# Can this work?



## calleja_aquariums (Apr 22, 2009)

Ok so i went to my LFS yesterday and got some fish.

of course my dad wouldn't listen to me and wanted to get the malawi, and they fish he got i dont think it will work...

he got 
3 x pseudo Demasoni 
3 x Pseudo elongatus 
3 x Yellow labs

i know i know don't yell at me its my dad fault i warned him. 
well they look fine.. they are all just swimming together and they like swimming in the current from the filter, they don;t really leave each they like to stay together and swim together. No chasing or anything even at feeding time they all wait their turn.

My dad really likes them and so do i, i really want it to work? I shtere anything i can do to help it work or anything i can add? their is a lot of hiding spots!

is there any chance it will work? :?


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

What are the tank's dimensions?

What type of 'elongatus' do you have?

Are these young, unsexed fish?


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## calleja_aquariums (Apr 22, 2009)

Yes they are about 1.5" all of them.
its a 40g 3' by 1'
i dont know what tpe of elongatus it is :-? Its has a yellow tail and its body is dark blue with black strops and they are about 1.5" But like i don't know why i just have a feeling they will get along.

right away they all were hiding in the corner together. Then they all came out and they kinda swim in a school together


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## calleja_aquariums (Apr 22, 2009)

Another question:

what do you guys think about keeping a senegal brichir with cichlids in general? doesnt have to be compatible with the ones i have, but in general?
The only thing stopping me from getting one is that im afraid the cichlids will pick on him, since he cant really defend himself?

could it work with that stock list and a senegal brichir?
im not worries about tank size they stay around 10" and keep to themselves and would be fine in my tank. I just heard the cichlids will pick on him?

thanks


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

calleja_aquariums said:


> Yes they are about 1.5" all of them.
> its a 40g 3' by 1'
> i dont know what tpe of elongatus it is :-? Its has a yellow tail and its body is dark blue with black strops and they are about 1.5" But like i don't know why i just have a feeling they will get along.
> 
> right away they all were hiding in the corner together. Then they all came out and they kinda swim in a school together


I would recommend a 4' tank minimum for 'elongatus'. It sounds like you may have Chailosi or Chewere, they are pretty common variants in the hobby.

You have too few Ps. demasoni, you are very likely to end up with just one fish. The labs should be okay in this tank.


calleja_aquariums said:


> Another question:
> 
> what do you guys think about keeping a senegal brichir with cichlids in general? doesnt have to be compatible with the ones i have, but in general?
> The only thing stopping me from getting one is that im afraid the cichlids will pick on him, since he cant really defend himself?
> ...


Questions like this are far too generalized to give a good answer, but I would not do it.


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## jjleetest (Mar 12, 2009)

mpangas also have a yellow tail, chailosi are more yellow than blue and chewere are black with blue spots


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

The polypterus will eat your demasoni.


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## calleja_aquariums (Apr 22, 2009)

oh ya darkside i forgot that they stay small..... ****... do you advise me to get more demasoni?

dave you think all the fish will kill each other? or just the demasoni will kill each other? how can i fix that?

i will end up upgrading tanks to like a 90g so im not to worried about that, i should be getting one in the summer.
so maybe i should add some more demasoni? how many more?


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

I think people usually do 12-15. I haven't had any for over 10 years.


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

calleja_aquariums said:


> dave you think all the fish will kill each other? or just the demasoni will kill each other? how can i fix that?


 They could. You can't "fix" it, but you can try to disburse the aggression. I would recommend removing the 'elongatus' as there is a good chance they will have a conflict with the Ps. demasoni. Similar looking fish will show aggression toward each other. Next, you will want to increase the number of Ps. Demasoni to at least 12. Keep in mind, even with large numbers this fish can be highly aggressive.

If you are getting a larger tank, then I would wait until then before you start working on stocking. Even at a size of 1.5" your Ps. demasoni can be very aggressive.


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## calleja_aquariums (Apr 22, 2009)

okk dave so i should wait for a bigger tank till i get more fish! gotch ya!
but the elongatus don't look the same to me, i can't tell thm apart, the elongatus has a lighter blue and yellow tail. But why would the demasoni fight with the elongatus and not its own species? They look the same too? My dad wont get ride of them i know him to well he really likes them. Right now they seem fine... even though its only been 24 hours there has been no deaths or fighting? They act very calm except when they eat then they move fast!


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## calleja_aquariums (Apr 22, 2009)

omg this all my dads fault.. i friggen told him not to get the demasoni because you need to have a lot of them and he was like oh no no they don't care... he pisses me off he should have listen to me.. oh well nothing i can do now but just try to help fix the problem or try to make it work.

so your all just basically saying it is a roll of the dice? it might work it might not? there may be a conflict with the demasoni and elongatus and there might not? And to get more demasoni when i get my bigger tank?


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

Now and down the road are very different circumstances.
As they grow and get larger so does their attitude and aggression level.
With the growth comes sexual maturity and territory/hierarchy disputes.

You say they have been fine so far but that is a very short time.
Update us a month from now and you probably won't be saying the same.
All of the members are just letting you know the potential outcome.
Good luck.


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## calleja_aquariums (Apr 22, 2009)

Thanks, well i hope all turn out ok, if not my dad learned his lesson, but i have no idea what the future holds for that tank, its just a waiting game now to see if it works out. maybe there is a better chance since they will grow up together, but who knows.

thanks again


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## calleja_aquariums (Apr 22, 2009)

Even if i have a tone of hiding spots will the demasoni and elongatus still fight? I think i have the Chewere elongatus. Can i keep both species without them killing each other? even if i add maybe a little more demasoni to distribute the agression a little?


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## Myles (May 3, 2009)

you may find the demasoni basically hunting the elongatus throughout the tank endlessly.

also, demasonis dont have an "off switch". where other fish will stop fighting cos you know, ouch, this is kinda starting to hurt... demasonis will keep going.

then again, the more you read, the more confused you may become. you'll get opinions that cancel out other opinions and then it all goes to ****. i think the best thing to do is to wait.

don't add any more fish for a few months, see how things are going when they all start getting a little bigger.

easier said than done though right?

also, from what *** picked up, either get one demasoni, or 18.

(*** got two, a little one with some yellow labs in one tank, and a bigger meatier one with 2 mpangas, cobalt blue zebras, red zebra, perlmutts, a hongi and a kingsizei...he doesnt have a problem with anybody, and everyone leaves him alone. so far, so good.)


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