Lake Tanganyika Species • Missing Multifasciatus

[Darkskies]

Hi,
So, I've been dosing pimafix/melafix for about 5 days now because a couple of my multies looked under the weather though at this point I don't really know if it was necessary. After giving the dosage today in the morning, I checked in the afternoon and again now(evening) and I can't locate one out of my 6 multies. I looked outside and around the tank but still didn't spot anything. Are multies prone to jumping out of the tank? I didn't think so... If for some reason he's met his demise, is he likely inside one of the 100+ shells in the tank(20 gallon long)? Usually if I wait 5-10 minutes after nearing the tank, all of my multies would be out of hiding(usually within 1-2 minutes)..What should I do? If he has passed away, I don't want the carcass to rot and foul the water quality..

[triscuit]

If he's dead in a shell, your other multies will bury the shell. It's not much to worry about, and there's not much you can do about it. He might show up in a day or two...

[DJRansome]

I've had shellies jump out. Just for future reference.

[Darkskies]

Well, It turns out all 6 fish are alive and well for now. I realized that one of my multies has become very aggressive with the one fish that was missing who seems to always retreat to the single shell it still claims underneath the filter. He was out at feeding time today but would be attacked and cornered to staying mostly in the mid to upper water level near/behind the heater. He does still retreat to that particular shell underneath the heater when spooked but it doesn't look like he has as much space in his territory as he used to. I don't know if he's allowed out of it much, especially considering I couldn't spot him for the past two days!

Is this something to worry about? I would think a 20 gallon long is plenty of room for 6 multies(nearly half of whom are still juveniles). Since the shells(100+) completely cover the bottom, would it make more sense(resolve the territory issue) to form separate piles of them instead of having one huge bed? Thanks in advance!

[triscuit]

Good to hear...

I would pile the shells. 1 big pile and one smaller pile.

[adesh8028]

hahaha, that was awesome. Me too had 2 brevis who jumped out of the tank, for no reason. Fortunately, yours was in there

[Darkskies]

Good to hear...

I would pile the shells. 1 big pile and one smaller pile.

Thanks. I'm pleased that I've found the fish and he's still alive but there definitely seems to be a territorial issue because even when I place my hand in the tank, the one that's being harrassed will only enter his shell at the last minute. When he emerges from it, he'll immediately swim to the upper middle water column while the aggressive multi keeps vigil on him. How far apart should my two piles be and will this really resolve the issue? In my mind, I see it as giving them less space since now there will be open sand between the shell piles and the individual shells will be packed in a smaller space.. Would the fish view it as the sand in between acting as a separator for the territories whereas now the one aggressive fish feels free to claim more shells than usual since all the shells are right next to each other? Hopefully that made sense..More advice would be appreciated! Thanks again!