[SuperChu]

Hi! I've been doing a whole lot of research lately about multifasciatus (just gonna call them multies) and one of the more prominent questions I had was if it was possible to fit in some kind of algae eater/cleaner into the mix. I'm using a 10g tank and hope to get a 1M/2F trio or just a 1M/1F pair and I do understand how territorial the fish can get during spawning. I have seen some people mention that plecos are OK with multies in much larger tanks, like 75g and up, and obviously a 10g is going to be much more limited in terms of space. I've been thinking that some kind of snail might work since the multies can't really "harm" them. What do you guys think might work? Or is it just not possible to fit one?

Also, I've read up on water parameters for multies. How do you guys go about replicating that kind of water? The only real experience I have with water parameters are dropping a few drops of dechlorinator in my 5g tank, so I'm lost.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[DJRansome]

I would not add bottom feeders to a tank with shellies...both fish want to occupy the bottom. You are likely to see more natural multifasciatus behavior without the other fish swooping around. How about a couple of freshwater nerite snails?

For water parameters, first thing to do is buy a test kit with liquid reagents and test tubes, and post your test results for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Then see if you have to adjust anything...good chance you won't.

 

[SuperChu]

Thanks for the reply! I was thinking about using snails, but will they breed excessively like pond snails?

Also, I have a huge pit of rocks that I can clean and put in my tank. Will this help to buffer the hardness/pH of my water?

 

[Deeda]

Nerite snails will NOT produce offspring in your tank but the females will lay white eggs the shape of a grain of rice. These eggs will not hatch and will slowly dissolve over a few months. No way to tell the male from female snails until you notice the females laying eggs.

Don't count on rocks to buffer your water, it's always easier to work with the water you have and choose fish accordingly. There is a home made buffer recipe in the C-F Library IF you HAVE to alter your water chemistry.