# Lost almost entire stock



## stellarbabe316 (Oct 12, 2008)

So, pretty much my entire stock in my 55 gal has died. It was not a sickness, it was lack of heat. Our furnace broke and in the chaos of making sure our heat got fixed in the under 10 degree weather, I forgot about the tank. Actually, I thought the in tank heater would have been able to keep the fish alive. But the water got too cold and they started dying off...including my very first maingano that I have had for 5 years. I am completely devastated by this and am looking to start new. It's a 55 gal tank and I'm wondering what fish would be best for it? I was looking into possibly doing an all demasoni or all salousi tank. My bumblebees survived which is awesome, but I have been trying to find them a new home anyway being that they are finally getting too big for the tank. Other than that, the only survivor I have is my syndontis lace. So...any opinions or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## amcvettec (May 11, 2012)

Demasoni & Yellow Lab tank would be nice.


----------



## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Really, your choice. For long term, avoid the larger more aggressive types.

Sorry about your tank. If you end up in the same situation in the future, you could do water changes with warmer water if the water heater works, or add a temporary addition heater to help keep the temp up.


----------



## Sp0rtTr4c (Dec 22, 2013)

My fiance and i really like peacock cichlids. They have beautiful colors. That is what we are doing in our tank. We have a bumble bee with our Peacocks. So far so good.


----------



## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

I vote for either Demasoni and yellow labs (Demasoni ARE insane though. They will kill eachother to at least a small extent) or saulosi. Saulosi are gorgeous fish with hilarious personalities.

or maybe 1m 5f saulosi 1m 4f yellow lab? That'd be a sweet setup.


----------



## NotThePainter (Oct 28, 2013)

I'm sorry for your loss, that is horrible. My wife lost a blue eye panaque who was in the family for 13 years due to an ice storm and a very long power failure. It is just horrible.

With that said, we had another ice storm this last winter. I immediately covered all the tanks in spare blankets to insulate them. The next day I started boiling water (thank goodness for gas...). I took buckets out of each tank and slowly mixed in the boiling water and was able to raise the tank temperature from the low 60s to the mid 70s. I planned to do this every day until power was restored. Fortunately it was restored the next day and we lost very few fish. I assumed the bacteria in the filters died but all the tanks were heavily planted so that really didn't matter too much, the plants consume the ammonia etc..

I know it doesn't help you know but hopefully this trick could help others in the future.


----------



## stellarbabe316 (Oct 12, 2008)

Thank you all for the kind words and suggestions.

Yeah, I realize now that there are things I could have done...and I'm afraid to say that the fish unfortunately took a back seat in this situation. I didn't mean for it to be that way, but it's what happened. I know now how to keep this from happening again. My maingano was my prized fish...and had such personality for a fish! (It's the fish in my avatar pic.)

I'm leaning more towards saulosi. I think the only thing keeping me from wanting to add yellow labs is I want to see if I can get them to breed. I had a group of mainganos and I did have one who held and spit out babies. At first only one survived...and then that one fell vitcim to the other fish in the tank. Now that I've seen how exciting breeding can be, I'm interested in giving it a good shot. I don't want the saulosi and yellow labs possibly cross breeding.

On the flip side...I do LOVE the look of a demasoni/yellow lab tank. LOL. I have some time to think about it. I'm going to wait until after the holidays to restock the tank...also giving me time to clean it up a bit, redecorate, and let it run for a few weeks.

Thank you all again! Keep the suggestions coming, I'm open to just about anything!


----------



## stayfrosty (Mar 31, 2011)

Make sure you get a new quality heater before this happens again


----------



## crazycolt42 (Nov 10, 2013)

I am so sorry to hear about loosing almost all your fish! That is terrible! I think you would like the demasoni and yellow lab combo. I have that set-up in addition to rusties and they do well together. Demasoni are aggressive but if you stock appropriately it will be fine. I started with 12 and now have 9 ( lost three 1 inch fish during ammonia spike) they may chase each other some, but I have yet to get any nipped fins. Now that my tank has full cycled, I just this morning had two of the demasoni pair up and the female is now holding eggs! I think it would be perfect in your 55g. I actually plan on taking the rusties out and leaving only the damasoni and labs in my 65g once they get bigger. Once they reach adult size it's gonna look awesome! Now I have to figure out how to care for mommy and the babies once they hatch! Good luck with your re-stocking!


----------



## stellarbabe316 (Oct 12, 2008)

Ok...so I'm now looking into getting the fish for my tank. I've settled on Demasoni and yellow labs. Now I have some more questions.

1. How many Demasoni and how many yellow labs?

2. If I'm ordering online, what is the best place to order fish? I visited some of the LFS in the area and none of them have Demasoni. Also, their labs didn't look so good. I mean... they looked healthy, but looked more hybrid..

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

15 demasoni after removing extra males (start with 24 or more unsexed juveniles) and 1m:4f yellow labs.

At CF the forums are not the place to get vendor recommendations but the Retailer Reviews have Member feedback. Or you can PM members for specific recommendations.


----------



## stellarbabe316 (Oct 12, 2008)

Thanks much!


----------



## jimmie (Oct 23, 2002)

stellarbabe316 said:


> Thanks much!


Sorry to hear about your lost  I know how you feel, a couple of summers ago my A.C. went out while I was on vacation, it got real hot in the house, well u know my entire stock died do to the heat..an I had nice size quality fish soo I know how u feel bro...get a good quality heater, stock mbunas for a 55gl or make it a grow out tank..good luck


----------



## jimmie (Oct 23, 2002)

stellarbabe316 said:


> Ok...so I'm now looking into getting the fish for my tank. I've settled on Demasoni and yellow labs. Now I have some more questions.
> 
> 1. How many Demasoni and how many yellow labs?
> 
> ...


Try <vendor name removed>.get about 10 labs and 10 demasoni :fish:


----------



## HumbleBilly (Jan 6, 2014)

I never would have thought to do water changes with warmer water...! That's brilliant. I swear some of us around here are super smart haha. On a side note.. it is -18 here in Minnesota tonight and the schools are all cancelled tomorrow by our state governor haha I would be so sad if I lost my inhabitants... Ever thought of jumping up in tank size? Maybe it's a sign to go to a 120 haha

My wife is going to be the end of my awesome hobby...
MyBlog: http://africancichlidspecies.com/bag-fish/


----------



## stellarbabe316 (Oct 12, 2008)

I would love to get a bigger tank. Financially, I can't get it right now. But I definitely am interested in getting a bigger tank.

So, quick update...I went to a LFS yesterday and was planning on only browsing...but came home with two baby mainganos and a bigger maingano. The babies are in a tank on their own.. The big guy is enjoying all of the space in my 55gal. I am planning on moving the mainganos that are in my husband's tank (3 of them) once this new fish has been in the tank for a week or so.

I was going to switch to demasoni and yellow lab...but I saw these fish yesterday and couldn't pass them up! I guess my heart is still with the mainganos.

I am also planning on putting yellow labs in with the mainganos.

Thank you all for your input and advice!


----------

