OllieNZ
Member
Hi All
I have recently found out the Lake Tanganyika shell dwellers I have had for nearly a year now are not Lamprologus multifasciatus but Lamprologus brevis http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_brevis.php A similarly sized and coloured fish with very diffent behavior and breeding habits.
^The fish looked similar to this when I purchased them just a plain sandy colour
^And like this once they coloured up.
Key visual differences between the two species are: a purple cresent under the eye of the brevis(visible in the first pic), brevis have a squared off tail fin multies are rounded and multies have narrower tiger like stripes as opposed to the blockier more iregular pattern of the brevis(this is no good if the fish are stressed as they will fade to an all over sandy colour).
My apologies to those I have given advice to based on my experiences with what I bought as Multies.
That said these little guys are an interesting fish and unlike other shellies dont feel the need to dig and bulldoze in your substrate making them ideal in a planted tank.
Regards
Ollie
I have recently found out the Lake Tanganyika shell dwellers I have had for nearly a year now are not Lamprologus multifasciatus but Lamprologus brevis http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_brevis.php A similarly sized and coloured fish with very diffent behavior and breeding habits.
^The fish looked similar to this when I purchased them just a plain sandy colour
^And like this once they coloured up.
Key visual differences between the two species are: a purple cresent under the eye of the brevis(visible in the first pic), brevis have a squared off tail fin multies are rounded and multies have narrower tiger like stripes as opposed to the blockier more iregular pattern of the brevis(this is no good if the fish are stressed as they will fade to an all over sandy colour).
My apologies to those I have given advice to based on my experiences with what I bought as Multies.
That said these little guys are an interesting fish and unlike other shellies dont feel the need to dig and bulldoze in your substrate making them ideal in a planted tank.
Regards
Ollie