[teqvet]

20 demasoni + 6-7 white tops/blue reefs

I know it'd be a lot of blue in the tank, but I was thinking it might be a nice tank for a lot of blue variations.

Any ideas?

55g tank with heavy filtration and a solid rock pile.

 

[xclub]

Why not, I like your idea! Just find nice sand, a lot of rocks, try to find red rocks or white and you will have a very, very nice tank.

Go for it!

 

[MalawiLover]

I have never housed the two together, but I would worry about the interspecies aggression due to the blue stripyness with the male White Tops. I know my Jalo Reef afra male hates everything with stripes reguardless of species.

 

[teqvet]

That's what the looked like prior to adding filtration/background etc. Still need to take an update pick. I have a bunch of small pieces of lava rock(red and black) that I was going to attempt to silicone together but it doesn't seem to hold very well, so trying to find another way of fusing the small rocks together to make larger rocks with them, with caves in them. Sand is a black 3M CQ t-grade.

 

[teqvet]

I have never housed the two together, but I would worry about the interspecies aggression due to the blue stripyness with the male White Tops. I know my Jalo Reef afra male hates everything with stripes reguardless of species.

That was something I had worried about initially, but folks who keep the 2 species say they look vastly different from each other in person, which is what got me curious to various shades of blue.

I'm just fishing for ideas really. Been trying to choose a stocking list for almost 2 months now

 

[why_spyder]

I have no issues between these two species......

 

[MalawiLover]

but folks who keep the 2 species say they look vastly different from each other in person, which is what got me curious to various shades of blue.

I'm just fishing for ideas really. Been trying to choose a stocking list for almost 2 months now

They may look very different to us, but its what the fish see that matters. I am not sure how subtle changes in color look to them, or is it just a bluish fish with dark stripes?

 

[teqvet]

I have no issues between these two species......

Yup! I know you don't, and a few others as well, so just assumed I could get away with it too

 

[MalawiLover]

Sounds like you should at least give it a try.

 

[teqvet]

Lots of white top pics in this thread here, for an idea of the various colorations compared to the dema's.

 

[cichlidaholic]

I'd just be afraid that you're not going to have enough variances in blue to be happy with the tank long term. I have a hard time keeping more than one male White top in a 55g tank without some pretty intense aggression, I can only keep younger ones in with my dominant wild male that he doesn't see as a threat. The problem with the younger ones is that they don't always stay that nice white-blue. And, while the female White tops are the nicest female Cynotilapia I've seen, they are another blue barred fish.

Kim

 

[teqvet]

Well rain on my pretty parade then.

How's bout 10 White tops and 10 Albino Socolofi?

 

[cichlidaholic]

I don't care for the albino fish personally, but it should be okay.

I have about 20 White Tops in a tank with one male Ps. Msobo Deep and 4 females. The nice yellow colouration of the Msobo females looks great with the White Tops.

Kim

 

[teqvet]

I was looking at the msobo's as well, but wasn't really able to decide on anything. My wife likes the albino look, but would rather have yellow labs. I'm just turned off of the labs because they seem so stinking common, and I don't want common ;p

 

[cichlidaholic]

If you can find some quality Yellow labs, they really can't be beat...It's finding the good ones that's hard to do!

And, you really can't beat the yellow in any tank!

Here are some pics of my Msobo females for reference:

And the male, of course:

A full tank shot (Msobos and White Tops only in this tank):

Not all the White tops are out and about, but there are about 20 in the tank, with the smallest being around 3 inches. Several of the males will colour up, but only when out of sight of the large male you see just to the right of the center of the tank.

Kim

 

[xclub]

Than have 10 white tops, 5 caerleus and 5 albino socolofi and enjoy. That will be a striking color combo…crazy yellow, sick red eyes white crew and white tops…

I must say that I am thinking right now about making this combo in one of the tanks...as soon as I can get my hands on white tops

 

[xclub]

…and Kim this is not fair I am drooling over your Msobo :drooling:

 

[teqvet]

What size is that tank, Kim? and how many fish did you have total in it you said?

 

[cichlidaholic]

It's a 55G, standard 4 ft. tank.

There are 5 Msobos, and about 20 White tops of varying sizes, 1 BN pleco, and a trio of Synodontis ocellifer.

I will be removing some of the White tops at some point, I'd like to pick out a few extra females to keep. I have a wild male White top in "time out" right now that I'd like to reintroduce to the tank as soon as another male gets large enough to cope with the two older males. Once I do that, I may need to move the Msobos to another tank, but for now, it works just the way it is.

Keep in mind that I'm only getting away with this because most of the White tops are young. There are only 2 full adult size wild ones in the tank right now with the large female being out in a maternity tank most of the time.

Kim

 

[teqvet]

I'd be getting 1-2" fish so they would all be young and introduced at the same time. I'm hoping for a 125g next year so could move em around then if need be.

What about the Ps Flameback. I know you've had bad experience with them Kim, but they are quite uncommon.