I've been writing on this forum and a couple of others about the fish I bought in December, badis badis. When I got them home I did research on them. They didn't look like any of the pictures I found. I wrote asking people to help me understand their behavior, as mine behaved differently than what was described. Well guess what??? They are not badis badis; they are Lamprologus" multifasciatus or multies or many banded shell dwellers, which are the smallest cichlids.

Grumpa posted the article on these guys. Thanks a bunch. I guess I can't trust the guys in the fish store, or at least this one fish store. I've learned that I can go and see, but have to do my own research.

I would have never put these guys in my community tank had I done my research. After doing reading I think I'll change up the basically species specific tank I've moved them to. I read that they prefer sand and shells to be in. Of course I didn't know that so they are in an 8 gallon biocube with a hillstream loach and a bamboo shrimp.

1. Should I movee the shrimp and the loach to my 29 gallon community tank when its mature enough or leave one of them in the biocube with the mulites.
2. Should I change the gravel to sand?

I've checked on the temperature and ph requirements for the loach and shrimp compared to the multies and I think as far as those two conditions they could all be ok there for now.

LOL, well, been there. Nowadays staff at pet stores get upset or roll their eyes when I point out a misidentification. The loach should be fine, though it may pick off a few babies if the multies spawn. I don't know about the shrimp. If they haven't bugged it yet, I'd guess they aren't going to, but they could pick at it. I'm thinkin' the shrimp is hit or miss as the multies get older.

WYite

thanks Wyomingite!.

I saw one of the multies yesterday"bump" the hillstream loach.
The bamboo shrimp really only comes out of his "cave" at night. He's 3 times as big as they are, though. I haven't observed any aggression from the multies toward him.

My 29 gallon had been up and running now for 3 1/2 weeks. I could probably supplement feed the loach if I should move him. My nitrites are at 0 in this tank. Hillstream loaches' ph preferences are 7.0 to 8.0; and I have been trying to keep this tank at 7 especially since it's new. I also have been keeping it about 78 degrees for the same reason; that's a bit higher than research says the loach prefers. I only have one, so if those preferences are for breeding, then that's not a concern

I do have a much better, stronger filter on the 29 than what came with it; so there lots of good current for him. I have black gravel in this tank. He won't show up as well in this one.

What do you think?

As long as you're in the general temperature range for a species, keeping the temperature at an exact temperature is less important than avoiding swings in temperature, especially rapid swings. As far as most fish are concerned, 76°, 78° or 80° isn't important. Even a coupla degree swing at night is not likely to affect most fish. What IS important is keeping the temperature constant, avoiding quick swings from 80° to say 68°, or from 76° to 86°, in a matter of minutes. In their natural environment, most fish have the ability to move up and down in the water column, move from sunny locations to shaded ones, etc; basically, they have the ability to travel through areas where the water is a degree or three cooler (or warmer) than where they are at. Lake Malawi, for example, has an average surface temperature of 76°-78°, with a gradual decrease in temperature as the depth of the lake increases. The Amazon River, as does many tropical rivers, has a surface temperature typical of most tropical aquariums. But at greater depths, especially the "holes" where a lot of the larger Amazonian catfish such as redtail catfish live and are caught by fishermen, the temperature may be in the 60s. There was an article in TFH a few years ago where one of their regular contributors stated he keeps all his fish at room temperature. I recently adopted two tankfuls of fish that were at room temperature, from two different people. I didn't see a thermometer, but from feel I'd gauge the temperature in these tanks in the high 60s. All of them were healthy. They made the transition well to my warmer tanks, though I took much longer to acclimate them to the temperature in my tanks. I did almost lose a glass catfish by releasing him quicker than I should have, though. Even an hour and a half wasn't long enough to equalize the temp from the high 60s it had been in to 76°. He did a spiral nose dive straight to the bottom and I had to scoop him up and put him back in the bag for a while. He's doing fine now. These fish were doing alright at room temperature even though it may not have been optimum, and now are doing well at regular aquarium temperatures. The point is consistency without rapid changes.

How are you adjusting pH? pH is similar to temperature IME. Except for very delicate species, maintaining a constant pH is more important than maintaining a certain pH. Again, 7.0, 7.5 or 8.0 doesn't matter much to most fish. What does matter is that whatever the pH is remains fairly constant. I never use chemicals to adjust the pH; chemicals can add unwanted nutrients, have to be replaced with every water change, and oftentimes even a slight mismeasurement can throw the result off. Chemicals that lower pH tend to reduce alkalinity (which is important to the nitrifying bacteria), and those that raise the ph tend to add alkalinity. Too high of an alkalinity can lead to eggbound fish, not so much in Rift Valley cichlids but severely in fish from softer waters, especially tetras and rasboras. This can cause death and impair fertility. Then there is the whole other issue of converting ammonium back to ammonia if yer not current on your water changes (which we all slack on now and then, if we're honest) if a ph is raised too much, too fast. I'm on well water, that runs in the 7.8 range for pH, and I'm having good luck with keeping glowlight tetras, gold tetras, oscars, various cories, bristlenose catfish and a host of other South American species that "prefer" low pH.

So what does all this have to do with your tanks? Well, I wanted to illustrate that having a "certain" pH or a "certain" temperature isn't as important as consistency. There are delicate species that require more exacting water parameters, and if yer gonna try breeding, then ya would want to mimic natural water parameters for many species. If the multies are picking at him, then you may want to move the loach. IIRC, most of the hillstream loaches prefer a temp in the low 70s. The pristellas will be fine at 74° or 75°. You can meet a happy medium. Keep the tank well aereated. Oxygen dissolves much less readily in warm water, so you'll need more aereation to maintain a high DO (dissolved oxygen) level to keep the loach happy.

When I first started in the hobby, the general reccomendation was to keep tanks around 75°. After a coupla years absence from the hobby, I was surprised at the tendency of a lot of people to keep their fish in the 78°-80° range. I never used to raise temps that high unless I was breeding. Just my two cents on how perspectives have changed.

WYite

I got it - consistency. Thanks so much.