# "To add or not to add..." a multifasciatus Q



## xclub (Apr 15, 2008)

Hi there,

I have a multifasciatus question...

I have prepared them new home, they use to live in 50x50x30 cm tank (photos bellow) I purchased 6 of them, and they started to spread, from 6 to 50+ of them...It was time to move them to more suitable home.... 



















And now they are in 120x60x30 cm tank (photos below)




























Now, in this new home,they have more than 300 shells, several territorial markers in this tank.

I don't have any problem concerning they behavior, they are used to me and they do not hide into their shells any time I come close to the tank, they let me observe them, without any problem. They are use to me because when I purchased them I use to sid and watch them for hours, later on when first fry came along i repeated this "process of staring" again...they feel absolutely free and secure.

My Q is:
As you can see I made a pile of rock territory on the right side of this tank. I wanted to add one "fresh" pair of Julidochromis transpcriputus "Gombi" in this tank, this rock pile is suitable for them and I believe that they could make their own territory there...

My Q is should I do it or not? Will transcriptus bother/terrorize multifasciatus or not and could I have any problem by adding them here?

I know that some cyprichromis or paracyprichromis species could fit just fine with multies, maybe I will add them one day,right now I am thinking should I just leave them alone or should I add transcriptus...

I have heard all kind of stories, from they will not make any problem to they can slow down multifascuiatus group from expanding to they can and will kill multifasciatus fry...

What is your opinion on thsi issue, is there anyone that have this combination...

My primary goal is to have huge colony of multies,just to add this info...it could be important in this case...


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I have j. transcriptus in with my n. similis in a similar setup as yours and so far it's doing very well. I had 
to change the rockwork around a couple of times to get it to work, but this is what I started with.










Now I have the entire back rocked with some at the ends, shell bed all along the front. In your setup, 
the only problem I see is the lone territory for the julies. Unless you're adding a bonded pair, you'll 
probably see one claim the pile and push the rest out. With no other territories, they'll hover in the 
upper corners and get harassed by the multi's So, I'd reduce or change the shell bed and add more 
rocks so the juiies get more territories.

I love the interaction between the species, and even though the simili's are smaller, they dominate the 
tank and intimidate the julies and keep them backed off into the rocks. I'd stick with the smaller 
julies. I really like the transcriptus. Mine are young and haven't started breeding yet, so no insight on 
how well the julie's will keep the colony down.

HTH


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## xclub (Apr 15, 2008)

I have a pair of Transcriptus Gombi,it is 100% sure pair that already spawned twice...from those spawns I have 10-15 fry that have survived, since at the time being they lived in one tank with lot of Altolamprologus ...

* * *

I am new with similis, I have 7 of them for just two weeks now (and I must mention that I already have two spawns  ).

* * *

So, if I understand you correctly, you suggest that I can add one pair of transcriptus without any problems...

* * *

I just love your setup, I am happy to see that people keep these small "beasts" in such a great environment...

How many fish do you have in that tank?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> So, if I understand you correctly, you suggest that I can add one pair of transcriptus without any problems...


If you've got a bonded pair and the pair bond doesn't break in the move, then it can work with that setup. 
As long as you have a fall back plan, then no harm in trying it out. I've just found that you can't judge too 
quickly because they do have a way of sorting things out and settling. I wasn't sure my simili's were 
ever going to leave my transcriptus alone, but now there's a tense peace. I like this type of two species 
setup because it adds interaction, which adds interest.



> How many fish do you have in that tank?


Right now I've got 6 simili's and 7 transcriptus. I want to end up with at least one julie pair, but hopefully 
two. Not sure how the simili's will sort thing out, but right now only one shellbed and no outcasts. Just 
kind of watching and waiting with that one. It's becoming one of my favorites to watch, and it worked out 
really well using the zebra rock with the transcriptus. Sometimes I don't even see then until they 
move. I've got to get an updated pic, and thanks for the compliments.


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## xclub (Apr 15, 2008)

Pleas do update the photos, I would like to see them.

Concerning transcriptus, I have already moved them once and there was no disturber in their bond. I believe that if I move them again it will be the same. They are below this tank in a different tank with some altos and several other shellies...

When I moved them to this new tank idea was to give them space (multis) to breed and to try to make as large as possible colony.

Fist I wanted to put similis in this tank, but at the last moment I have noticed two groups of fry in that tank so I didn't want to disturb them. People told me that similis don't have so much spawns as multifasciatus, I don't know is this info correct or not, so I didn't want to move them at all for the time being.

I have 7 of them, it seems that I have 2 males and 5 females...for one fish that is for the time being considered to be female, I am not so sure, but either way it is a good gender balance.

I like your idea to put "zebra type rocks" it seems to me like great idea...

In your case, you have "a lot" of transcriptus in that tank. Are they adults or not? I believe, if they are not adults, that that could be the reason why similis bother them.

I use to have this par that I am talking about in one tank for some time, alone , but the tank is 100x50x50 with a lot of rock hiding places, and I put some Similis in this tank, and they had problems with transcriptus no matter that tank is huge for them, Transcriptus believed that similis were intruders/trespassers.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> In your case, you have "a lot" of transcriptus in that tank. Are they adults or not? I believe, if they are not adults, that that could be the reason why similis bother them.


They're juvies and the simili's were there first. I ordered 6, got 7, so just waiting for the pairing up to 
then determine who goes and who stays. I'm sure the dynamics of the tank will evolve over time. I'm 
just surprised at the toughness of the simili's. Some of the julie's are much larger than they are. I 
guess it's all about attitude, isn't it?


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## xclub (Apr 15, 2008)

You are 100% right... 8)

Similis have some attitude, and multies, that is what I like about them...to be honest, all shell breeders have that attitude...as far as I know...I have several species, they are all with attitude... :lol:


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## xclub (Apr 15, 2008)

I was thinking to add Lamprologus meleagris and Neolamprologus brevis in this tank but...I am not so sure how would it look like to mix several shellies in this tank...not so sure...

What do you think about this?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> I was thinking to add Lamprologus meleagris and Neolamprologus brevis in this tank but...I am not so sure how would it look like to mix several shellies in this tank...not so sure...
> 
> What do you think about this?


I don't mix shellie's but I'm not opposed to it in the right setup where the proper territories can be 
provided. Part of the tang keeping hobby for me is the mix of species. Mixing shellies isn't easy, so 
would be a nice challenge tank.

Brevis are pretty docile as tangs go, so might work. I think I'd run a rock ridge divider of some sort and 
place a few larger shells on one side while moving the multi bed to the other. Better yet, just establish 
the brevis in another tank and move their home shell to their side of the rock pile. If meleagris are 
similar to occie's, then I could see doing the same. There's enough floor space in that tank for 
territories. Having said all that, this should only be taken on as a 'challenge' tank that's closely watched 
with a fall back plan. It's not for newcomers to tangs looking for an easy tang community. That's just my 
disclaimer to anyone that may be reading this.


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## xclub (Apr 15, 2008)

You got the point here... It could be challenging and I will try something like that, but not now...

Now I will just wait for this colony to expand, I do not need another Shellie in this tank...but one day...it will be my challenge...


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I think the multi's and juli's alone will make this a really interesting tank. If I were going to add 
anything else, I think I'd lean toward another small rock dweller in the other back corner. But I think two 
species is enough. Get some video of the interaction once the colony builds and the juli's are 
established. This tank should have a high 'watchability' rating.

opcorn:


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## rlendog (Oct 15, 2002)

I've tried several times to mix in other shellies with multies, without success yet. Twice I tried brevis, but the multies just dominate all the shells. I never tried to let the brevis pair up in a separate tank and then move the pair's shell in with the multies - I can see that having a chance. I can closer to success with ocellatus, adding and rearranging the shells so that there was essentially a 2nd shell bed for the ocellatus. I also moved any multie that tried to occupy shells in the occelatus' bed to a new tank. But then, one ocellatus just took over that entire bed, not even allowing a harem to form. So mixing other shellies with multies may be possible, but it isn't easy.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> Pleas do update the photos, I would like to see them.


Here's some recent pics.














































We'll see how it goes long term, but for now the simili's are fine with the juli's as long as they 
stay in the rocks. I'm expecting to have to thin the juli numbers at some point. What made 
this work was the setting of the rocks up on end along the back wall. The juli's hang out there 
out of sight of the simili's that are down by their shell bed. I rearranged several times before 
getting lucky and hitting on what worked.


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## Drowned (Mar 16, 2009)

Hello everyone!

I couldn't resist to stay quiet while reading this topic What about giving L. Callipterus a try?

http://www.aquaciclidos.net/nuke/userpi ... terus1.jpg

(photo borrowed)


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