# Happiest day of my life!!



## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

Ok, first things first. I have been planning my 75 gallon tank for the last 8 months. I started gathering the equipment and finished my fishless cycle about 3 weeks ago.

Today my fish came in from a mail order. Stocking as follows
13 yellow labs
14 Acei
and 25 demasoni.

The dems were supposed to be 1-1.5" but when I opened the box they were 2-3" and in one bag. I was so excited that they were huge I didn't even notice until I checked them a few hours later for them to settle in....I have two holding females!!!!

I don't want to stress them out anymore than they have been so I'm just going to let them split into a fry pile.

So...ya, it is an awesome day!!

Coopercichlid


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

Thats a really heavy load to add to a tank all at once, even if it is cycled. Im surprised that those females are still holding. I would have thought that being in the bags would have caused enough stress for the females to spit. Depending on how far into the hold the females are, you could still try and salvage the fry. If you can see in the mouths at all and still see eggs, you could move the females to a different tank in a week or so. They should be all settled down by then. As long as both tanks have equal temperature, PH, ...... you should be fine to move them in


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

Ya, trust me, I'm watching for any kind of spike in the tank. And the amount of amonnia added to that tank should help out.

and remember, i thought i was getting about 30" less of fish with the demasoni


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## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

That's awesome! Getting new fish is always exciting. Good luck with everything.


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

ok, it's been over 24 hours and so far, no deaths from shipping and none from the close to two dozen P. Demasoni's. I have counted 3 small female dems that are holding and everyone else seems to be loving their new home.

Did water test twice today. Both this morning and evening I'm still reading 0-0-25. It looks like I pretty much did my cycle perfectly, but of course I will still check my water tomorrow twice, and probably once a day for this first week.

I have added a shallow bowl filled with small rocks to make a "removeable fry pile" if you will. I have tried to catch females in the past and I end up cursing the hobby and grab a cold one to take a break. I'm hoping with this glass bowl with little (dark black) rocks will attract even just a small amount of fry.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Sounds like a good plan. Congrats on the successful cycle and new fish!


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

Congrats and good luck with your fish!


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

this thread is worthless with out pics  
all kidding aside,congrats and lets see them :thumb:


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

I know, I know... I'm still trying to get that good shot. The labs and acei's come to the glas when I get close but the Dems scatter. They swim just fine if you aren't close to the tank though so I'm not too worried. Tomorrow at work I'll try and see if I can sit still long enough to get a good shot (real productive day  )

I'll try and get you guys some photo's tomorrow sometime.

Still have 3 holding demasoni in the tank. I figure they must have been pretty attacted to them to keep them during the shipping. What do you think? they must be atleast 7 days along by now? I'll also try and get a shot of my removeable fry pile tomorrow too.


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

Ok, so I got some decent shots of my new 75G early this morning at work. if you see any blue glare that's my computer screen and because I get to have this beauty in my office.



















This is one of my holding females









This is the removable fry pile I was talking about. Its just a shallow bowl from the home decor section of walmart that I filled with dark smaller rocks. Hopefully I should just be able to carefully remove when I start having fry hiding in in and take out each rock one by one until I have some little swimmers in the bottom. And yes, i know its in the shape of a heart but I really liked the surface area it provided compared to its height.









So.. what does everyone think? I still have excess males to remove and I need to buy a XP3 to supplement my C-360. Still no ammonia spike and I fed all weekend so I think I should be in the clear as far as the cycle goes.


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

I'd be pumped if i had this in my office. I'd also be pumped if i had an office.

The tank looks great.

What are you going to replace the males with, if you have that many anyways


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

I'll just remove any extra males to improve my M:F ration for aggression. I bought them all at large juvi size at about $3.50 a peice to save some dough. I can't sex the labs and acei yet but the demasoni are starting to become very apparent who is who. Right now I think I have upwards of 5 males out of the 24 in the tank. No one male is dominate yet however and everyone still seems to be getting along.


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

5 is a really good number to 24 in my opinion, i wouldnt weed anything out. The acei and labs you will most likely have to vent, i would have done this all while you were adding them.

How many total are in there. With those Dems your gonna have a ton of fry


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

I wondered that about the dems. I know too many males can be bad but with that many females and extra males, the aggression should stay down. And I know I'm going to have a ton of fry.  These gals are eager, 3 of them held even after being shipped.

My acei aren't 1.5" yet so I wasn't going to bother trying to vent them. And the labs don't typically show much aggression.

the stock list is
P. Demasoni -24 (5:19 m/f ?)
Acei- 14
Yellow Lab-13

I guess I have a use for an empty 30 gallon tank now. I'm still trying to decide whether I'm selling fry or not. There is a LFS in my area that sells dems at 1" for $15 so it might be worth my time.


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

looks nice,makes going to work easier im sure :wink: i have acei and have had a few spawns.in my experience all my females had no egg spots on their anal fin.im not sure if thats 100% true all the time or not.thanks for the pics :thumb:


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

yeah you shouldnt feel the need to have to weed out any males. I think 5:19 is a perfect ratio. If they are selling dems for that much, you could either sell them some, or stand outside and sell offer them for 1/5 of that. haha. If you decide not to bother with the fry, get a syno or 2. They are good at fry hunting. Depending on where you are i will buy some of those dems. lol


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

ya, no egg spots on any acei yet, they are the little tiny fish in the pictures but they are starting to lighten up. they were really dark when they arrived.

sory bac3492, I live in kansas where no one has heard of african cichlids so the stores can still sell them for ungodly amounts. Thats why I had to mail order just to get some quality fish.

oh I don't think I'll get a syno, if anything the 1 or 2 fry a month will make good instore credit.
What do you think of that fry pile? do you think I'm wasting my time or do you think it could work? I guess I have less than 3 weeks before i'll have a releasing female so I shouldn't have to wait to long to figure out for myself but I'm just trying to find a way to reduce stress for myself and all fish involved.


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

yeah it looks great. you might want to build it up a little bit. Mothers like to spit into bigger piles, i think that they will most likely spit in another area but hopefully the fry who survive the journy will find your fry pile. The rocks seem to be a good size for small holes.


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## bollers (Jul 14, 2008)

WOW that is a nice setup, love the fact that your "removable" crib is in the shape of a heart...haha

Best of luck on your fry, and new tank setup!

Lana


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## kerbchek (Apr 1, 2008)

coopercichlid said:


> There is a LFS in my area that sells dems at 1" for $15 so it might be worth my time.


I saw Demasoni at our LFS for $28 a piece... I couldn't believe it - I wonder who would buy them... lol...

Anyway, great looking tank, I like the fry pile shallow dish idea... hmmm....


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

ya, $28 for a big female would be one thing but not little ones.

I plan on keeping a count of all fry I pull out of that bowl. I think it might be a good alternative and mid way point. I still get to see fry in my tank darting in and out from little caves but i'll also get to collect and grow the fry out faster. Today during my feeding at lunch I saw two holding dems just hanging out underneight a large overhang. their throats are bigger than they were yesturday. I've never had dems hold before, is this normal? did the eggs hatch today or what?


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## myselfdotcom (Sep 19, 2006)

still waiting for pics hehe


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

28 is still ridiculous. If i ever make enough money, im gonna have a store with close to 500 tanks. Have my staff actually learn about the fish and charge reasonable prices for my fish and supplies


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

myselfdotcom said:


> still waiting for pics hehe


did you check the first page? I posted a few this morning. Its not much but its a start. Tomorrow I'll try and take some close-ups of the holding females, the big male demasoni's, and the little fearless acei.

and bac3492, the LFS I was talking about, the owner pretty much think he's god of fish. he knows nothing! I asked him one time if about his msobo's, he tried telling me both male and females are orange. wouldn't listen to me at all. oh and he also thinks the max stocking limit for a basic 55 Gal (I used to have one about 8 months ago) was about 6 mbuna. never was the wettest fish in the pond...


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

Yeah, my friend works at my local lfs. She knows nothing at all. She doesnt even like fish. She thought that tank that said assorted africans on the cover were all the same species. There were yellow labs, auratus, red zebra and brichardi. I bet i know more about cichlids than all of their employees.


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

i have that here too at our lfs.im constantly correcting their mistakes.thats why i only buy dog food from them :lol: i drive over an hour each way to the best lfs for fish.


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

Ok, so I know my ratio's and tank must be set up for their liking. I've had these fish for less than a week but I just caught two dems spawning right in the front of the tank. I tried to get a picture of it but idiot me moved to fast and startled them and the male ran off.

I saw her pick up maybe 6 eggs in total before they quit so by my count thats 4 holding dems in my week-old tank


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

OK, she came back to the cave and they went at it again. another 6 eggs or so. so maybe in the area of 12 for her? she's just at 1.5" and the male is closer (on the right) to 2-2.5"









today is going to be a fun day at work opcorn:


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

At work, but not working. lol. Your having a great time with these dems. Makes me want some of my own. Where did you order from?


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

This is one of the holding females. There are 3 with mouths this big.


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

As soon as the those females spit, make sure they get plenty of food. With their journey to your office and when holding prior, they must not have gotten much in the way of food.


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

oh, they get fed three times daily, about 30-45 second frenzy each time. C-360 is still handling it alone for now. Its amazing on how little poop is on my sand out in the front. I have no UGJ or powerheads, just the one filter.


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

I meant because of the females not being able to eat with eggs/fry in their mouths. As soon as they are no longer holding they will be very hungry.


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

I know, I was just trying to say what the feeding habits of the tank are. I don't plan on pulling them out because they still look very active. my tank sits at 80.5 F so it should be a fairly short hold, 24 days or so?


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

Yeah fry grow better in warmer water. I would say 24 is a good number, the females just need to find a spot that they feel comfortable spitting into. Im sure that they have been scoping it out since day 1 in your tank.


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## Jim z (May 13, 2006)

That little rock pile is a great idea. I have a couple of syno's in my 75 but even with that I have a few fry that survive. One lab to adult, and a few new ones that I believe are rusties but they stay hidden pretty well. Just enough to make the tank interesting without having to deal with tons of babies! I think I'm going to make a little pile myself and see what happens. Thanks for the idea.


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

Did anyone else try that rock pile in their tanks? My dems are still holding so mine hasn't been tested out yet. I was just wondering if anyone else has had success yet?


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## underdogg101 (Mar 20, 2008)

bac3492 said:


> 5 is a really good number to 24 in my opinion, i wouldnt weed anything out. The acei and labs you will most likely have to vent, i would have done this all while you were adding them.
> 
> How many total are in there. With those Dems your gonna have a ton of fry


What does "vent" mean?


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

Venting is a way of sexing. There are two dots/vents on the bottom of the fish. The females have a larger vent hole and it protrudes. Males have a smaller vent. Just look it up on google or in the CF library.


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

venting any fish under an inch is pretty much worthless unless they are some kind of dwarf. i can sex the demasoni i have by just looking at them, the acei are way to small but some of my labs are starting to get big enough i feel like i could vent them with some degree of certainty. 
make sure your hands are wet so you don't injure your fish!


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

I have a black rock pile for fry but not in a dish. It's right beside this almost carpet like plastic plant that is good for the fish to spit into too. I've only seen one fish spit and she spat into the plastic plant but I've see fry in the rock pile too....and under big rocks at the far opposite side of the tank :lol: Been meaning to try the black rocks in a dish but was thinking instead of trying to remove the rocks and possible squashing baby fish in the process, why not just lift the dish out of the water and set it down into their new grow out tank without disturbing them. Tanks would have to be the same temp of course. I also read about using one of those CD spindle cases that new blank stacks of CD's come in. You place the rocks on the base of the container around the spindle in the center and when you have fry in it you put the cover on and tighten it then remove the whole thing. Just using a dish sounds alot easier :wink: for me anyway. Keep us updated on the fry.


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

i plan on just removing the whole dish, straight up and out!


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## coopercichlid (Jun 1, 2008)

In case anyone still cares. Last weekend I took out that dish full of rocks to clean it out and sure enough. It had one baby demasoni at the bottom. He's now in a grow out tank and is doing great with various fry of simular size from my community tanks.

I constantly have dems holding so I'm sure i'll be pulling them out of this dish from now often


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

If your not interested in keeping any, if you want to just strip a female one day and throw them in a breeders net for a few days, i will pay for all the packaging and shipping.


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