Damasoni cichlid

[ocminpin]

I got my first Damasoni cichlid.... He or she is in my newly revamped 29g tank...
What other Cichlids can be be kept with him/her? I read they can be quite aggressive?? Is this true? Yellow lab? What other cichlids? This is lake Malawi right?? So I'll have to stick with this type...

ADVICE PLEASE?!! :0)

 

[Andrew McFadden]

You'll need to stick with just them in that size tank imo. They really need to be in a 55 gallon or larger because of their behavior

 

[ocminpin]

You'll need to stick with just them in that size tank imo. They really need to be in a 55 gallon or larger because of their behavior

So one of them in the 29...
What other non cichlid tankmates can he or she be with?
I only have him..., or her! ... And my 2" baby Bristlenose Pleco

 

[kay-bee19]

What other Cichlids can be be kept with him/her? I read they can be quite aggressive?? Is this true? Yellow lab? What other cichlids? This is lake Malawi right??

Demasoni's usually reserve the worst of their aggression for their own kind. In that regard it's best to keep have only one demasoni or a colony of them in the same tank (12 or more demasoni's, the greater group size acts as a defense against them eliminating each other).

With other lake malawi mbuna species, they'll do fine as long as their tank mates don't resemble them (male saulosi's, male yellow-top mbamba's, etc).

Ideally they (and mbuna's in general) are best kept in a tank that's at least 48" in length (55gal minimum) with mbuna's. (like what Andrew McFadden said). A 29gal might better be suited as a temporary a grow-out or maternity tank than for long-term mbuna housing.

They should be fine with BN pleco's and semi-aggressive synodontis catfish. Not sure if a syno would work in a 29gal (some species get fairly large). Demasoni's are most likely ill-suited with tropical community fish as tank mates if you were considering them as non-cichlid tank mates.

 

[ocminpin]

Demasoni's usually reserve the worst of their aggression for their own kind. In that regard it's best to keep have only one demasoni or a colony of them in the same tank (12 or more demasoni's, the greater group size acts as a defense against them eliminating each other).

With other lake malawi mbuna species, they'll do fine as long as their tank mates don't resemble them (male saulosi's, male yellow-top mbamba's, etc).

Ideally they (and mbuna's in general) are best kept in a tank that's at least 48" in length (55gal minimum) with mbuna's. (like what Andrew McFadden said). A 29gal might better be suited as a temporary a grow-out or maternity tank than for long-term mbuna housing.

They should be fine with BN pleco's and semi-aggressive synodontis catfish. Not sure if a syno would work in a 29gal (some species get fairly large). Demasoni's are most likely ill-suited with tropical community fish as tank mates if you were considering them as non-cichlid tank mates.

Long term goal is a 55g.... Depending on the craigslist score OR Petco sale! I got the Aquaclear 70 on purpose with plans to upgrade...

This guy is about 1 3/4-2"... Beautiful! Here he or she is:





Sex: male or female? Any guesses? Can you tell at all? Wish the pic had him or her with top fin up....

I would love to get a yellow lab... They're so cute! Store has them at about 1" right now... Would this be a bad decision with the intention of moving to a larger tank in the next several months?

My goal for the larger tank isn't cramming it full of fish...
I want several beautiful ones so I can throughly enjoy my tank...
What specific Lake Malawi Cichlid's would be suitable long term once I get the larger tank set up?

ALSO I've always wanted a GBR... would this fish be compatible with them or are GBR too passive for this type I've chosen? I want whats best for the fish... Even tho I REALLY REALLY want a German Blue Ram... Maybe if I only got one??

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[kay-bee19]

At 2" or under it's too hard to tell. Demasoni's are a monomorphic species and both genders are near identical especially at that size when immature males and females are near indistinguishable to the eye.

Demasoni's are compatible with yellow labs and nearly every other mbuna species (I have demasoni's in three of my tanks with other types of mbuna's).

Probably not compatible with GBR's.

In a larger tank you do not necessarily have to overstock (which is sometimes a tactic used to counter-balance aggression) but you do not want to understock as well. Understocking enhances a mbuna's ability to single out others. In a 55gal you'll want a good 8-12 in there.

 

[phin]

demasoni will go well in a tank with any other mbunas that don't resemble demasoni, unless you have an overstocked tank with a dozen black-blue mbunas.

By GBR do you mean german blue ram? Rams definitely don't mix with mbunas.

 

[Teakwood]

You could turn your 29 into a gbr tank when you move the aggressive fish to a bigger tank. Gbr are good community fish and would probably be freaked out in an Ubber aggressive tank...

 

[ocminpin]

At 2" or under it's too hard to tell. Demasoni's are a monomorphic species and both genders are near identical especially at that size when immature males and females are near indistinguishable to the eye.

Demasoni's are compatible with yellow labs and nearly every other mbuna species (I have demasoni's in three of my tanks with other types of mbuna's).

Probably not compatible with GBR's.

In a larger tank you do not necessarily have to overstock (which is sometimes a tactic used to counter-balance aggression) but you do not want to understock as well. Understocking enhances a mbuna's ability to single out others. In a 55gal you'll want a good 8-12 in there.

8-12 total cichlids you mean, right?
I could do my Demasoni, a yellow lab, etc?
At a certain point wouldn't I realize a few have paired off or females were holding?

 

[ocminpin]

demasoni will go well in a tank with any other mbunas that don't resemble demasoni, unless you have an overstocked tank with a dozen black-blue mbunas.

By GBR do you mean german blue ram? Rams definitely don't mix with mbunas.

Yes... And I won't now... I have a 20g L I may use for a pair of GBR and some sort of tetras. The 29 is awkward to clean... and I like the shape of the 20g L and 40g better...

You could turn your 29 into a gbr tank when you move the aggressive fish to a bigger tank. Gbr are good community fish and would probably be freaked out in an Ubber aggressive tank...

 

[Macdaddydaze]

Long term goal is a 55g.... Depending on the craigslist score OR Petco sale! I got the Aquaclear 70 on purpose with plans to upgrade...

This guy is about 1 3/4-2"... Beautiful! Here he or she is:

Sex: male or female? Any guesses? Can you tell at all? Wish the pic had him or her with top fin up....

I would love to get a yellow lab... They're so cute! Store has them at about 1" right now... Would this be a bad decision with the intention of moving to a larger tank in the next several months?

My goal for the larger tank isn't cramming it full of fish...
I want several beautiful ones so I can throughly enjoy my tank...
What specific Lake Malawi Cichlid's would be suitable long term once I get the larger tank set up?

ALSO I've always wanted a GBR... would this fish be compatible with them or are GBR too passive for this type I've chosen? I want whats best for the fish... Even tho I REALLY REALLY want a German Blue Ram... Maybe if I only got one??

Thanks for all the help guys!

Im dont know much about rams but i think the ph requirements are to diffrent for them to be in the same tank and rams are super sensitive to water perimeters

 

[phin]

8-12 total cichlids you mean, right?
I could do my Demasoni, a yellow lab, etc?

Personally, I feel that in a 55g you could potentially hold twice that, as far a mbunas are go. There are varying opinions and I'm sure someone will disagree, but depending on your filtration, water-flow, and the level of maintenence you are OK with, you could put a couple dozen in there.

At a certain point wouldn't I realize a few have paired off or females were holding?

If you have males and females mixed then at a certain point you most likely will realize that some of the females are holding. Mbunas don't pair off like new world cichlids (at least not in my experience). The males are like gigolos and the females are, well, "easy". Thats why they call them harems. But even still, I don't think harem is always accurate as the females in a harem aren't "committed" to the male and will mate with any male that can sneak in while the dominant one is not looking.

 

[phin]

Im dont know much about rams but i think the ph requirements are to diffrent for them to be in the same tank and rams are super sensitive to water perimeters

Rams are generally harder to keep (read: more sensitive) than mbunas. Rams require soft water, low to neutral pH, and an established tank, as many are sensitive to high nitrate levels. They are also relatively peaceful. They don't have the same diet as mbunas either.

Mbunas are much more hardy. They come from the rift lakes of Africa that have a high mineral content (hard water), high ph, and high conductivity. They are also less sensitive to nitrates than rams. However, many have a very sensitive diet when it comes to protein. Mbunas are much more aggressive than rams, larger, and tougher.

I think of rams as a delicate butterflies and mbunas as bulldogs.

 

[ocminpin]

Rams are generally harder to keep (read: more sensitive) than mbunas. Rams require soft water, low to neutral pH, and an established tank, as many are sensitive to high nitrate levels. They are also relatively peaceful. They don't have the same diet as mbunas either.

Mbunas are much more hardy. They come from the rift lakes of Africa that have a high mineral content (hard water), high ph, and high conductivity. They are also less sensitive to nitrates than rams. However, many have a very sensitive diet when it comes to protein. Mbunas are much more aggressive than rams, larger, and tougher.

I think of rams as a delicate butterflies and mbunas as bulldogs.

Awesome! Thank you!

 

[ocminpin]

Personally, I feel that in a 55g you could potentially hold twice that, as far a mbunas are go. There are varying opinions and I'm sure someone will disagree, but depending on your filtration, water-flow, and the level of maintenence you are OK with, you could put a couple dozen in there.

If you have males and females mixed then at a certain point you most likely will realize that some of the females are holding. Mbunas don't pair off like new world cichlids (at least not in my experience). The males are like gigolos and the females are, well, "easy". Thats why they call them harems. But even still, I don't think harem is always accurate as the females in a harem aren't "committed" to the male and will mate with any male that can sneak in while the dominant one is not looking.

I have my Aquaclear 70 running my 29g at the moment... Before that were mollies in it... I seeded it with established media from my old filter 3-4 mths ago...
I got the 70 with the intentions of upgrading...

 

[dornblaser1]

as for your dem. from what i know they like to be in groups of 12+ and having maybe 2-4 males and the rest females. in my 75 im going for 25-30 fish prob. more like 25-27 but im cramming it because im doing 12 dems, i have 1 acei, 3 red zebra, 4 yellow labs, and one other i need an id on yet so far and i may want to get another or 2 acei and one being a male

good filtration is key you cant over kill filtration