# Demasoni/Yellow Lab tank - first cichlid tank



## bobbo268 (Jul 5, 2013)

I am new here, so welcome to me  I look forward to spending a lot of time here.

In the subject line is what I would like to accomplish. I have a 30 gallon tank, and would like to have only demasoni and yellow labs. I have seen many tanks on peoples pages online and youtube vidoes, crammed with those two fish usually. I know 30 gallons is a small tank, but these are relatively small fish (4 to 5 max according to most norms)...

I have also read a couple different variations regarding these two types of fish. Some sites say either you have 1, or 12+, some say have 1 male and 4 females. That being said, i also read its hard to sex juvenile fish, even if you were to vent them, assuming the pet store would allow you play with the fish in the net.

So... if I introduce 4 demasoni and 4 yellow labs at the same time, would they make it alright or would it eventually be a blood bath?

I had a 46 gallon years ago that had tons of tropical fish and one demasoni or electric blue (can't remember which), but he was great for years and never bothered anyone, ever. I know these are aggressive fish, but i have no experience with them in their aggressive state.

EDIT: and in case anyone wants to know WHY i want these two fish, its because they are about the same sizes, and the contrasting radiant colors, and totally different patterns (for looks, and to keep them off eachothers backs)


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## bobbo268 (Jul 5, 2013)

If demasoni is not a good mix, would electric blue be ok or is that the same? They look the same to me, at least at the pet shop


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## kyboy (Oct 30, 2009)

Welcome!
4 Dems wouldnt be enough to let them sort out their hierarchy , so I'd just make it a Ps. Saulosi single species tank


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## bobbo268 (Jul 5, 2013)

ok. did a little reading up... assuming the pet stores know what they're labeling, if not, how do you tell the saulosi from the demasoni? and do I still need the ratio of 1 m to 5 f or can i make it even 4 blue 4 yellow or 5 blue 5 yellow?

and i also saw something about ordering cichlids online, is this an accepted practice in the cichlid community, if so, is there a trusted site that a lot of you guys/gals use? thanks again


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Check the Retailer Reviews and Sponsors sections for retailer information. 
Demasoni will have fewer bars on the midsection with no fading from front to rear.
What are the dimensions of your 30g?


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## Murkin (Jan 5, 2012)

I would stay away from Demasoni in anything but maybe a 75G tank. They're extra rough on each other compared to other species, and are not that sturdy (they will die off one by one slowly, but surely). the only way this would work in a 30g is if you had a perfect mix of a mild-mannered dominant male and 11 or so mild-mannered females, and nothing else. anyone who has kep dems knows that this is nearly unheard of lol

yellow labs get too big for a 30g IMHO. Saulosi might be ok as long as there is nothing else in there, but even with those i wouldn't recommend more than 2 males in that size tank, so your tank would be predominantly yellow.


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## bobbo268 (Jul 5, 2013)

So assuming I could have 8 fish in the 30 gallon, what would be my best bet if I wanted bright contrasting cichlids that would be compatible and have an even amount of colors?


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## kyboy (Oct 30, 2009)

Assuming your 30g is 36", you can have 3 males with something like 8-10 females.
I had 3 males in a 36" 38 gallon tank in the past. Saulosi are more forgiving as far as being so territorial & generally more tolerant of sub-dom
males than most mbuna species.

Here's a nice 30g tank *(not mine)*, but a good example of a saulosi colony


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## bobbo268 (Jul 5, 2013)

Thats a great tank. Unfortunately I bought all black rock with neon rocks built in and neon plants all with the intent to do neon tetra..... so my cichlids will have to learn the black environment instead of natural rock. Something different I guess....

Does holey rock actually help water quality or will a fake holey rock do?


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## ozman (Sep 7, 2012)

given that you should be doing around 50% water changes per week, your rocks will have very little affect on your water quality.
check out the library for a cheap and very effective buffer recipe if your water needs it :thumb:


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## bobbo268 (Jul 5, 2013)

ozman said:


> *given that* you should be doing around 50% water changes per week, your rocks will have very little affect on your water quality.
> check out the library for a cheap and very effective buffer recipe if your water needs it :thumb:


When you say given that, are you talking about my tank decor setup, or the amount of fish I plan to use?


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## bobbo268 (Jul 5, 2013)

and with the Ps. Soulsi, being a singles species tank, is a lot of hiding spots as much as a necessity as it would be for a multi species tank? If there is only one or two hiding spots would that suffice for under 10 fish?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Provide as many as you can. Male mbuna will be rough on their girls.


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## Murkin (Jan 5, 2012)

i would say 50% water change every week is excessive for a 30G tank as long as you have some good filtration. By "good" i mean a 75G-rated filter. 50% water change in a tank that small might mess with your water chemistry a bit, but if you do do it, just don't replace the bio filter for at least another 24 hours after the water change.


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## bobbo268 (Jul 5, 2013)

kyboy said:


> Assuming your 30g is 36", you can have 3 males with something like 8-10 females.
> I had 3 males in a 36" 38 gallon tank in the past. Saulosi are more forgiving as far as being so territorial & generally more tolerant of sub-dom
> males than most mbuna species.
> 
> Here's a nice 30g tank *(not mine)*, but a good example of a saulosi colony


so would you say 1 male to 4 female saulosi? And when do these fish show their colors to identify their sexes, at birth or later on?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Ratio looks good. Not at birth. I have no personal experience with saulosi, but I believe you should start seeing transformation around 2".


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## bobbo268 (Jul 5, 2013)

And the picture of that tank is awesome. I'm confused though. With cichlids you're supposed to have lots of caves and hiding places but this tank does not. Are the sulosi different than most cichlid?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The fish don't need caves with a top and back. Mostly they need a space on the substrate they can defend. I you use rocks to divide up the substrate they can use the rocks as their "line in the sand".


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## bobbo268 (Jul 5, 2013)

well i had to do a trade with a fish I got, so i got three random cichlids, kenyi/lab/gold mbuna and it seems to work so far, everyone is extremely happy. I'm sort of double posting now, but i talk about it in my other post here:

http://cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopi ... 9&start=15

if this ends up not working out, i'm definately going ps saulosi for sure. much less to worry about with single species


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