# Demasoni or saulosi



## Ckac13 (Feb 24, 2009)

So i recently ordered a bunch of demasonis (3 male and 14 females), all around 3- 3 1/2 inches. The males look absolutely amazing. Last night, while trolling around the forums i saw a picture in the profiles section of a saulosi that looks VERY similar to my female demasonis. Should my females resemble the saulosi that much? From most of the pictures of demasonis *** seen, the females look pretty much just like the males. I dont have my camera with me to take pictures so i was just curious.


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

How do you know they're females? Female demasoni are IDENTICAL to males...they're impossible to sex just by appearance unless of course you have holding females.


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

Demasoni are monomorphic so males and females can not be discerned by color or size really.
Sometimes, probably just by hierarchy and aggression, the males are slightly larger and have slightly darker colors.
Demasoni have much bolder colors than male saulosi.

Saulosi are dimorphic, a very definite difference in color by the time they reach that size.
Males blue and females yellow.


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## Ckac13 (Feb 24, 2009)

I only know (or hope to know) from what each bag was labeled as when i got them from the dealer. Each was marked male or female on the bag. The bags marked "male" definitely look like all the pictures *** seen of demasonis. The ones marked "female" are a much lighter color blue, and just resemble the picture i saw here of the saulosi. I understand the difference between male and female saulosi, these "female demasonis" seem to look a lot like male saulosi.


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

If it helps I think the head of the Saulosi head is a little shorter in length.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

The saulosi 's bars are not as thick as dems are are clustered more towards the front of the body (as if the are missing the very last bar) Aslo the 'forehead' strip on the dems should pretty much touch the first bar where the saulosi have a good space.


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## Ckac13 (Feb 24, 2009)

Ok thanks, im looking at a terrible picture i have on my phone. If i zoom in enough, you can see the horizontal bar on its head touching the 1st stripe. Ill have to get some decent pictures though.

I guess i got a little more nervous when i looked and saw in one of the dealer reviews that someone got the wrong fish sent to them. They do resemble the saulosi though. The males i have are so bright and colorful, the supposed females.... not so much


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

If the bars are touching then its more likely to be a dem. As for the sexing, lets hope the seller actually vented them and didn't just give you the 3 brightest (99% chance are males) and then 14 of the lightest. Since they darken up or color down due to mood, health and dominance hopefully you didn just get the 14 on the bottom rung (could be either sex).


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## Ckac13 (Feb 24, 2009)

Funny (well maybe not so funny), But thats exactly what i was thinking. Guess only time will actually tell. Thanks a TON for all the input. I really do appreciate it.

A couple of the lighter colored ones look like their mouths are bulging pretty good. Both from the side, and from the front you can see theres definitely a big difference in 3 of them. *** been looking for pictures of Holding dems without a ton of luck. So hopefully this could let me know for sure!


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Take a look at the holding female pics of Labidochromis caeruleus (Lion's Cove I)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=713

If yours look like that then congrats you're expecting. Plus k you know they are definitely female. You may also notice them making a chewing motion. They are aerating the eggs. If they hold more than 2-3 days then the eggs are fertile.


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## Ckac13 (Feb 24, 2009)

Wow, they might be then. If you look at them head on, you can see their entire jaw area is much larger than the rest of them. Obviously from the side you can see how much it protrudes out. *** noticed them opening their mouths to aerate. Now when i feed them, a couple sprint for the food, stop and find the smallest piece possible. Open their mouth, but then dont eat it. Either they ignore it, or spit it out instantly.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Yep typical holding behavior. Its like their instinct doesn't talk to their stomachs. They look almost confused at not eating. Some of the really experienced mom can actually eat a little while holding, but most don't.

If your are really young, they may not hold full term. It can take them a few tries before they can make it the whole 28 days.

No you have to decide what you want to do. let them spit in the tank, separate them out to a holding tank to spit, or strip them at about 18-19 days and keep the fry in a holding tank. Many choices. But a dem colony can be very prolific, so you don't have to decide right now...more will come.


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## Ckac13 (Feb 24, 2009)

*** been reading a lot about it here on the forums and also in the library section. I guess my question is, if i got them shipped to me, i really dont know how long they have been holding for (if they even are). Are there any physical signs to look for? I got them a week ago, and i know the fish im talking about looked like they were holding then. So its tough to figure out how long theyve been holding i guess.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

If they came to you holding, then the patronage of the fry is definitely in question. I just let them spit in the tank.

Though females don't usually hold successfull through shipping. It would be best if you got a real pic or two. We can also solve the is it, isn't ii question on species too.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I'll throw in that if they are all 3 inches or over, I'm surprised you've got females. IME the females are always smaller. Guess you can't argue with holding eggs though!


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

I have some large female dems in my demasoni colony. One especially has colors just as dark as the males, and when she is holding, she has a mouthful! I haven't tried to catch any of the holding females, and I have fry of various sizes darting in and out grabbing food.


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