[Shades9323]

Not sure what I should do. I have a 30L(3ft) tank that I recently set up and it has 4 2" juvie acei in it. I have a 29 with a 5" s. fryeri and 3 syno petricola. I need to get rid of that tank. I will move the cats to the 30L. Would it be ok to add the s. fryeri to the 30L? Would he eat my acei? He is a beautiful fish and I would hate to trade him in to the fish store, but will if I have to. Having more than one tank is not an option either.

What do I do? :-?

 

[cichlidaholic]

You don't have enough space in the 3ft tank for the acei, once they mature. They can easily get 6-7 inches in length, and need a longer tank...4 ft minimum.

I certainly wouldn't move the fryeri to that tank.

I would get rid of what you have now and start all over.

You could stock the tank with dwarf mbuna or Yellow labs.

Kim

 

[Shades9323]

I have seen recommendations for demosani and saulosi. With the stocking numbers I see recommended I would need a ton of rockwork wouldn't I? I am not interested in a ton of rock work. I have a pile at one end of my tank and a couple of clay pots in other areas. What would I do in that situation?

 

[Shades9323]

Here is a pic of my tank. I can add some more rocks to the small pile.

 

[cichlidaholic]

Demasoni OR saulosi...You wouldn't want to house both together!

I have minimal rockwork in all my tanks, and it works fine for me, but that's not always the case for everyone. It depends on how lucky you get with your male/female ratios and the aggression level in the tank.

I've been at this long enough that I can pick and choose my stock to work out with the way I want to set up my tank. It wasn't always that way, and I never liked too much rock in the tanks - I like to see my fish, not a bunch of rock.

I would get rid of the clay pots and maybe make another rock pile at the other end of the tank and leave the center open. They don't have to be huge rock piles...

Kim

 

[QHgal]

In that size of a tank you could do Demasoni but would need a LOT more rockwork. Since you don't want to do that I would avoid them.

You could try a group of Saulosi, or a nice group of Labs. Saulosi would be yellow and blue, but in that tank size you would only want one male. With labs sex ratios don't matter much but you would only have one color in there.

 

[Shades9323]

Demasoni OR saulosi...You wouldn't want to house both together!

I have minimal rockwork in all my tanks, and it works fine for me, but that's not always the case for everyone. It depends on how lucky you get with your male/female ratios and the aggression level in the tank.

I've been at this long enough that I can pick and choose my stock to work out with the way I want to set up my tank. It wasn't always that way, and I never liked too much rock in the tanks - I like to see my fish, not a bunch of rock.

I would get rid of the clay pots and maybe make another rock pile at the other end of the tank and leave the center open. They don't have to be huge rock piles...

Kim

I know that you wouldn't house demasoni and saulosi together. Both species seem to be recommended a lot.

 

[Shades9323]

Why can you not keep 6" acei in a 3' tank, but

you can keep several 5" yellow labs, and

10-12 4" demasoni in a 3' tank? :-?

 

[QHgal]

Demasoni are dwarf Mbuna and do much better in a large group to disperse aggression. Labs are one of the most peacefull Mbuna there is. Labs and Dems work well together because the dems don't pay attention to them, their aggression is between themselves, and Labs are peaceful and make a nice color combo with the dark blue striping of the dems.

Acie are very active and swim the entire length of the tank. They would be very cramped in a 3 foot tank. They need the 4 foot length for their activity level.

 

[Shades9323]

Demasoni are dwarf Mbuna and do much better in a large group to disperse aggression. Labs are one of the most peacefull Mbuna there is. Labs and Dems work well together because the dems don't pay attention to them, their aggression is between themselves, and Labs are peaceful and make a nice color combo with the dark blue striping of the dems.

Acie are very active and swim the entire length of the tank. They would be very cramped in a 3 foot tank. They need the 4 foot length for their activity level.

How many labs and demasoni in my tank? I will add to the rock pile on the left.

 

[cichlidaholic]

I would go with 15 demasoni and a trio of Yellow labs.

Kim

 

[Shades9323]

I would go with 15 demasoni and a trio of Yellow labs.

Kim

15 to start? This is going to get expensive!

 

[Shades9323]

This will be hard as I am attached the the acei. They have so much character!

As for my S. Fryeri, what do I do with him? The only fish store that stocks cichlids is petsmart and they don't take fish like that.

 

[cichlidaholic]

No less than 12 demasoni! They must be kept in larger groups in order to pull it off, due to their conspecific aggression.

I don't know what you'll do with the fish that you have. I think I would try taking them back to the LFS I got them at, especially if they were the ones who told you that these fish would be okay in those size tanks. Let them be responsible for their actions, or at least give them something to think about.

Kim

 

[QHgal]

Try looking through the trading posts, you might be able to find juvie Dems for a lot cheaper than the pet stores.

 

[Shades9323]

No less than 12 demasoni! They must be kept in larger groups in order to pull it off, due to their conspecific aggression.

I don't know what you'll do with the fish that you have. I think I would try taking them back to the LFS I got them at, especially if they were the ones who told you that these fish would be okay in those size tanks. Let them be responsible for their actions, or at least give them something to think about.

Kim

I got him at petsmart about a year ago.

 

[Shades9323]

Try looking through the trading posts, you might be able to find juvie Dems for a lot cheaper than the pet stores.

I have been looking around a little already and made a wanted ad in the trading post. The only place that I can get cichlids at within 75 miles of me is petsmart. I would have to go 120 miles one way to get to the nearest bigger city where I may find them. It would probably be cheaper just to have them shipped.

 

[QHgal]

I just sent you a PM on that very thing.

 

[cichlidaholic]

120 miles for fish??? That's nothing...Wait until the obsession / addiction really gets ahold of you! :lol:

I agree on trying to find the demasoni from a breeder rather than LFS. You'll get a much better deal on them. I sold mine at $50 for a dozen when I had them.

Good luck!

Kim

 

[Shades9323]

120 miles for fish??? That's nothing...Wait until the obsession / addiction really gets ahold of you! :lol:

I agree on trying to find the demasoni from a breeder rather than LFS. You'll get a much better deal on them. I sold mine at $50 for a dozen when I had them.

Good luck!

Kim

120 miles x 2=240 miles round trip. 240/13(gas mileage of my truck)=18.5 gallons of gas. 18.5x$3.50 = $64.75. Looks like it is cheaper to have them shipped! :lol: I may have found some for about $4 a piece. Just waiting on a shipping estimate. How many should I start off with? Would I dwindle down taking out the most aggresive males?