Demasoni Cichlid tank

[Nilsha]

Hello,

I want to set up a 90l tank with
4 Demasoni Cichlids
2 Electric Yellow Cichlid
2 Mbuna Cichlid

It is a heavily planted tank with plenty of spaces to hide.

Is this possible? This is my first cichlid tank and I really like demasonis. So I would like to know who would be the best tank mates for them.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ben Rhau]

These are all mbuna. If you've never kept cichlids, I would recommend a larger tank (at least 150l, preferably larger) and the more peaceful mbuna species like Electric Yellow (Labidochromis caeruleus) and others of that temperament. You can get a similar color profile to the demasoni in Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos or Cynotilapia afra. My advice:

1. Don't get the demasoni as your first cichlids. They're expensive and extremely aggressive, especially if you end up with more than one male, which might happen since they're hard to sex when small. They would kill your other fish in a tank that size.

2. 90l is too small for mbuna. For a beginner, at least 150l, but you have more flexibility with a larger tank like 208l.

3. It's not easy to keep plants with mbuna. They never end up looking great. I would use plenty of rocks as hiding spaces and allow algae to grow, as they are auwfuchs feeders. It could work if the plants were already established, but you may need to rescape the tank often to deter aggression, and it's easier to move rocks than plants.

-Ben

 

[Nilsha]

Thank you so much for your reply. I definitely don't want my fish to kill each other. Cyaneorhabdos look amazing too. Very similar to Demosoni. I will look into them.