reduced fish appetite

[kayora]

Hey, I've got a multie problem - they're just not eating like I thought they would. Live food's a hit, but it's hard to get it regularly, so I've been trying those tetra red pellet sinking foods. All my other fish have loved 'em in the past. Now, I'm wondering if it's normal for multies to be this skittish - they still freak out when I come near the tank. I've had other tropicals before and they'd get all excited for food time after a few days, but these two just seem really scared all the time. They are venturing out a bit more, but only occasionally eating - can anyone offer some advice on this?

[fluxon4]

kayora, what's the tank size for your Multis, are they solo or with tankmates? I recall my first Multis, 6 of them in a 10-gallon, they were super skittish. A few months later, I upgraded to a 200-liter setup with some Julies, Calvus, and Cyps - huge difference. They're still a bit shy but always on the move, never far from their shellbed, just shifting sand around.

[kayora]

My tank's 120L, with dimensions 80cmx40cmx43cm. I've got some anubias plants, a rock pile on the right for the julies I plan to add later, and six escargot shells on the left for my multies. I'm actually getting a dozen more shells tomorrow. There's a rock that breaks the line of sight between the shells and the rest of the tank. Initially, I had one male and two females, but unfortunately, one of the females passed away. The male is noticeably larger than the other two. The substrate is coflake sand. The tank's pretty bare, with just a tiny snail to help keep everything clean.

I've done my research, and I'm not sure what I've done wrong. The male tends to hide in the shells, while the female doesn't as much. She usually hangs out on the anubias leaves or by the rock pile. They both seem to like the shells, though, and occasionally venture out to mid-level or near the rocks. However, as soon as I approach the tank, they quickly retreat to their hiding spots.

[fluxon4]

You might want to consider adding a couple more females to the mix, Multis are naturally colony-forming fish and a 120L tank should easily be able to accommodate a small group of them, as well as your Julies.

[kayora]

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely consider adding more females. Appreciate the help.