# Reinvented 27 gallon Tanganyika Community



## 02redz28 (Dec 21, 2012)

I figured I'd start a new thread now that the tank has had the reset button thrown and a fresh set of animals acclimated.

Stock list: 
5 Lamprologus multifasciatus
1 Julidochromis marlieri
2 Altolamprologus calvus "Black"
4 Synodontis lucipinnis


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Tank dimensions? There are so many new size tanks out there it is difficult to keep track of them.


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## 02redz28 (Dec 21, 2012)

27 Cube Glass Aquarium by Marineland 20"W x 18"D x 20"H


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## 02redz28 (Dec 21, 2012)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfd_BYv ... e=youtu.be


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## AlmightyJoshaeus (May 2, 2013)

Sounds a little overstocked...calvus can hit 6" and the julie will hit a similar length. If the calvus are a pair, their tankmates may suffer: if they're both males, one of the males will suffer. There's just not enough length for the non-multie fish to get away from each other.


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## 02redz28 (Dec 21, 2012)

Its fine. Eventually, it will boil down to one calvus. I only want one adult in the tank. However, they grow so **** slow there will be room for both for quite some time. I wanted J. transcriptus due to size concerns with J. marlieri but was unable to locate any quality animals so I settled with a single critter.


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## rennsport2011 (Oct 21, 2013)

The marlieri is a gombe, it won't get to 6", max is 3" or so usually. Having said that, the multis are likely to be miserable, with a tank so small, and the calvus, Gombe and lucipinnis all trying to eat their fry. For practical purposes, the tank isn't much more useful than a regular 15 gallon tank.


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## 02redz28 (Dec 21, 2012)

I'm not trying to breed the multis. I will not be upset if the fry are preyed upon.


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## rennsport2011 (Oct 21, 2013)

02redz28 said:


> I'm not trying to breed the multis. I will not be upset if the fry are preyed upon.


That is swell, but the multis will be unhappy, being kept in an environment that isn't ideal for them, where they are constantly on guard and fighting for their fry survival. If you are keeping the fish, do so in an environment that is best for them. If you want some random single fish, and catfish, remove the multis. If you want the multis to do their best, move them on their own.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I agree, remove either the multis or the Synodontis.


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## 02redz28 (Dec 21, 2012)

The multis are not fagile fish. They will faithfully defend their territory and may even successfully rear some of their fry. I guess I don't understand why you think the catfish are a serious threat to their "happiness". I've kept Synodontis for over a decade and have never had any negative interactions between the cats and my cichlids other than what is in their nature. Given your logic, I suppose that my mouth brooders that were preyed upon my my S. multipunctatus were unhappy as well...


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I think the point trying to be made is that stress can impact the health and well-being of any fish. The multies will spend quite a bit of time and energy defending their shells from the S. lucipinnis' constant foraging and this could contribute to 'unhappy' multies.

I ended up removing a group of six almost adult S. petricolas from my 'L.' similis tank and I noticed a definite improvement in the behavior of the similis. They were out and about more often and displayed more interaction between the fish that was more enjoyable for me to observe.


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## rennsport2011 (Oct 21, 2013)

02redz28 said:


> The multis are not fagile fish. They will faithfully defend their territory and may even successfully rear some of their fry. I guess I don't understand why you think the catfish are a serious threat to their "happiness". I've kept Synodontis for over a decade and have never had any negative interactions between the cats and my cichlids other than what is in their nature. Given your logic, I suppose that my mouth brooders that were preyed upon my my S. multipunctatus were unhappy as well...


No, substrate spawners and mouthbrooders are completely different kettles (or aquariums) of fish. The bottom line is you are correct, you don't understand, but you are getting advice from two Moderators and people who have been keeping these fish for a very long time. FWIW, I've had Synos for nearly four decades, always keep them with mouthbrooders, and never substrate spawners.


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## 02redz28 (Dec 21, 2012)

I have no doubt that they would act much different if they were alone. However, I'm not looking for the monoculture environment at the moment. I've bred more than a handfull of Tanganyikans in small tanks with pairs or small groups and I did find that interesting. The only down side to that is the tanks were all very subtile and more suited for a rack type breeding room. This is one of two cubes I have in my family room adjacent to my TV. I want there to be lots of activity to attract interest from myself and my visitors from the couch. I feel the tank accomplishes my goals without having a tank of animals so stressed out or chased to death that there will be disease or casualties.

As far as the Synos go, mine are virtually exclusively nocturnal. I almost never see them all day when the lights are on. They hang under the big ledge in the front and essentially keep to themselves. At night, I know they are on the prowl but they would have an influence on any animals they are kept with that would be sleeping during that time. Also, I'm not discounting what you folks are saying, however I'm not as ignorant as you seem to believe. I've been around the block in this hobby more than most and know the boundaries I can and can't push. This seems to be a very conservative crowd which I appreciate. It is because of this that I belong to this site and choose to display my animals proudly while inviting critique.

Other than all the animals being wrong... how does it look?


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## 02redz28 (Dec 21, 2012)




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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

The tank setup looks good and as long as you are satisfied, that is really all that matters. Everyone has a different viewpoint when it comes to aquascaping their tanks so what works for one person, doesn't for another. I prefer rocks that are similar in appearance so I find the different combinations in your tank distracting when viewing the fish.

I also wanted to say thanks for understanding where all the comments and concerns for your fish selection and tank size are coming from. It is difficult sometimes to determine what experience a particular member has with fish keeping from time to time on forums.


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## LouIE82 (Nov 6, 2012)

I like it, it's very different and looks cool. The multies would probably appreciate sand more but they seem to be enjoying the place. I bet those tall barnacle things offer some interesting behavior with the multies.

Do those cats stay small? Seems like a small foot print for cats but I'm not familiar with that species.


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## anthonymb (Dec 13, 2013)

Beautiful tank.


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## 02redz28 (Dec 21, 2012)

Thank you for the kind words. Synodontis lucipinnis stays quite small compared to most others in the genus. They rarely grow larger than 3-4 inches in length at most.


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## 02redz28 (Dec 21, 2012)

I've got my first two sets of multi babies in the shells in front. It seems that the male has two females he is breeding with at the same time. There are newly hatched fry in both of shells the girls use. I think there may be 2 generations in one shell as there are some that are slightly larger than the others. I'm excited to watch how they do their parenting with potential predators in the tank. opcorn:

How many fry to multifasciatus usually have? I notice no more than 5 per shell. I recall my punks and melagris had dozens at a time.


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