# Have a 33L (48"x12"x13") on the way...



## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Hi all! As the title suggest, I'll be setting up a 33L and wanted to run the plan by the collected minds. Had fish most of my life but never Africans.

Filtration will be a combination of a 30ppi Poret Mattenfilter and an Eheim 2213.

Main thing we're excited for (I and my 3- and 7-year-old daughters) is a few L. Multifasciatus. Got 72 escargot shells ready for 'em. Was thinking of a shell bed in the middle and rock areas on both sides and, hopefully, two rock-dwellers as well. Would love a few J. Transcriptus and a pair or trio of A. Calvus.

Sound realistic?


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## AlmightyJoshaeus (May 2, 2013)

That would be a spectacular shellie tank! However, you may want to wait on opinions on your other stocking options...unless you mean the dwarf altos, Altolamps grow too large for a 30 of any dimension - at least in my opinion.


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## centrecolonel51 (Aug 3, 2011)

The calvus should be fine in the 33 long. Same foot print as a 55 gallon. Would be a great tank. I have mpimbwe gibberosas at about 3 inches in a 125 gallon with a multi bed on one end. They keep all the fronts pushed to one side of the tank so I am about to move the multis to their own 20 long. I think what you are planning will be a great mix. Just be aware that the multis will breed like mad and the calvus will grow VERY slowly.


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Thanks! Glad to know I'm kind of on the right track.

I've seen how big the Calvus can get, but also that they're pretty mellow and grow slowly. I much prefer the appearance of the Black ones to the dwarf variety.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Sounds like it'll be a cool tank. Make sure you have a good notion of the difference between J. marlieri and J. transcriptus; getting the wrong julie in there will make this much less fun. The next thing is to make sure you have a tight fitting lid... a shallow tank increases the likelihood of fish jumping out accidentally.


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Understood on the lid, thanks. And the size difference is precisely why I chose Transcriptus over Marlieri. Don't want a tank of just Julies.


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Picked up the tank yesterday and threw in the decor I had, here's a first draft:










Back will likely be painted black, and I may add one more of those Deep Blue Solarflare Micro LED spots as I like the contrast they provide compared to a light strip.

I know driftwood isn't typically used but I had it and you can see quite a bit of it in these pics, as well as some Vals (which I may add as well):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fishwhisp ... otostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fishwhisp ... otostream/


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Very, very nice!! I love the way it looks so far.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

I love the aesthetic design... but your stocking list requires more distinct territories. Right now I can see the julies claiming the whole tank: to prevent that, you'll need a good stretch of open sand between rock piles. Also, multies prefer a stacked shell bed, and they'll need a bit of room between their territory and the rock piles. To avoid making the tank look too segmented, I would stack your first pile of rocks in a back corner, almost to the water surface. Then leave at least 8" of open sand before placing another pile either in the center or towards the front glass. Then have a pile of shells for your multies... it's great fun to have them up against the front glass where you can watch fry swim in and out of lower level shells. Again, leave open space before your next rocky enclave. You could have that last third of your tank as one continuous, larger pile... but it's likely to be claimed by only 1 pair of fish.


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Like how it looks so far!


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

centrecolonel51 said:


> The calvus should be fine in the 33 long. Same foot print as a 55 gallon. Would be a great tank. *I have mpimbwe gibberosas at about 3 inches in a 125 gallon with a multi bed on one end. They keep all the fronts pushed to one side of the tank so I am about to move the multis to their own 20 long.* I think what you are planning will be a great mix. Just be aware that the multis will breed like mad and the calvus will grow VERY slowly.


Good thing you are moving those multis. Another inch or so on the fronts and the tables will turn (turn into a buffet table more like it).


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Thanks for the input and comments!

Triscuit - yes, as I finished putting all that stuff in I saw I'd gone away from my original plan of separate territories but liked the way it looked.  I'll be re-working it along your guidelines, though, I understand why it won't work as planned. I may need smaller rocks - these are just what I brought in from the yard.


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## wolfemitch (Jan 5, 2014)

bump on this...how are things looking!?


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

triscuit said:


> I love the aesthetic design... but your stocking list requires more distinct territories. Right now I can see the julies claiming the whole tank: to prevent that, you'll need a good stretch of open sand between rock piles. Also, multies prefer a stacked shell bed, and they'll need a bit of room between their territory and the rock piles. To avoid making the tank look too segmented, I would stack your first pile of rocks in a back corner, almost to the water surface. Then leave at least 8" of open sand before placing another pile either in the center or towards the front glass. Then have a pile of shells for your multies... it's great fun to have them up against the front glass where you can watch fry swim in and out of lower level shells. Again, leave open space before your next rocky enclave. You could have that last third of your tank as one continuous, larger pile... but it's likely to be claimed by only 1 pair of fish.


I totally agree. The aquascape is stunning! But, territories are very important to establish in a Tang tank.


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

wolfemitch said:


> bump on this...how are things looking!?


 Not too much exciting going on, but thanks for asking.  I removed the rock and driftwood (which is currently soaking), painted the back black, and added pool filter sand (which I'd never used - love it). Then I installed the mattenfilter (heavily seeded), and put in a couple shubunkins from the local pond place. I knew there wouldn't be much cycle due to the seeding and there really isn't/wasn't - very happy shubunkins! Decor is temporary and the shells dropped in price on Amazon so I ordered more. Will go for layers. 










Right now the filter (purchased from http://www.swisstropicals.com/filtration-shop/mattenfilter-shop/), is running via the supplied "Jetlifter" airlift, which works very well, but I plan on using my Eheim 2213 to power it, pulling water from behind the filter and sending it to the other end of the tank. The mattenfilter (30ppi Poret) will be functioning as something of a pre-filter, but will actually perform the vast majority of bio-filtration. The flow of the 2213 is right in the optimum range for flow rate based on the calcs I've done for this size matt. It's black and on the left side of the tank, but that's in a corner anyway so it's really unobtrusive.

I've been kicking around the idea of replacing the Calvus in my stocking list with L. Caudopunctatus. They seem like lots of fun, and are very pretty fish. Then I'd have the Multifasciatus for the central shell bed and the J. Transcriptus/L. Caudopunctatus for two rocky areas (yet to be set fully).


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## lorax84 (Feb 19, 2013)

Caudos are one of my favorite fish but there are two things you need to know about them. One, once the pair they spawn every month or two and can get pretty vicious during spawning. Here is a vid of my male attacking the glass. I found fry about a week later 



 Two, my pair always go for shells rather than rocks. I know they are they are technically rock dwellers but its something to consider as they mat start conflicts with your multies.


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Thanks! Loved the video, cool room!


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## wolfemitch (Jan 5, 2014)

jgilvey said:


> wolfemitch said:
> 
> 
> > bump on this...how are things looking!?
> ...


Awesome! Great update! I just added 3 Black Calvus in my 33L shared with a pair of multis, so I might be biased on this one...I say keep them in your stocking list for sure. They are neat fish, slow growers but from what I know definitely worth the wait! Keep us all posted on this one. Very nice tank in the works here!


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

I agree with lorax. The caudos can get a bit mean and when I had a pair they liked to hang about the shells rather than caves, I ultimately sold my pair because the male started destroying the female when she wasnt in the mood and I had to separate them. Your setup looks great however and I think that the altos would make a good addition, or at least a safer one than the caudos. You probably wont be getting any fry if you have them though.


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Thanks for the comments! That's the thing with the Calvus, I really want to build a colony of Multifasciatus so stock selection will revolve around that. Still, they can't eat _that_ much.  I guess, whatever I do it's best to add the Multi first, so they're set?


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Multies are excellent parents- your colony will grow with altos, or punks in the tank. My caudopunks were peaceful, beautiful and prolific breeders, and used a much larger shell and then a small cave. As with any particular set up with specific fish, YMMV- you might get a multifaciatus that runs all the other fish into the corners, or an alto that will root through the shell pile for snacks.


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Understood, thanks. I'll start with the Multifasciatus in any event, those are the given.


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Got fish! Added 5 multies back on 5/26 then 6 J. Transcriptus on 6/5. Couple bad phone videos!











I hadn't realized how possessive the 5 Multifasciatus would become of the entire tank in their brief stay, including the rocks at both ends as well as the shell bed, so I did some quick wholesale re-arranging once I saw the welcoming committee was anything but. Everyone's pretty cool now, although the M. still take little runs across no-fish's-land when a J. looks at them the wrong way.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

triscuit said:


> ...- you might get a multifaciatus that runs all the other fish into the corners....


 :lol:


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

You called it!  I really don't see a third species as an option, unfortunately, unless I remove everything and re-introduce the multies last.


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Here's a current shot of this tank:










And one of my big transcriptus - love this guy:










Multis have had a few fry already and I added a few small Neolamprologus Pulcher I got for a steal and everyone's doing well. I know the Pulcher will be an issue when bigger and I have have more tanks to deal with that but they're small yet and the transcriptus are larger and established. Makes for an entertaining bunch!


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## hose91 (Mar 5, 2014)

Really love how this tank turned out!! The Julies look great, and sounds like you've got a really fun set up. I'll be interested to hear if the Brichardi become as much of a nightmare as I've read once they start breeding and have fry to guard. Did the multies back off a little and settle into their half of the tank?Keep the updates coming!


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Thanks! Yes, the multis pretty much stay to the shell bed and defend it at all costs and rarely bother venturing past that first wall (although the Pulcher have really piqued their interest ). And they'll allow the julies to go high and cross over the bed to pick at stuff they find on the mattenfilter, but if it gets get too low it's escorted out. We'll see on the Pulcher, but so far so good.


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## boomer92 (Apr 17, 2013)

Ditto, awesome looking tank


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Thank you! :thumb:


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## anthraxx4200 (Aug 16, 2012)

i HIGHLY reccomend that you remove the brichardi. when they finally settle in and try to breed they WILL kill everything else they can. larger fish smaller fish, literally any threat they see. i know you want more fish in there to watch but id really just remove them. they will be fine and dandy until they want to breed then its WW3. GL to ya, really like the tank. im actually building a very similar setup now with the same species. hope mine comes out as good as yours thats for sure!


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

Thanks anthraxx! Yeah, I hear you, I know the pulcher aren't long-term for sure. Got a few tanks they could go in when the time comes, just gotta find space.


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## anthraxx4200 (Aug 16, 2012)

i wouldnt let the time come, unless you only have one i wouldnt risk it. itll literally just happen and within an hour ur gonna have some hurt fish. they are just BRUTAL lol. i had a trio once, was just fine for like 8 months, everybody bred and did just fine. then just outta the blue before a feeding i watched the "pair" tear her to shreds. never even stood a chance of saving her. GL to ya id just give em a bucket for the time being.


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

I have a couple generations of multi fry going now and it's fun to watch them graze on the foam wall of the mattenfilter. I'd read that such a filter can be come a good supplemental food source as it harbors all sorts of critters once matured a bit, but it actually seems to be the primary source for these guys based on the amount of time they spend hunting and pecking and how full them bellies stay. :thumb: Took the first batch a while to figure out but now the newborn watch the others and take to it right away.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

jgilvey said:


> Then I'd have the Multifasciatus for the central shell bed and the J. Transcriptus/L. Caudopunctatus for two rocky areas (yet to be set fully).


That was my plan, too, for my Multis & Julie's tank.

Unfortunately the Multis have their own mind: they occupy the rocky areas more than the shell bed. Hence the Julies had to hide most of the time.


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## jgilvey (Jun 12, 2008)

I actually just expanded the shellbed by another bag o' shells (36) and contracted the rockwork a bit due to their rate of reproduction. I can see this tank being only multis eventually.


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