Care
Neolamprologus multifasciatus may be small, but what they lack in size, they more than make up for in personality! In the wild, a harem of females is served by a single male. His colony will be made up of several small empty Neothauma tanganyicense snail shells, in which he entices females to come and take up residence. In certain areas of the lake, these snail shells are found in the most enormous drifts. They do not disintegrate because of the hardness of the water, and masses of colonies of these shell-dwellers are found living side by side. The females will spend much of their time in their individual shell; indeed it is here that each female will rest, retreat to when necessary, spawn and raise her young. Each male will defend his territory of shells and females, all making use of the very natural cover. The tank itself does not have to be particularly large for a small colony, but it must have a soft sand substrate and plenty of empty snail shells on offer (escargot shells are especially approved of). The fish will dig around and under the snail shells so that they eventually end up on the tank floor rather than on top of the sand itself, and watching them excavate these little depressions and move sand about the aquarium is fascinating. These fish should never be kept without snail shells (or substitutes such as small PVC elbow tubes). Once spawning has taken place (see below for details), several generations of fish may live together. Needless to say, the more fish present, the more shells will be needed. Placing a piece of slate on the base of the tank before adding the substrate will avoid the fish exposing the bare glass through their enthusiastic home improvements. Unfortunately, planting is not always very successful due to the uprooting behaviour of these fish but shells can be positioned far from any planting or rock piles in order to minimise disruption and allow cohabitation with rock dwelling species such as Julidochromis or Neolamprologus if space allows. Fishes moving outside the perimeter of the territory are usually ignored, making it possible to combine 'Multis' with many other species that appreciate alkaline water and swim high in the water column. This species may be confused with the closely related N. similis, which has a more extensive pattern of bands.
Feeding
Foods should be of an appropriately small size. Flake, micropellets, small frozen foods such as daphnia, baby brineshrimp, and cyclops.
Breeding
It may not be obvious that your Neolamprologus multifasciatus have spawned until fry are seen at the entrance of their shell. Sometimes, an early indicator that a pair is getting ready to spawn is an increase in digging activity around the shell. The eggs (typically numbering 5-20) will be laid and fertilised within the shell, and afterwards, the female stays just inside the shell entrance and guards them. At this time, the male usually defends the perimeter of the shell pit/crater against any possible predators (whether they are present in the tank or not). After 7-10 days, the fry will begin to venture out of the shell, darting quickly back in if they feel threatened. Eventually, they will venture further, and are ignored by the adults in the tank. Fry are tolerated within the shell cluster, the raising of which are extremely rewarding. Do remember to add new shells as starter homes, or thin the colonies out occasionally.
