Pseudotropheus Demasoni Info?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
S

Springtyme

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 22, 2005
84
1
0
Bethlehem & Philadelphia, PA
Okay, so this is my first time with these little guys (I've had Oscars and other random cichlids in the past)... I've been reading up on them as much as I can, however I was hoping to find someone on here who has/had them and any additional information you could give me on raising, feeding, and possibly breeding them would be great :) It appears that I have 2 males and 1 female...
 
as they mature there's a fair chance that only 1 male will be left out of the 3 you have. To breed, the fish need to be kept in harems; 1 male to 4-6 females. Otherwise the females end up heavily battered or dead.

nothing special in all other regards...
 
Easy to take care, doesn't need any special attention. I keep 20 pcs. in a 75g tank, occasionally a little fin nipping & territorial disputes but everythings fine. They eat like pigs :), I feed them spirulina flakes & sinking pellets.
 
you can definitely tell the difference between demasoni and zebra. demasoni are way brighter blue and nore vivid black. you should have 1 male to several females. typical mouthbrooding mbuna. very pretty fish. no special requirements for breeding.
 
CentralMayhem said:
you can definitely tell the difference between demasoni and zebra. demasoni are way brighter blue and nore vivid black. you should have 1 male to several females. typical mouthbrooding mbuna. very pretty fish. no special requirements for breeding.
Click to expand...

Don't forget to add that demasoni are much smaller.
 
You might want to keep an eye on aggression. I was worried about purchasing some after reading up on their reputation for being really nasty little buggers, very aggressive amongst themselves and conspecifics. I asked the dealer who I baught them from if they deserved the bad rap and he didn't hesitate to answer yes.
Out of 10 I purchased I have 4 remaining, 1 female and 3 males, in a 4' tank. I can't take out the extra males or the dominant males will kill the only female so I'll wait till I can purchase some definate females.
I suggest you purchase as many as you can at once so that their aggression is evenly distributed. Try to narrow the group down to one male and as many females you can make out in a 4' tank minimum. This is a great place to start for a potential breeding colony.
Both sexes are vividly coloured which can make sexing very difficult though the males often have darker black/dark blue and brighter almost white bars. Females sometimes lack the solid dark colouration under the chin or it is very muted compared to the male's colour. The male's fins are also longer and more pointed. The ventral fins are long and can reach the anal fin, the dorsal edge long and pointed. Your demasoni will start showing breeding behaviour as early as 1 1/2" and begin breeding at 2 - 2 1/2". They might breed sooner or later depending on the conditions they're kept in and the condition on the fish themselves.
These are great fish with loads of attitude for such a small package! Perfect for anyone who likes fish that don't take no crap from nobody. :grinyes:
 
Demasoni are very nasty little fish, even though they're a dwarf african. Its usually only suggested that you keep a single dem in an african cichlid community type tank, or do a species only tank with a large colony of 15-20 fish, to keep aggression down. Very pretty fish, but with only three (especially if you DO have two males and one female - they are very hard to accurately sex without venting though), you're very likely going to end up with only one, very quickly. Buy a bunch more.
 
Well one was killed, so now I'm down to one male and one female, and they seem to be fine so far... *keeps fingers crossed*
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom