Thinking about multies

[fish wrangler]

Can anyone give me some basic information on multies?
1. Is an AC70 to much for a 20L?
2. What male to female ratio should I go with?
3. What kind of sand should I use? Add some crushed coral or no?(pH is right around 7.6, and water is in the middle range for hardness)
4. How many should I do in a 20L?
5. Are mystery snail shells with an opening the size of a nickle or bigger ok to use or are the better options?

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[sdcichlids]

I used CaribSea Aragonite for my substrate. You're to really be careful with that small of a tank. Are you going a m/f pair? If they start breeding you're going to be over run pretty quickly. I've never used AC's so I can't answer that.


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[sdcichlids]

Personally I think the most you could do is a m/2f. You'd probably need a seperate tank for the fry once they start really going.


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[mikem691]

1: try it on low. May blow the sand around too much
2: I would try 1 or 2 males to 4 females but sexing isn't easy to me.
3: I would just use regular sand in the color of your liking. Your ph should be fine. I had no water problems with mine.
4: I would start with 5 or 6. a 20 long should be fine. You should have no problem getting rid of fry.
5: I would go with extra large escargot shells. I got mine off amazon.

 

[sinibotia]

I used CaribSea Aragonite for my substrate. You're to really be careful with that small of a tank. Are you going a m/f pair? If they start breeding you're going to be over run pretty quickly. I've never used AC's so I can't answer that.


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Are you thinking 20L as in 20 liters? Because a 20 gallon long isn actually pretty big for multies IMO

 

[mikem691]

Are you thinking 20L as in 20 liters? Because a 20 gallon long isn actually pretty big for multies IMO

I agree! I would do like 6 and let the colony fill it up. I don't know how many but I'm sure you could keep quite a few in a 20L. I was up to about 15 in a standard 15 gallon with no problems.

 

[fish wrangler]

1: try it on low. May blow the sand around too much
2: I would try 1 or 2 males to 4 females but sexing isn't easy to me.
3: I would just use regular sand in the color of your liking. Your ph should be fine. I had no water problems with mine.
4: I would start with 5 or 6. a 20 long should be fine. You should have no problem getting rid of fry.
5: I would go with extra large escargot shells. I got mine off amazon.

Thanks Mike!

I want to see how it does on high with a modified output(what Fresh did to his AC50's) but if that doesn't work I'll definitely turn the flow down.
Is it better to have fine sand like ultra ultra fine white sand or is regular play sand better? I have natural play sand in my 20L low tech and the cory's don't seem to mind it.
I'll look into the escargot shells, I know I can get some craft store shells that are pretty big as a backup plan. What am I looking for in the shells? Shaped like mystery snails where they are very circular?

 

[mikem691]

what ever sand you get will be fine. They will dig and move it around constantly.
These are the shells I used
Escargot Shells: Buy Escargot Shells Online, Read Reviews at igourmet.com

 

[fish wrangler]

Hopefully I'll have a chance to go to the craft store early next week to look at the shells. If I can find some that look like escargot for less than what escargot are going for on amazon (~$9/dz) I'll get them.

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[sinibotia]

You can try looking at the craft store. My tank actually has some craft store shells but my multies so strongly prefer the escargot shells that all but maybe 3 or 4 of the craft shells have been buried

 

[Freakgecko91]

I use Mexican turbo shells from various saltwater stores. Got them for free, but had some stink bombs in a few from dead snails (dead turbo is one of the WORST smells ever). Mine have been burying the escargot I recently added


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[fish wrangler]

You can try looking at the craft store. My tank actually has some craft store shells but my multies so strongly prefer the escargot shells that all but maybe 3 or 4 of the craft shells have been buried

If the craft shells are $7/dz I'll probably get a dozen craft and a dozen escargot. That plus the ones I already have would let the multies pick from 30 shells. If they can't decide with that many we have issues!

I use Mexican turbo shells from various saltwater stores. Got them for free, but had some stink bombs in a few from dead snails (dead turbo is one of the WORST smells ever). Mine have been burying the escargot I recently added


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I hope they like the shells I get! This is supposed to be a laid back/easy-going tank for me. Stress free would be nice for ine if my tanks.

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[sinibotia]

If the craft shells are $7/dz I'll probably get a dozen craft and a dozen escargot. That plus the ones I already have would let the multies pick from 30 shells. If they can't decide with that many we have issues!







I hope they like the shells I get! This is supposed to be a laid back/easy-going tank for me. Stress free would be nice for ine if my tanks.

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With 30 shells you cant's go wrong, they'll pick the ones they like best!

 

[fish wrangler]

With 30 shells you cant's go wrong, they'll pick the ones they like best!

Now if only I could get the fish from someone that doesn't charge an arm and a leg per fish...

 

[sdcichlids]

Are you thinking 20L as in 20 liters? Because a 20 gallon long isn actually pretty big for multies IMO

Yes that's what I thought because the capital L


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[sinibotia]

Now if only I could get the fish from someone that doesn't charge an arm and a leg per fish...

Cunningham Cichlids, Llc - Aquarium Fish, Fish Supplies And Food
I got mine for about $5 each there, although that was under special circumstances. He did have F1's for $9 each which is pretty good. Dunno what he has now. Contact him because that site isn't necessarily accurate for his stock.

AquaBid.com - Item # fwmixed1451872989 - Multies, Shells & More - Ends: Sun Jan 3 2016 - 08:03:09 PM CDT
$63 for 6 multis, shells, and shipping.

And I'm going to try to artificially rear some of mine... we shall see....

 

[fish wrangler]

Cunningham Cichlids, Llc - Aquarium Fish, Fish Supplies And Food
I got mine for about $5 each there, although that was under special circumstances. He did have F1's for $9 each which is pretty good. Dunno what he has now. Contact him because that site isn't necessarily accurate for his stock.

AquaBid.com - Item # fwmixed1451872989 - Multies, Shells & More - Ends: Sun Jan 3 2016 - 08:03:09 PM CDT
$63 for 6 multis, shells, and shipping.

And I'm going to try to artificially rear some of mine... we shall see....

I'd rather support a fellow AA member than an outside source, if thingd work out with the artificially rearing please let me know.

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[sinibotia]

I'd rather support a fellow AA member than an outside source, if thingd work out with the artificially rearing please let me know.

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Don't worry about supporting me my friend! Multies are a minor side project. If you ever want angelfish then we can talk If you don't want to wait until May for me to thin out my colony and be willing to ship, I don't blame you

 

[fish wrangler]

Don't worry about supporting me my friend! Multies are a minor side project. If you ever want angelfish then we can talk If you don't want to wait until May for me to thin out my colony and be willing to ship, I don't blame you

I still haven't asked my dad if this whole cichlid thing is ok...
I have no problem waiting until May, gives me time to focus on school and my other tanks

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[keegster803]

I use Mexican turbo shells from various saltwater stores. Got them for free, but had some stink bombs in a few from dead snails (dead turbo is one of the WORST smells ever). Mine have been burying the escargot I recently added


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I know how you feel, I did the same thing for extra shells for my ocellatus Pair.

And OP keep us posted. I'd love to see this tank finished


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