tell me about demasoni

[dpatte]

how much are they? are they good tankmates? how much space do they need? how easy are they to breed? do they need anything special? they stay small, right? do fry have to be removed from the tank?

[oenology]

Price average is around $4 for 1+", I have them with labs, lombardi, julies, leleupi, lithobates and lemon jake peacocks. They only fight/chase each other so you need a colony. If they are in a species tank with lots of hiding places then the fry can stay in the tank. I take my females out and put them in a 10gal until they spit. I have had no problem breeding them. The largest male is about 3". I have larger fry on hold pending pick-up with more growing out. You can have a look if you come over. I feed NLS because I have mbuna with haps but they are veggie eaters predominantly.

[dpatte]

how about labs and demasoni in a 48x18x20 (75 US). How many of each could i keep?

[Nerine]

at petsmart they are 21.99$ per fish, and they are very small!!

[pegasus]

how about labs and demasoni in a 48x18x20 (75 US). How many of each could i keep?

You could have up to 20 demasoni and 4 labs. You would have to create 3 demasoni male domaines (piles of rocks) and be ready to move the weaker males to another tank. IMO, it is better to give them territiries than a multitude of caves. Labs takes a bit more space, are more aggressive but not killers during breeding. I did started with 6 labs but later had to remove 2 miserable subdominant males

[oenology]

at petsmart they are 21.99$ per fish, and they are very small!!

Long live OVAS and its members who breed quality fish and sell them at an affordable price!

[repeej]

Got my 10 from 'pseesequ' for $2ea.

[Seanc]

could you house any in a 29?

[repeej]

could you house any in a 29?

Not for very long.  4ft. long tank would be required for long term since they are best kept in a minimum group of 10-12.

[cory]

Im currently breeding them in my 125g. Working wonders.

[dpatte]

if anyone has 10-20 let me know

[pegasus]

if anyone has 10-20 let me know

We need more demasoni breeders! Of those I know... pseege, oenology, malawi & Cory? Mine are one month old...  :cry: but growing fast.

[pegasus]

Got my 10 from 'pseesequ' for $2ea.

I paid up to $5 from both breeders depending on size and quality. I get more than $2 from the wholesaler, so I guess you got a deal.  

[az]

i got 9 labs and 8 demasonis in 22 gal!

lol!

[darkdep]

Uh, can you say Overstocked?  

[repeej]

Uh, can you say Overstocked?  

Those fish are still young.  Hopefully az will move them to a 55 gallon before they get too big.

[darkdep]

Don't overdo the "Aggression can be controlled with crowding" rule...it's a tool that can be employed in many cases but it can easily be overdone.  There is a common misconception that Africans "like" being overcrowded but it's not the case...

[pegasus]

zippity, David, I'm moving all my demasoni to a single specie tank for breeding purpose only. They are doing fine with others but their fry holding females have to be taken out if I want any fry to survive. Plus they are interfering with the other mouth brooders during egg laying. They are so fast that they can snatch half the eggs from under my female blue dolphin or they are so small as to go anywhere and grab the eggs of the egglayers.
They are a great asset to my larger African community tank.

[dpatte]

I hear demasoni are aggressive.

Are they too aggressive to be tankmates for Brichardis, or labs, or Kribs, or Buffaloheads? Im trying to figure out the best tank to place them in.

[repeej]

In my experience with them they are aggressive (VERY aggressive) with their own kind and that's it.