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new member with questions

2K views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  willow 
#1 · (Edited)
i have recieved a new tank complete with fish. its a 29 gal tank with cichlid sand in it and rocks and such.. with this came 1) 2.5 inch demasoni and 3) yellow labs... now i have read a ton on how i need a larger tank but at this time not possible. in the future def.. but i need to see if i can keep these guys alive. Here in a nut shell is the quesion. my male demasoni is doing the mating dance with the large yellow lab i belive is a female.. every one gets along fine.. but is this normal? . plenty of hiding places.. and he dont chase her often,, but at least once or twice a day he is in hot pursut.. she is able to get away and he then leaves her alone.. also.. is it normal for the 3 yellows to hang like schooling fish? that seams to be what they do.. anther odd behavior is they seam to swim from the bottom to the top and and zig zag up and down the tank for a good while in the evenings.. only about 10 minutes and then they just hang out for a while,, funy thing is.. at this time.. the demasoni just seams to watch while she and the other 2 labs do this.. any idea? or help is apprecatied,, and plese excuse my spelling.. not my strong suit! :) thanks
 
#2 ·
How long before you can get another tank? The Demansoni is going to terrorize that tank very soon.

They should be kept in MINIMUM groups of 1M 8F, they can get very aggressive to any fish otherwise.

Are you sure it is a mating dance and not an aggression dance, they will swim in circles and lock lips if it is aggression. Mating usually shows up as sideways movements and flashing on the side.

Do not worry about the labs zig zagging up and down the tank, I have 10 yellow labs in my 75G tank and they do it as well, they also sit directly in the flow of my 1200gph circulation powerhead.

They love to play around it and kind of current surf from one side of the tank to other very quickly.

If you have a local fish store nearby, then I would highly recommend you take the Demansoni to them and just keep the yellow labs. Demansoni can be extremely challenging even for experienced cichlid keepers.
 
#3 ·
thank you for responding.. i have kindof came to this conclusion also.. he is soooo mean.. i believe him to be prettyclose to an adult. he is about 3 and half inches long i got the ruler out lol.. he is soo beautifull but so territorial.. he has claimed the whole tank and is not happy unless he is rooting every one out of there hidy holes.. sad to see him leave.. but so nessary.. thanks..
 
#4 ·
It is better to lose one fish than to have the entire tank killed off.

If you keep up with frequent water changes then you will be ok keeping the yellow labs in the 29 until you can get a bigger tank.

Lake Malawi cichlids should not be kept in anything smaller than a 55G, just to give you an idea of the tank size you should be looking at.

If you need any more help/ advice, then please dont hesitate to ask.
 
#5 ·
Thanks so much.. they have been a joy to say the least.. and yes i agree with losing the one to save the many.. my "butters" as i call them lovingly "yellowlabs" are amazing.. so freindly.. great me at the top of my tank.. and now we are considering the new tank sooner than later.. we are hooked lol pardon the pun :)..
 
#7 ·
sad but responsible day.... i have taken the demasoni to the local pet store. :(..the tank is so much more peacefull in just a short time.. i think i knew this was goin to have to happen but i was in denial.. lol..i feel sad he left but.. it does my heart good to see the rest of the tank swiming peacfullly and no one chasing any one.. just swimming and playing. thanks for the advise and the encouragement to do the right thing.. next step is a 55 gal tank for my new people!!
 
#12 ·
thanks,i lost them after my filter burnt out while i was on vacation,
along with a lot of other fish.
dred to think what i will be like when Bert passes away,he's only three this year(bearded dragon)
i have to check him all through his brumation just to make sure he's ok lol
 
#13 ·
i can understand your concern.. funny thing here in my state it gets very cold, and often we have power outages.. noramally theres not much concern but.. now that i have my fish first thing i worry about is what will happen to them if i lose power for to long :( guess i will have to cross that bridge when i come to it..
 
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