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Multi Swimming Kinda Frantically

1K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  jlgvusn 
#1 ·
Hi, all. First shellie tank; juvenile multis into fully cycled 29 gal tank last October (2013). Regular water changes; Prime; no other chemicals, though there is crushed coral in the sand bed. Temp 80.5 degrees. These multis have all been robust and apparently healthy since I received them. No mated pairs that I can identify; no fry yet :-?

The past week or so, one of the multis is swimming A LOT; fast; almost like a dither fish; usually in the upper column.

Wish I could I could tell you more, but I don't even know what I'm looking for. Appreciate any help you can offer.
Janice
 
#4 ·
Thank you, secondlaw and triscuit. This tank is 29 gal; 12 multis who had been living harmoniously since they arrived last October. Last night, after reading your post, triscuit, I rearranged their real estate to see if that might help and added an additional dozen shells, so there nearly 50 shells in there. (There are no pairs that I am aware of. Shouldn't that have happened by now?)

Using existing bio / filter material and substrate, I've prepped a 10 gal to receive some of these multis, but need to watch water parameters for a few days and get heat to same as other tank before I move any of them.

Baby steps here: How would I divide them up and how many should I to move to the 10 gal?
 
#5 ·
More shells is always good for multies... I would guess I had at least 150 shells for my mature colony in a 55 gallon tank. The questions of how many to move and how to do it are linked: of course as soon as you stick your hand in the tank, those fish are going into the shells. And once in there, it is extremely hard to determine which shells have fish and which do not. My suggestion would be to create 2 shell beds in the 29 gallon, one with about 15 shells, and the other piled with the rest. Keep about 10" of open sand in between, and then wait a couple weeks. My guess is that some of your dozen will move to the smaller shell bed, and that group would be good for the 10 gallon to start with. Watch the fish- see which shells are favored, and you'll have better odds of getting the intended number of fish.

Now, as far as why they're not breeding yet... are they mature? What are your water parameters (pH, KH, nitrate)? Are there good shells for females (usually lower levels of a stacked shell bed does the trick)? If you've had them since October, I'd expect some signs of breeding unless they were very small when you got them.
 
#6 ·
Sorry for the delay; I'm remodeling my house and things are crazy around here.

I did as you suggested and there is now a pile on one side of the tank; open sand; and a layer of 12-15 shells on the other end. Unbelievably, that one lone crazy swimmer is the ONLY fish who has migrated to the end with fewer shells. I have to be honest, though, it hasn't been 2 weeks yet; only several days. SMH. What do I do if it stays that way? LOL

The remaining 11(with 40-ish shells) are a little disturbed; spending more time in open water and more flashing. (There was no flashing prior to the change.)

I can't be sure about their maturity since this is my first venture into shellies. They were surely at least 0.5 inch when they arrived in October. Now, all are 1-1.5 inches long. A few have very distinct stripes and are longer; the rest have less predominant stripes.

Water parameters are: Ammonia 0; Nitrite 0; Nitrates 10-20 (I can't tell b/t those two oranges); pH 8; GH 9; ; KH 4; temp 80-81.

Again; thanks for the help and suggestions.
 
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