# Demasoni keep Dying



## in2cichlids (Apr 21, 2009)

Alright, So I have a 90 gallon mbuna tank (lace rock and crushed aragonite)made up of;

10 electric Yellow
5 Snow Whites
17 demasoni (before they started dying)

I have had 4 demasoni deaths in the last 5 weeks or so and it seems like they are happening more frequently, I am concerned because I feel like they may have the bloat which I have read can pick them off one by one. My levels of amonia and nitrite are good, as in there are neither in the tank. and I feed them twice a day. as much as they can eat over a 10-15 second period. usually its the labs and snow whites that gobble up all the food, with the exception of the dominant demasoni, I dont think I am overfeeding but I dunno

Anyways If there are any suggestions or tips to help I would appreciate it, please help me save my fish.


----------



## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

Is the conspecific aggression of the demasoni really high in your tank?
Are there a lot of fish in the corners of the tank or hiding behind equipment?
Do you have a lot of rock work for caves and hiding spots?
What do you feed them?


----------



## in2cichlids (Apr 21, 2009)

Im not thinking aggression is really all that big a thing in my tank, as in there are some territorial chasings but not for any length of time, and there are enough other fish in the tank for them to break it up and split the aggression from the dominant to sub dominant, furthermore the lace rock provides all kinds of different hidding spots (at night you dont even see a single fish when they are sleeping) so I am pretty sure it isnt for lack of hidding places. I dont really know, I just finished finding another demasoni on the way out. I did notice a large abdo and a white anus... the other one this morning had the same thing... is that bloat?? and what can I do?

P.S. Should have also mentioned that all the fish are still jouvies, all are between 2-3 inches still.


----------



## in2cichlids (Apr 21, 2009)

feed them NLS


----------



## walleye (Aug 20, 2007)

Demasoni are veggie fish. Give them a good veggie diet. Try to stay away from brine shrimp and blood worms. I feed mine veggie flake from Kensfish.com. Try to stay below 40% protien diet in there food. Most veggie flake and sticks are around 35-39% protein. I don't believe in giving high protien snacks. Give skinned peas or zuchini as a nice treat.

For the bloat, there are remedies in the health section on this forum that gives good details on what to do. Also, up the water changes till you get things back to normal.


----------



## JayUK (Jun 20, 2009)

I agree with walleye , stay away from any meaty or frozen/live foods , yello labs are ok but can easily live on flaked veg food mine have no problem at all , *** never fed them any shrimp etc . Also if feeding any kind of pellet/sticks soak them in quarium water 1st for few mins before adding to the tank , they bloat up inside the fish if fed dry , pre- soaked they dont .
Plenty of water changes too , hope it works out ok .


----------



## srook23 (Feb 21, 2009)

I've had the same problem with demasoni. I had a bunch in my tank (over 20) and it was going great until I had an ammonia spike an I lost all but 4. When I restocked I had 22 demasoni and added other fish...they are the only fish that die and I typically lose at least 1 a week and I'm down to about 2-3 right now. Normally when I pull them out of the tank they are pretty well eaten up so I think they are just getting killed.


----------



## in2cichlids (Apr 21, 2009)

Alright So I dont think the diet is the issue, I am feeding them New Life Spectrum cichlid formula aprox 34% crude protein... water changes are every 2 weeks and I do a 30-40%. Not sure what is really going on?


----------



## JayUK (Jun 20, 2009)

This may sound crazy but try less food and less frequent water changes , tangs love huge water changes and thrive but malawis in my experience dont . Maybe try little less food and around a 15% water change each week . I realise over a period of 2 weeks the amount of water is the same , but it wont all be in 1 go . theres also a website called fishdoctor , have a read they specialise in unusual health problems .


----------



## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

Are you noticing the demasoni looking lethargic and not rising to feed a day or two before you find them dead? Sometimes bloat doesn't present with the bloated bellies and stringy white feces, and I have heard dems can be especially susceptable.


----------

