I bought 7 tiny demasoni and put them in my 10 gallon tank. I was feeding them crushed flake but decided today to try some 1mm sinking NLS pellets. They loved them. I made sure all of them were able to eat the pellets. Now I have a few questions. How big should they be before I add them to my 75 gallon? One of them is twice the size of the others. Should I add this one alone or wait until they are all big enough and add them together? I have 4 in my main tank and still need to pick up a few more. This time I hope to get them large enough to go right to the main tank. Should I wait and do this when I add the 7 from the 10 gallon? Right now I have a total of 11, how many more should I get? The tiny one who had large bites out of his top fin is healing nicely. I have been feeding them 3 times a day because they are so small. Should I keep doing this or feed less? Sorry for so many questions. I know I made a mess the first time I stocked my tank and want to get it right this time.
my tiny demasoni
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hello jessilou, I am in the same predicament. I have 5 small demasoni's as well and i want to put them in my 115 gallon tank. they are about 1/2 an inch in size. they do not get that big and I was told they grow slowly. if they are to big to fit in the mouth of any fish in your 75 gallon tank then you could put them in. also I would recommend rearranging the rock work in that tank so the other do not terrerize the newbies. I hope this will help.
Byron
Byron
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I think feeding them 3 times a day is great if you want them to grow quickly. However, you also have to be doing a lot of water changes to make up for that. If you do enough water changes to keep the nitrates under 20 they will sprout quickly for you.
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thank you. I am doing daily water changes. Should I add the all at once including the new ones I have not purchased yet? I know demasonis are smaller than the other fish in my tank, but I just don't know what is a safe size to add them. I have a red zebra with a mouth big enough to eat three of them at once lol I have never seen him go after any fish, including his own fry, but don't know how he would react to tiny dems.
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I added mine to the main tank at around 1" (that's at about 12 weeks old for me.)
However, the largest fish I have in there is a male yellow lab at only 4.5".
I only had 11 in my group originally (couldn't fine any local places with them in stock at a reasonable price) got 16+ now (sold all the excess fry.)
However, the largest fish I have in there is a male yellow lab at only 4.5".
I only had 11 in my group originally (couldn't fine any local places with them in stock at a reasonable price) got 16+ now (sold all the excess fry.)
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I would suggest waiting until the dems are atleast an inch...that Red Zebra will probably have a nice (and expensive for you) snack if you don't. Then add them in all at once, so there's more than one newcomer. As mentioned before, re-arrange some of the rockwork before putting them in so they don't intrude on anyone's territory.
thanks for all the advice. I know these fish were not born in my tank, but in a way it feels like it. My adorable little babies. I just wanted to make sure I was doing everything right for them. Changing the rock work wont be a problem. I really liked it the first way I had it. When I move rock to clean, I can never get it back the right way, so it is always changing. I have tried putting it on a towel in the same order I took it out, never works. A few more cleanings and I will hate the rockwork. It never looks as good when I put it back in lol
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Since you have fish other than demasoni, you want to make sure the smallest demasoni won't fit into anyone else's mouth!
If you just had demasoni, I would say it was okay to add them earlier - they tend to leave fry alone for some reason.
I would make sure I could add at least 3 - 4 of them at a time...It's never good to add one solo fish to an established tank.
If you just had demasoni, I would say it was okay to add them earlier - they tend to leave fry alone for some reason.
I would make sure I could add at least 3 - 4 of them at a time...It's never good to add one solo fish to an established tank.
I think I will wait until they are big enough to add to the tank to buy the rest and add them all at once. I still don't know how many in total I should have. I am up to 11 right now. I just did a water change and got a good look at the fins on the one that got beat up in transport. He is almost fully healed. The smallest are now at least a half inch. They are really growing fast.
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What else is in the tank, JessiLou?
Do you have good filtration on the tank?
That will determine how many demasoni you could have long term.
Do you have good filtration on the tank?
That will determine how many demasoni you could have long term.
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I have 4 Inch Demasoni swimming peacefully with 1 inch Demasoni and adult Saulosi.
Like others mentioned before - the problem you have is that red Zebra that might snack the young ones.
I feed my young Demasoni (in another tank) with NLS Grow and it really helps their growth.
They get to 1.5 inch quite fast but afterwards it takes more time for them to grow. I got fry catching up on their mothers in size even though it will take them much longer to actually reach the adults' size.
Like others mentioned before - the problem you have is that red Zebra that might snack the young ones.
I feed my young Demasoni (in another tank) with NLS Grow and it really helps their growth.
They get to 1.5 inch quite fast but afterwards it takes more time for them to grow. I got fry catching up on their mothers in size even though it will take them much longer to actually reach the adults' size.
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I'd shoot for 20 demasoni total, but you'll be fine to grow out your own to add to the group.
I had 20 in a 55G and it was absolutely perfect.
I had 20 in a 55G and it was absolutely perfect.
Just a few quick questions. When you say wait till they are 1 inch, are you talking total length? When I first got these, they still had the pinkish red I see in people's pictures of demasoni fry. Now only the smallest one has any hint of red except one of the bigger ones. Not only does it still have a little red, but where the light blue should be, it is white. This is the second largest one in the tank. I just stopped posting to go watch them for a little while. The largest one has the best colors by far. All 6 of the other fish are much lighter where the light blue should be. The largest one is also quite aggressive. He/she has taken the largest hiding spot and no one is allowed near it. He/she shakes and chases the rest away. Could this be the reason for the lighter colors on the other fish? Is the small amount of red normal? Ammonia and nitrite are both 0 and nitrate is less than 10. If the 1 inch is from mouth to end of tail, I only have one that is less than an inch right now.
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