P. demasonis, Yellow labs & ???

[chiroken]

I'm trying to stock my 55g with peacocks but it is not going well. Very limited in selection and not willing to pay $45/fish in LFS. Can't see how I can get the variety I'd like without flying in fish from places like Calgary (I'm on Van. Island and it's costly to ship fish by air!).

One tank I've always thought would look fantastic would be a demasoni tank with yellow labs. What are your thots on this set up? Both fish are more available from breeders making it affordable for me (sorry to sound so cheap!).

I would want to start with juvies, how many? 15? 20? Should I expect to have to remove some males as they mature, decreasing the total number of adults I end up with? What ratio should I be targeting with these particular little demons (1:3)? Are sub males discernable from the females?

I originally started this tank 3 1/2 yrs ago (I actually swapped everything from a 45 to this 55 just over a year ago) and did have a group of demos in there but not enough - I ended up with 1, which I still have in the tank. Lesson learned the hard way. Thots on adding 15+ juvies to this tank with 1 existing adult? If he's expected to kill'em all I can move him to my 90g mbuna tank at home (fish in my signature).

I already have 3 adult yellow labs in there, the largest (4") is beating on the other 2 a bit, enough to have some tail freying on both. How many yellow labs could I have in total...6? Could I add juvies or I wonder if I might need to swap out these 3 for 6-8 juvies (might have to remove 1-2 males down the road?)?

Can I assume both of these fish will be in the rocks with all the open areas (upper 1/2) empty? Whole bottom of tank is rockwork, will post a picture next week when back to the office. Any suggestions to inhabit the upper parts of the tank that will mix well? Am I getting into overstocking problems now?

Filters are a HOB dual bio-wheel (I think it's a biowheel, having a "moment" it seems) and a canister, I think it's a magnum 350.

Had my heart set on the peacocks but I may have to change the game plan here in the near future...

Thanks for your input and advice.

[Krashy_Cichlids]

What kind of peacocks are u looking for?

[chiroken]

I can say I'm overly fussy or demanding. I just want a wide variety of colourful male fish that will get along and never squabble

The only peacocks I currently have I believe are 3 A. maleri, I adult and 2 juvies that have yet to colour (1 is just beginning). Other fish in the tank are 1 adult male S. fryeri iceberg, 1 adult P. demasoni, & 3 yellow labs. I do have a 90g that fish could be moved to if they tend to be too aggressive for peacocks.

To your question...I'm not really fussy on specific names. It's a 55g office reception room tank that I would literally like to have a lot of colour in. I do love the blues, my favourites would be in the reds. OB's in the mix, strawberries, fish with blues and yellows. Like I said I haven't really targeted a specific fish, only want to do my best with this tank to get good tankmates and fish that will fit into a 55g rather than some of the 8" monsters out there. I am unsure if having haps are a good idea or not. My reading suggests the S. fryeri is aggressive but this big guy is far from it. He goes about cruising around and causes no trouble (with the fish he's with now anyways). It's been suggested the haps are too aggressive in general and often too big for a 55g to be with peacocks.

I would ideally get juvies and grow them out for cost reasons. If I end up with females in the mix that is fine. I know many of you are very concerned with cross breeding, in this case, I am not. The fish, if crosses do occur, will not be distributed beyond myself as I do agree with keeping blood lines as clean as possible.

The only fish I've seen locally recently were what I think were 2 A. rubescens @ $46 per, a large OB for $60, a large A. maleri (of which I got 3 for about $15 from a friend) for $60 (not sure it was actually A. maleri, you never seem to know from the common <mis>labelling in fish stores). I may have a source for OB's, not sure though. The LFS at times have OB juvies for $18.

I stocked my 90g mbuna tank 3 1/2 yrs ago primarily from great breeders for very reasonable prices. I just can't seem to find what I'm looking for now.

Do you have fish, or know who does? Anyone taking a trip for Williams Lake over to the Comox Valley? lol

[Mferko]

demasonis and yellow labs will work together for sure, your best to start with a bunch of fry tho so they grow up peacefully together, u might want to rehome those adults to a different tank esp since your adult demasoni is a proven killer and your 4" lab is large enuff to eat fry

[clintgv]

I have a yellow labs with yellow tail aceis and soon to put demasoni fries. I have a fry tank set up with yellow lab and demasoni's and they are great with each other.

[chiroken]

@ clint: do you breed your fish or did you purchase all your fry?

I agree that I should move the adult demasoni and the yellow labs, assuming I can get juvies of both to rear out. Maybe my LFS with swap out my 3 adult labs for a group of fry. Just have to find the demos...

[clintgv]

I bought my breeding group of yellow labs from a member here on bca. And the Aceis, also bought from a member here and some from LFS. And the demasoni's I got them also from a member but they are still 1.5".

[Krashy_Cichlids]

I have a couple different kinds of A. Jacobfriebergi.

[chiroken]

I have a couple different kinds of A. Jacobfriebergi.

Planning any trips to Vancouver Island anytime soon?

[Krashy_Cichlids]

I can ship to campbell river, if that helps