been for many years.
> 
> Thank You!
> 
> 
> 
> Als49 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you Liz. Razzo's pics are very inspiring. It's great to learn from him.
> 
> CO2 addition is not necessary, depending on the plants. I never add CO2 in all of my planted tanks.
> 
> If I remember correctly, micro organisms in the water column is called infusoria, which usually exist in established planted tanks.
> 
> Have you taken a look at cladophora marimo moss ball? It's one of the easiest plants to keep in the tank. Well, actually it's algae, not plants.
Click to expand...

Welcome Liz. Yes, your LFS guy points you to the right direction: you don't need to worry about CO2 injection if you choose low light plants such as anubias, bucephalandra, java fern (microsorum pteropus), african fern (bolbitis), vallisneria, cryptocoryne, crinum, and so on which I don't remember.

PlantedTank.net is a good forum to learn about planted tank.


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## Als49

Razzo said:


> You guys are inspiring me to start trying plants. I purchased my first ever live plants and started up a new 40 gallon gibberosa fry tank. Starting slow with two small Anubis. Much to learn. I like the that a planted tank can create its own, almost, self sustaining biotope. Think I'll look into that moss ball too.
> 
> Thanks, good exchange going on here
> 
> Cheers,
> Russ


That's awesome Russ!

If you're interested in self sustaining biotope, you may be interested in reading books or articles by Diana Walstad. If I remember correctly, its title is The Ecology of The Planted Tank. It may be a bit extreme but you'll get ideas on how create almost, self sustaining biotope.


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## The Dude315

Very cool tank. All of my tanks are planted and my Tang tank will be as well. A couple of starting tips... don't start out with 2 or 3 plants. Start with a decent amount. The plants establishing themselves will help balance out the Algae. I also use Metricide in my tanks. It's liquid carbon and a gallon is like $25. A single gallon can last me 8 months and I dose pretty heavy. It's also an algaecide. 
I'd decide what plants you want (the ones recommended previously would also be my recommendation) and plant it all at once. Make sure that you do not bury the rhizome on thr ferns or anubias. They do best secured to handscape


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## The Dude315

How is the tank doing? Maybe a couple new pics? I would love to plant my tanks like that, but that is a TON of Anubias and Buces... Do you just have large masses growing in other tanks or did you purchase all of that for this tank. I cant imagine what that would cost. I've got 4 decent size mother plants of Anubias Nana, but they have been growing for several years. I doubt I will have enough to even line the bottom area where the background meets the substrate.


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## Als49

The Multies are busy multiplying themselves and I stopped counting them because I couldn't keep up the numbers.

The Julies also got several juvies that hang around the caves and rocks.

The Comps, I rarely see them in this tank. They come out during feeding times.

If I remember correctly, I bought buces for this tank while the anubias was from other tanks. Here these plants are not expensive, in fact buces are very cheap compared to anubias because the hunters simply take the buces from the wilds in Borneo and then sell in bulks to resellers.

I surely hope the government takes steps to conserve the buces before they're all gone....


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## Als49

New pics as requested


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## The Dude315

Man that is absolutely stunning. I would love for my tank to mature to something resembling that in the coming years.. So youve had success with the rock work in the back and the shells in the front? I have about 3 ft of rock work and then 1 foot of shells. I could move some of the rock work back and fill the foreground with shells to expand the territory for the Multi's. I think I large multi colony looks really cool


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## Als49

Thank you.

Yes, shell beds for foreground and rockworks as background works well so far: the original 12 multies have been breeding and so have the 3 julies. The 2 comps also occupy the rock works.

Seen from the, the shell bed and the rock works look like a triangle that divide the tank into 2 parts of almost the same size. And eventhough I put several shells under the cave, the multies haven't used them yet. Perhaps too close to the julies' territory?


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## The Dude315

If you had to guess how many multi's do you have and how many shells? Also howon after purchased the second group of Multi's did you notice fry?


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## Als49

I guess 30 - 40ish multies and 100ish shells since I kept adding shells. 1st batch of fry about a month after getting the females.


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## Als49

Wow I just realized that this tank has been going on for almost a year. It's been 11 months since mid July 2014 

And I can also say that it's the longest time I haven't rescaped a tank because usually I got bored and rescape it every 6 months. The multies and julies rule!

Here also some latest pics. I also took pics of left and right side of the tank, too, because some people were curious how multiple julies can breed along with multies in tank of this size.


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## The Dude315

Do you remember what type of Buces you used? I see that some are outrageously small like dime size. It seems many of the ones you have are more reasonably sized. Buces are anywhere from $5 to $20+ per plant... I sent you a PM for more info on your plants/ I love this tank.


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## Als49

I no longer keep tracking my buce variants because there are too many, and many times the names are not scientifically correct because they just use the collection points for the names.

I remember I have Sintang, Sekadau, Melawi, apple leaf, and some others. I just bought whatever I like when the price is good and there's place in my tank. They're about $0.50 - $1 per rhizome depending on the variants. I usually bought them as clumps that consist of several rhizomes.


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## speakerman3

I love your tank and your fish choices. Julidochromis Transcriptus (or Marlieri for those who put Gombe in that slot) are at the top for me. I have had Gombe and Bemba. Their breeding and hovering antics are so fascinating to watch, and with a tank like yours, I'm sure it is very easy to just get sucked into the action--or even lack thereof.


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## Marconi

Beautiful setup...those multi's are lucky


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## Als49

Thank you. They're indeed very fun to watch and low maintenance


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## Als49

I wanted to thin out my colony so that they reproduce more actively, and it turned out unshelling multies was very challenging....


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## Als49

It's been a fun nice comm tank for 12 months. And now it's time to move on to other fish 

I'll take a part this tank soon and sell all of the fish.


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## Als49

I'm curious how do you usually make sure if all of the multies have go out of the shells?


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## cdarminio

If you now how many multies you have, just catch them as you can until you catch all of them. If you in a rush...break open all the shells


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## Als49

I never counted them in the tank. Too blurry for me.

Someone just told me to candle the shells to check the content. And it seems like all is empty because I left them upside down over night.


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## Als49

The multies and comps were all sold, and the 6 julies were rehomed into leleupis' tank.

And this tank's been converted into a mini SA community planted tank with Bolivian rams and tetras.

When I find good quality caudopunctus at decent price, I'll setup another mini Tangs tank again. Most likely combo of caudo and julies


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## cichlidscrazy

Very Nice


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## Als49

Thank you.


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## cdarminio

Just curious, what variety of comp did you have? I want to say sumbu because of the bluish tinge, but im not sure.


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## Als49

cdarminio said:


> Just curious, what variety of comp did you have? I want to say sumbu because of the bluish tinge, but im not sure.


Honestly I really had no idea because I bought them at 1/2" as calvus but they turned out to be comps. I'm not even sure if they're pure either. It's very challenging finding Tangs here.


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