[zoie]

A week ago I bought 15 Demsoni that are about 1+". I also got 10 labs that are about 2"

My tank is basically a 33 gal 4' long

I am planning to keep 1 male and 4 or 5 female of the labs.
I am planning to keep 1 male and 7 female from the dems.

At what age/size do you start to take out the extra fish?

How will I know who to pull? Is there something particular I want or don't want in a male/female?

Is there any other way to tell the gender of the fish besides venting? (I have no clue how to do that or what to look for)

I think that all my ?s. If not, I'll post more as I think of them.

Thanks

 

[zoie]

So I'm thinking the only way to really sex these fish is to vent, so I guess I should have asked are there any really good, detailed articles on venting?

 

[Kanorin]

I like this article because it has some great pictures. You might be able to vent the labs soon, but I wouldn't even try the Demasoni until they are at least 1.5"

If you observe your tank on a regular basis, you'll know when it's time to remove extra males. Probably fairly soon for your labs, and once your largest Demasoni reach about 1.75 - 2 inches.

You'll probably want to keep the male(s) with the best coloring and for your Demasoni - a nice regular barring pattern.

Good luck!

 

[xxbenjamminxx]

In the library there is some good stuff on venting.

As for who to remove and when, just watch them and the extra males will end up being rejected, by getting harassed too much and end being the ones that are hiding up in the corners, behind the heater, etc... They will make themselves known. That is what I have been doing as directed by the Mods on here and it seems to be working out just fine. So basically once you see a certain fish always hiding behind the stuff or in corners and has nipped fins its time to remove him.

For the age of when its best to remove, its the same thing. Might be a month or three but just watch em and see who is being allowed to play with the rest of them.

Also for you Dems, I would try and shoot for as many as the colony will allow you to keep in there, rather than just 8. As long as you keep up on your water changes to keep the nitrates down they should be fine and that will help spread the aggression.

HTH's

 

[Riceburner]

In my tank I think I may have gotten rid of too many male peacocks. for me I'm thinking having 2 males and many females works best....a bit of competition never hurt....if there's enough hiding spaces, etc.

As for my labs, there's 2 dominant ones and maybe a 3 that stays well out of things. The females seems to be always holding.

 

[pack-rat]

At what age/size do you start to take out the extra fish?

How will I know who to pull? Is there something particular I want or don't want in a male/female?

Is there any other way to tell the gender of the fish besides venting? (I have no clue how to do that or what to look for)

I'm still a novice, but I agree with the advice of the other posters. Also, you are in no hurry to figure this out. I tried to vent some fish a few months ago but I could not see the difference. Since then I have identified the males pretty certainly based on behavior, and of course I have watched several spawns (the one NOT making and scooping eggs is the male :wink: ). I have either 3 or 4 male labs in my group of 6 but only one of them has been rejected by the others. He has to go for sure, and after that I may remove the less attractive males if there is too much fighting.

I have not kept dems, but from what I have heard, having enough total fish is as important as which sex they are. Maybe some of the demasoni keepers can be more specific.

 

[zoie]

thanks everyone for the replys.

So basically I keep watching them and as fish get booted out of the colony, I take them out?

The labs all behave themselves and they all are bright and beauriful.

The dems on the other hand do a little racing and chasing. The two biggest are the 2 brightest. The smallest one is the lightest and has niped fins, but still hangs out in the crowd. None of them have seperated themselves and they are all eating.

So I guess I will keep watching and see what happens.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[dielikemoviestars]

So basically I keep watching them and as fish get booted out of the colony, I take them out?

Yes. Sex ratio is important, sure, but if the colony gets along, the colony gets along.

You're going to want more than 8 dems when all is said and done, though. 12 minimum

 

[zoie]

So basically I keep watching them and as fish get booted out of the colony, I take them out?

Yes. Sex ratio is important, sure, but if the colony gets along, the colony gets along.

You're going to want more than 8 dems when all is said and done, though. 12 minimum

Thanks for the info. I hope it works out that i can keep about 12. Not just because it looks so cool seeing all those fish swimming around, but my LFS doesn't do credit and I paid 6.99 a fish. I've been told that's a good price but the labs were 6.99 too, so x 25 it adds up

 

[xxbenjamminxx]

So basically I keep watching them and as fish get booted out of the colony, I take them out?

Yes. Sex ratio is important, sure, but if the colony gets along, the colony gets along.

You're going to want more than 8 dems when all is said and done, though. 12 minimum

Thanks for the info. I hope it works out that i can keep about 12. Not just because it looks so cool seeing all those fish swimming around, but my LFS doesn't do credit and I paid 6.99 a fish. I've been told that's a good price but the labs were 6.99 too, so x 25 it adds up

Lol yeah they are $14.99 up by me and having boughten about 18 of them I hear ya when you say it adds up.

 

[zoie]

So basically I keep watching them and as fish get booted out of the colony, I take them out?

Yes. Sex ratio is important, sure, but if the colony gets along, the colony gets along.

You're going to want more than 8 dems when all is said and done, though. 12 minimum

Thanks for the info. I hope it works out that i can keep about 12. Not just because it looks so cool seeing all those fish swimming around, but my LFS doesn't do credit and I paid 6.99 a fish. I've been told that's a good price but the labs were 6.99 too, so x 25 it adds up

Lol yeah they are $14.99 up by me and having boughten about 18 of them I hear ya when you say it adds up.

cripies!! $14.99 a fish I guess I did get a good deal.