# Demasoni and White tops?



## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

20 demasoni + 6-7 white tops/blue reefs

I know it'd be a lot of blue in the tank, but I was thinking it might be a nice tank for a lot of blue variations.

Any ideas?

55g tank with heavy filtration and a solid rock pile.


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## xclub (Apr 15, 2008)

Why not, I like your idea! Just find nice sand, a lot of rocks, try to find red rocks or white and you will have a very, very nice tank.

Go for it!


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

I have never housed the two together, but I would worry about the interspecies aggression due to the blue stripyness with the male White Tops. I know my Jalo Reef afra male hates everything with stripes reguardless of species.


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

That's what the looked like prior to adding filtration/background etc. Still need to take an update pick. I have a bunch of small pieces of lava rock(red and black) that I was going to attempt to silicone together but it doesn't seem to hold very well, so trying to find another way of fusing the small rocks together to make larger rocks with them, with caves in them. Sand is a black 3M CQ t-grade.


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

MalawiLover said:


> I have never housed the two together, but I would worry about the interspecies aggression due to the blue stripyness with the male White Tops. I know my Jalo Reef afra male hates everything with stripes reguardless of species.


That was something I had worried about initially, but folks who keep the 2 species say they look vastly different from each other in person, which is what got me curious to various shades of blue.

I'm just fishing for ideas really. Been trying to choose a stocking list for almost 2 months now


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

I have no issues between these two species......


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

teqvet said:


> but folks who keep the 2 species say they look vastly different from each other in person, which is what got me curious to various shades of blue.
> 
> I'm just fishing for ideas really. Been trying to choose a stocking list for almost 2 months now


They may look very different to us, but its what the fish see that matters. I am not sure how subtle changes in color look to them, or is it just a bluish fish with dark stripes?


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

why_spyder said:


> I have no issues between these two species......


Yup!  I know you don't, and a few others as well, so just assumed I could get away with it too


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Sounds like you should at least give it a try.


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

Lots of white top pics in this thread here, for an idea of the various colorations compared to the dema's.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I'd just be afraid that you're not going to have enough variances in blue to be happy with the tank long term. I have a hard time keeping more than one male White top in a 55g tank without some pretty intense aggression, I can only keep younger ones in with my dominant wild male that he doesn't see as a threat. The problem with the younger ones is that they don't always stay that nice white-blue. And, while the female White tops are the nicest female Cynotilapia I've seen, they _are_ another blue barred fish.

Kim


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

Well rain on my pretty parade then.

How's bout 10 White tops and 10 Albino Socolofi?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I don't care for the albino fish personally, but it should be okay.

I have about 20 White Tops in a tank with one male Ps. Msobo Deep and 4 females. The nice yellow colouration of the Msobo females looks great with the White Tops.

Kim


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

I was looking at the msobo's as well, but wasn't really able to decide on anything. My wife likes the albino look, but would rather have yellow labs. I'm just turned off of the labs because they seem so stinking common, and I don't want common ;p


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

If you can find some quality Yellow labs, they really can't be beat...It's finding the good ones that's hard to do!

And, you really can't beat the yellow in any tank!

Here are some pics of my Msobo females for reference:



















And the male, of course:










A full tank shot (Msobos and White Tops only in this tank):










Not all the White tops are out and about, but there are about 20 in the tank, with the smallest being around 3 inches. Several of the males will colour up, but only when out of sight of the large male you see just to the right of the center of the tank.

Kim


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## xclub (Apr 15, 2008)

Than have 10 white tops, 5 caerleus and 5 albino socolofi and enjoy. That will be a striking color combo&#8230;crazy yellow, sick red eyes white crew and white tops&#8230;

I must say that I am thinking right now about making this combo in one of the tanks...as soon as I can get my hands on white tops


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## xclub (Apr 15, 2008)

&#8230;and Kim this is not fair I am drooling over your Msobo :drooling:


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

What size is that tank, Kim? and how many fish did you have total in it you said?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

It's a 55G, standard 4 ft. tank.

There are 5 Msobos, and about 20 White tops of varying sizes, 1 BN pleco, and a trio of Synodontis ocellifer.

I will be removing some of the White tops at some point, I'd like to pick out a few extra females to keep. I have a wild male White top in "time out" right now that I'd like to reintroduce to the tank as soon as another male gets large enough to cope with the two older males. Once I do that, I may need to move the Msobos to another tank, but for now, it works just the way it is.

Keep in mind that I'm only getting away with this because most of the White tops are young. There are only 2 full adult size wild ones in the tank right now with the large female being out in a maternity tank most of the time.

Kim


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

I'd be getting 1-2" fish so they would all be young and introduced at the same time. I'm hoping for a 125g next year so could move em around then if need be.

What about the Ps Flameback. I know you've had bad experience with them Kim, but they are quite uncommon.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

The flamebacks are gorgeous fish, I don't even find the females too bad looking. But, you're right, I had alot of aggression problems with the trio that I had, moved them around from tank to tank trying to find a good setting for them while I looked for more females, and finally just gave up.

I don't think I'd ever try keeping them again in less than a 5 foot tank.

They aren't that common around here, either, that's why I wanted them to work out so much.

I don't know that I would want a ton of the females in a tank, for colours sake.

What were you considering keeping them with?

Kim


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

White tops. You folks who keep them on here and have posted pics have definitely made that fish one of my favs in regards to it's colors.

The fish that I have been entertaining in my head and trying to mix and match, with no luck mentally, have been: Albino Socolofi, Cherry Red Zebras, White Tops, Demasoni, Maingano


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## chillout (Jan 30, 2007)

I have a group of both species in my 90g with a few other species. No problems with them competing with each other. But when two dems get going at it lip locking the white top plays referee and splits them up. I haven't had my dems breed in this setup though, not sure if the white tops are preventing them from it. GL


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

I think I'm settling now on 10 Msobo, 8 White top, 8 Albino Socolofi, and 4 syno of some sort () yet to be determined.

My goal is to get them at 1-2" and hope to figure out males/females over time and move excess males to either a different tank or try to get LFS credit for them.


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

teqvet said:


> White tops. You folks who keep them on here and have posted pics have definitely made that fish one of my favs in regards to it's colors.
> 
> The fish that I have been entertaining in my head and trying to mix and match, with no luck mentally, have been: Albino Socolofi, Cherry Red Zebras, White Tops, Demasoni, Maingano


My thoughts too!

I'm thinking of putting together cyno. white tops, yellow labs, and mainganos. It's a nice mix of colors, no drab females, and the color/patterning on the males should be different enough to avoid too much cross-species aggression.


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

I got talked out of maingano's as they are known as 'chasers', though I would love to have some in a longer tank one day.


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## xclub (Apr 15, 2008)

Well people I must say following, it is a "little bit" off topic but I must&#8230;one of my life wishes and unfulfilled dreams and the biggest one is to come to live and work in Canada.

Since I still hope that I will find the way , one day, when I come I will have to see some of the beautiful species that many of you keep and that I have never seen before since if I am in Canada USA is "just across the border" and hopefully I will meet you all&#8230;

Sorry for this&#8230;


:wink:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

A vote in favor of the Demasoni and White Top combination. I have them together, both are breeding. I absolutely love the color contrast. Both are blue barred fish, but Dems are cobalt blue with wide black bars/fins and the other is very light blue body and fins with a few skinny black bars. The colors are like positive and negative. They don't fight each other or compete.

Now combinations I do not like are Socolofi or Acei with White Tops. For me those are too close in color. The Socolofi are close in color to the males. And the Acei are too close in color to the females.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Just to confuse you more...

The White tops would look really, really nice with a large group of the deeper coloured red zebras! 

That would definitely be a great looking tank colour wise!

Kim


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## Sid_P (Feb 20, 2007)

I've got White tops & Dems together in my six foot tank ....no real problems between them and both species breeding rather regularly....with their own kind! 
Though I think having yellow Labs contrasting amongst them certainly adds to the whole visual effect.


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

cichlidaholic said:


> Just to confuse you more...
> 
> The White tops would look really, really nice with a large group of the deeper coloured red zebras!
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot!! lol

Maybe I could dump the socolofi for the reds ;p


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