Some new fish.

[Cichlid-Man]

Well i got some new fish today. I bought 4 Multies, Lake Tang Shelldwellers for all you out of the loop They are becoming a fast favorite and i'm already looking for another tank for another species lol. Well just wanted to show them off These are the early pics of them, i swear this aquarium is the worst glass to take pics through but....here they are...with flash and a towel as a background.

I'm still looking for more to add to the current 4, maybe 2 more then weed out males after they mature. Also adding more shells very soon.

They are in a 29gal.

*PEACE!*

 

[Fish Friend]

show off lol

 

[Orion]

Nice ones C-man! That looks like a great male in the background of the first shot.

I've always wanted to try some of the occies, but recently I've been itching to try some of the larger ones, like the caudopunks and some of the telemats.

 

[phOOey]

looking good, yeah that guy in the back looks huge ( for a mulite ). Another shelly you may want to look at is N. meleagris, i'd say there one of the most attractive shellies.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Yeah that one in the background of the first pic is the fish in the second pic i do believe. He (?) is the biggest of the bunch at almost 2".

Some have already taken to the shells, and all are eating pellets.

I've always liked the look of the meleagris. I think 'Lamprologus' caudopunctatus would be cool to get a hold of too. Not sure what i want next, haha i wanna breed these first and then go from there.

 

[Orion]

If its that big, then I would say its a male

 

[Leopardess]

Not my kind of fish, but congratulations! New fish are always fun

 

[karma_llama]

wow c-man, i'm jealous. Sounds exactly like the tank i'm planning (29gall tanganyikan with shellies) but i no where near ready.
Good luck with them and they look great

 

[phOOey]

yeah females only get to like 1.5 inches i think. shouldn't be to long before they breed, they do it very readily, as i found when my 3 multies turned into 30

 

[Orion]

very true. I'm finding out that it seems that the fry have a higher survival rate with a smaller group of adults.

I have three fry right now in my large colony of 1m/6f. However in my tank with 1m/2f, there is loads of fry. I counted at least 8 last night. The large colony has never pumped out a lot of fry.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

So will the fry be able to live with the Adults at least for a while? Of course, if i add more shells.

 

[phOOey]

if the tank is big enough i think the fry can just stay with the adults forever, but then you have to watch out for inbreeding and such. The multies will establish a harem, there will be a male, and then however many females there is in with him. The thing i like most a bout multies is there colonial nature, older fry and younger fry can be kept together as the older fry will not eat them.

 

[dasanipig]

they are truly stunning! and i would love to know where you found them. if sooo hard to find a good fish store anywhere in sc. i've been very unimpressed with the stores ive seem, so id love to know where you got those beauties!

and i can't wait to see all those babies, you'll have to take pictures for the site.

 

[Orion]

Yeah like phooey said, the fry will stay with the colony as long as the adults don't feel threatened by them. More shells and some rockwork will help give the wayward multies a place to live.

Something else I've seen, and this is only my speculation, but you know how when a new male Lion takes over a pride he kills the cubs of the former male? I belive the alpha male multie follows similar tactics. I had placed 1m/2f and a juvie that I belived to be a male in a tank togeather. The juvie was belived to be a male because he was almost twice as big as others from the same spawn. The male was not the alpha in the other tank, but after he got used to the tank and his females he quickly rose to the occasion. The juvie was not seen long after the male reached this status. Interesting because the juvie took up on the other side of the tank, away from the adults, so if the alpha did kill this one, then he went hunting for it. This isn't much proof to the idea, but interesting none the less. To me anyway.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Awesome, now to get these breeding.

Hey dasanipig, good to see another South Carolinian. I agree, its very hard to find a good store. I got these 4 Multies at Fishy Business. The guy at Fishy Business said there is not a big market at all for shelldwellers in SC, thats why stores hardly ever get them in. I was lucky enough to catch these, i assume someone ordered them and never picked them up. There are 2 stores in Columbia that i find worthwhile. Fishy Business on Bush River Rd, and Fins (thats out in the Irmo area....around irmo HS). You hardly ever find anything "rare", or of best quality around here, at least in an LFS.

I'm about to start going strictly to breeders for my cichlids. There are a few in the low state that have awesome fish...and prices. They all frequent the "local" club forum. I say local just because it includes SC and NC but it is based out of Charlotte. You should check us out. www.aquacharlotte.com (my name is Matt on those boards) There are a lot of people breeding different things in the club, from rams, bristlenose plecos, checkerboard cichlids, malawi cichlids, tangs, discus, etc etc. There is a guy on there now selling a lot of tangs. Hmmmmmmmm i see some shellies on the list

 

[dasanipig]

i'll definitly have to drive up there and see. sounds like a good store. and if you're ever in sumter we have a cichlid specialty store that has some rather nice fish in it. and the owner can get you just about any fish you like. i've had to special order both my bichirs.
who know maybe a trip up there will result in getting a new fish for my tank that jim won't eat.
thanks again
danielle