# demasoni help!!!!



## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

I just bought 15 ps. demasoni from a lfs, i dont normally go to this shop, however they were the only place that had demasoni. overall the fish are fine, when i released the fish into the tank, i realised two things:

1. Two of the demasoni were striped, but instead of being blue they were kind of white stripes on a light purple body. is this normal will they colour up, as i might take bettter care than the shop would have?

2. One of the demasoni's dorsal fin looked like it had been completely nipped from beggining to end. other than that its healthy and active with no infection. is it likely to grow back fully??? is there any medication i can use?

This has nothing to do with my tank or its quality, because i noticed as soon as i put the fish in.

Thanks for replies!!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The first is probably stressed and will regain color (if conditions in your tank are favorable) within a couple days/weeks.

The second could have happened in the bag on the way home. Yes, unless the fin is chewed off right into the body it is likely to grow back.

Are they alone in the tank? Lots of rock (tank filled 50% or more) and hiding places? Sounds like you have a feisty bunch. No one hiding at the surface/behind filter outlets, intakes or heaters?


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

i dare ask, how much did you pay a piece?


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

reply for djransom: the tank is filled with lots of holey rock, there are also 7 yellow labs and a few more mbuna. its been a few hours now, all the demasoni have spread out through the tank, swimming in all areas, however there seems to be one corner where the demasoni like to ''huddle'', is this normal, do they just like that particular rock work?

reply for bac34: the lfs were selling at 3 for Â£27.00, as i asked for 15 i managed to bargain them down from 135 to 115, i had previously bought a lot of equipment so i received a store card which enables me to receive 5% discount, so ..... 15 demasoni for =109.25, which works out 7.28 each, compare to the normal Â£10 each, i think i got a bargain.

the tank has been running for just less than a year, i have experience with mbuna, but first time for demasoni, how long will it take for them to grow to full size, from one inch, im feeding spirulina, frozen mysis shrimp, cichlid flake. i have good water parameters with weekly changes. the tank is 4ft at 240l.??


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

when i refer to my tank in gallons, in fish world do we tend to use us gallons or metric system???? very confused about this?


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

Definitely an LFS bargain, the one closest to me that carries them sells em' for 28$ US dollars a piece.

Do they all have proper barring?


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

i think about five of them have unusual barring, but i think its kinda cool.

i especially like the ones with alll dark blue mouths.

do you have, or have previously had demasoni? if so could i have details on what you fed them?


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

you should stop feeding your mbunas/Malawi spirulina and frozen mysis shrimp...it can be a problem in the future...I have mine at one inch right now and all i feed them is NLS and they seem to be growing like crazy! also Water changes will boost the growth. it seems to me that one inch demasoni that are over 4 dollars is wayyy over price.


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

reply for khaki: y should i stop feeding spirulina, isnt it a good source of vegetable matter, and i was recommended mysis as they are low in protein? is nls high in protein meats? which did u feed?


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

*harveyb27*
opps i accidentally copy and paste spirulina in it too! sorry! NLS is a very high quality food..NLS is not high in protein meat.


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

the demasoni all seem to be in one small section in the tank (bottom right), why are they not exploring the whole tank, none of the other fish chase them, so theres no threat. will they just spread over time as its only the second day, do they feel safer together as they are juveniles (1 inch).

note: the yellow labs have always tend to like this corner too, its near to the tv, maybe they like watching it


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

What size is the tank? Do you have a lot of rock work? what is total stocking list? 
you mention that it is a 4ft...soo 55gallon or 60gallon?


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

I set up a 55gal (48in length) species only demasoni tank in May of this year. I started with
one adult female, her 8 fry, and 6 1in juvies from another source. There are various sized fry
in there now that were born in the tank. I notice that the smaller fish will "swarm" together, and the older fish will stay by themselves and have their own "caves". The smaller, (lower in the pecking order?) will show paler colors, especially when the bigger fish are present.


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## Eric_S (Feb 27, 2007)

When ever I bought new fish, their initial behavior was always different than when they settle in. Most noticeably, when I bought my demasoni they actually schooled up for a short while. Same with my acei. Neither do it anymore.

The demasoni are just brutal now. They claim a spot and guard it with every ounce of aggression in their fishy little bodies. I find it highly amusing when one of my larger labs or acei put the smack down on a demasoni that thought he was king of the tank. But that's a story for another thread.

In your tank once one of those demasoni becomes the dominant one and claims the section they're huddling in as its own, the rest will disperse  Just give it time.


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

thanks for your replies, since then, a couple of them have made territories on the other side of the tank, most of them do seem to be schooling, maybe its a juvenile thing lol i think in time they may spread. they hav a habit of getting scared when i approch tank, and some still continue to hide even when fed. why is this? all my previous mbuna dash to the front when they see me, thinking they will get fed. why are the demasoni acting different?

the tanks a 55 gallon with lots of holey rock

note: the demasoni i refered to in the begining has started growing its dorsal fin bak, looks good so far.


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

How big are the demasoni?


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

one inch, some just a bit bigger.


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

You've only had these fish for a week or so, so give them some time.

You did not mention anything about quarantine, so I'm guessing they went from the store straight into your tank. Keep a close eye on ALL the fish in your tank for signs of stress or disease (i.e. flashing, white spots, etc).

Good luck! :thumb:


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

two of the demasoni are not eating, when fed, they hide, could this be due to aggression, i have not witnessed any conflict.


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

I don't know...usually all of my fish will come out to eat at feeding time...regardless of pecking order. Could they possibly be holding?


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

can they be holding at just one inch?


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

i counted howmany demasoni in my tank, and from 15, i could only count 11, i counted again today and could only count 7, some are hiding in very tight places, so hard to notice sometimes. i dont know if they died or if they are hiding, and not wiling to take rockwork out to count them, theres too much. i think one of them has bloat, could they have dies from this, all *** fed them is spirulina flakes, i suspect the bloat was caused by what the lfs fed them, can anyone help?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Bloat is believed to be caused by stress as opposed to diet. Yes, mbuna and Demasoni can die from bloat. You said only some are not eating...do you see any thready white feces hanging down from any of the fish?

When you have sick fish it's one time when you don't have much choice but to take out the rocks...bloat is contagious and it can kill off an entire tank...one fish every couple of weeks.

I would put the ones that are not eating in a hospital tank. If you are able to confirm bloat, then treat them in the hospital tank. If additional fish in the main tank stop eating, you may have to treat the main tank as well.


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

i have even less demasoni now!!!! why are only the demasoni dying, i have labs, melanchromis, other pseudo's, why are these fish ok and showing no ill effect? The demasoni were the newest introductions to the tank, however i recently brought 6 red zebra's, they are perfect, from day 1 in fact. Why are the demasoni dying and no other species, i cant see any aggression.


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

*harveyb27*
Was your tank cycle? How big is the tank? What kind of filter are you running on it? what kind rock set up do you have?


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

Tank has been running for just under a year.

55 gallon

fluval 305, internal juwel filter and eheim 2227 (eheim running for a week, so not as established as fluval).

ocean and holey rock, lots of caves and hiding places, especially for the demasoni seen as they are small still (one inch). i have no idea why they are dieing, only 3 of them are eating, other two are hiding, dont know about the rest :?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Maybe the Demasoni had something when you bought them, or maybe it's bloat and they are the only ones impacted because they are fighting/stressed and the others aren't. You rarely see aggression, but hiding is a sign.

Do you see any thready white poop?

Did you put the ones that are not eating in the hospital tank?


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

How big are the other fish compare to them? Maybe the other fish are just too big for them and so they arent getting enough to eat. Stress might be a reason also. Always quarantine your fish before putting them in the main tank. I got a colony of 18 demasoni right now that i am growing out in a 20L before i can put them in the main tank since all my fish are about 2.5-4 inches.


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