Competition for multies?

2346 Views 6 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Rick_Lindsey, Apr 27, 2008

Rick_Lindsey

Discussion Starter · Apr 22, 2008

I've got a 29gallon N. multifasciatus biotope tank on the drawing board right now, and I was thinking of tossing a few rocks in one corner and adding a second species to compete a little with the multi's. When I kept them (multi's) in a larger community tank, my favorite part was watching the "turf wars" with the other fish. There was a defined territorial boundary, with a sort of no-man's land between, it was quite entertaining to watch the Multi's square off and prevent another fish from entering their territory, or even making "raids" in groups of three into the poor subdominant leleupi's territory.

I'd really like the focus of the tank to be the multi's, but I think adding one or two fish of another species might add interest to the tank. What species (if any) would you recommend? I'm thinking maybe either a pair of smaller julidichromis, or perhaps a single brichardi? I'd like to stick with tang's that could concievably live in the rocks bordering a shellbed to fit the whole biotope concept.

thanks,
Rick (the armchair aquarist)

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triscuit

· #2 · Apr 23, 2008

J. transcriptus would be a good choice, or A. calvus. I'd only add 1 other species, and if you are looking at relatively peaceful territorialism, then these would work well with multies.

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Qaddiction

· #3 · Apr 23, 2008

How about some Caudopunctatus. I have one pair of these with a pair of Brevis and it works great. Both groups are spawning and the turf wars are fun to watch without any injuries!

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Rick_Lindsey

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 23, 2008

triscuit said:
J. transcriptus would be a good choice, or A. calvus. I'd only add 1 other species, and if you are looking at relatively peaceful territorialism, then these would work well with multies.

Relatively peaceful territorialism is exactly what I'm looking for. Posturing and showing off, all bark no bite sort of thing. I'll definately be sticking with a single species. I hadn't considered calvus due to their eventual size, I presume they'd eventually outgrow the corner of a 29gal tank? How long would it take them to do so? It'll all depend on what I can find, but if it takes them years to grow up (and iirc it does?) then that might work out well. I've never kept calvus before so it'd be something new for me

Qaddiction said:
How about some Caudopunctatus. I have one pair of these with a pair of Brevis and it works great. Both groups are spawning and the turf wars are fun to watch without any injuries!

Ooh, Caudopunks. I like this idea too... what size tank do yours share with the Brevis?

thanks,
Rick (the armchair aquarist)

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triscuit

· #5 · Apr 23, 2008

I haven't kept caudopunks, but my instinct tells me that there would be more real conflict over territories with them than a true rock dweller.

Calvus don't require as large a territory as their size would indicate. People keep and breed calvus in 20 gallon tanks, and they take years to reach maturity.

J. transcriptus would be more active than calvus, but either would be fun to watch.

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Qaddiction

· #6 · Apr 24, 2008

I'm keeping my Cuado's & Brevis in 32.5 gallons. It's actually a 65 gallon Oceanic tank (same as a 75 but shorter with a glass divider in the middle). So it's roughly 24 X 18 footprint or somewhat similar floorspace as a 29. The right side of the tank I have a rock pile. My rockpile has somewhat tall caves which I actually have a couple shells in the caves and a couple just outside on the right side. The left side of the tank has a shell bed which house my Brevis pair and fry. There are a few border wars where the rock's and shell bed meet, but nothing serious. The Caudo's are amazingly fast. Seems like they can hit the Brevis and be back to their rockpile before the Brevis even knows what hits it. But again, there is never any harm done. I try to remove most of my fry, but a few remain if they can run and hide faster than my net. Both pairs have been producing fry monthly, the pairs are adults and have been in this set up for about 6 months or so. Not sure what other peoples experiences are, but I really like this tank and really like my Caudo's. HTH, Todd.

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Rick_Lindsey

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 27, 2008

I was drooling on the larger tanks at the LFS today, and another thought occurred to me. Would the 29g tank be big enough for a single tanganodicus irsacae with the multi's? I might have to go even more overkill and use my SCWD on the sump return if that were a viable option

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-Rick (the armchair aquarist)

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