new 59 gallon high stocking and other questions

[dcsnowwake]

I am about to buy a 59g high tank, I have always done apistos and want a different kind if tank.
I really want Demasoni, and perhaps another type to go with it. I would like to mate them also.

My questions are:

1.what kinda rocks are best to build caves
2. what kind of substrate
3. planted or not
4. what is another type of cichlid that will bring out more colors and get along
5. what is the ratio of m/f

and any other words of advice would be great.

[Lab_Rat]

I am about to buy a 59g high tank, I have always done apistos and want a different kind if tank.
I really want Demasoni, and perhaps another type to go with it. I would like to mate them also.

My questions are:

1.what kinda rocks are best to build caves
2. what kind of substrate
3. planted or not
4. what is another type of cichlid that will bring out more colors and get along
5. what is the ratio of m/f

and any other words of advice would be great.

What is the footprint of this tank? Your stocking will depend on the footprint.

1. Texas holey rock is awesome for mbuna. Slate can also be used to stack.
2. They like to dig so sand is a good option. I used pfs with crushed coral as a buffer since at the time I had soft water.
3. Good luck planting it with mbuna. I've got a planted african tank right now but no mbuna are allowed in the tank. As it is, the vics still pick at the plants. If you want to try, stick with anubias, java fern, and java moss, with possibly some crinum plants.
4. A lot of people like the demasoni/yellow lab mix for the tank. You'd have black/blue/yellow.
5. 1m/4+f if you can. They're harem spawners.

[dcsnowwake]

are there any fun rare/unusual species that I should try that are nice and colorful?

[Lab_Rat]

What is the footprint of the tank?

Vics are more rare, you may want to look into some of those species.

[dcsnowwake]

I dont have the exact specifications yet, it looks almost like a cube just a little taller than wider.....LFS is selling it for half price due to no lighting and hood, so for 150 instead of 300 for aquarium and stand i cant say no

[kaybee]

Due to the nature of their aggression I think that maintaining demasoni's in a colony-sized groups (minimum of 12-15 demasoni's in the tank) is more important than the typical mbuna gender-ratio's that most other mbuna species can be maintained in. The females of the species are just as conspecific-aggressive as the males and a smaller group comprised of a male and several females will likely implode through attrition.

For tank mates, demasoni's are pretty much compatible with all other mbuna species, generally leaving them alone (preferring to direct their aggression toward their own kind), with the exception of those that bear any general semblence to them (l. mbamba's, male p. saulosi, certain cynotilapia species, etc). With that said most metriaclima (or 'zebra complex') mbuna's with similar patterns (BB zebras, female kenyi, red-top zebras', etc) are usually well-equipped to hold their own with or even dominate demasoni's once the metriaclima's surpass them in size.

[aholmes777]

I would definitely go with a planted aquarium, it seems so much more natural, and when you get plants growing it is really satisfactory.

[kaybee]

Mbuna's (which means 'rock fish' in one of the local languges in the region they're from) originate from the rocky shore lines of Lake Malawi and seem to be best suited in tanks which either resemble their natural environment (lots of rocks) or can provide caves and hiding spots that can conceal or protect them (decorations, pvc, planter pots, etc). Most mbuna's are natural herbivores as well as substrate manipulators and I think would disrupt most live plants.