MousePotato

Hello, everyone! Long time, no post. Some of you may remember me as the woman who “rescued” two hooligan fish that were tearing up a co-worker’s stock and were in danger of being flushed down the toilet. These were my first fish and I had a heck of a time with them. I found out (thanks to the wonderful people on this site) that my co-worker did not do his research before purchasing these two beauties and I was a novice fishkeeper trying to keep happy a P. Socolofi male and a P. Demasoni female in a 20 gallon tank! It was not pretty. We went through a lot of Stress Coat!

Believe it or not, they are still alive. I was given a 29 gallon tank (had to trade the 20 for it) and I purchased a divider. I don’t know how happy they are in their little respective homes, but they are certainly healthier. Incidentally, everything I read about the Socolofi says they are “mildly aggressive.” Well, he beat the emulsion out of the “highly aggressive” Demasoni!

Anyway… I finally have my husband convinced that I need a bigger tank and I’m getting a 75 gallon as soon as the living room has been tiled (workmen are here as I type!). I’m very excited, but I want to make sure I don’t make any more near-fatal (or worse) mistakes. I really want to keep my hooligans as I’ve become quite attached to them in the past year or so. I would like to move the Demasoni into the big tank and get her 11 or so buddies. Is there anything else I can put with them? Yellow labs have been suggested as well as red zebras, but the labs are very peaceful (good victims for bullying?) and I believe the zebras are the same genus. Interbreeding issue?

I would like to keep the Socolofi in the 29 gallon and maybe get him a couple of lady friends. Any suggestions on stocking this one? Is this tank going to be big enough for him and a few others in the long run?

I appreciate any advice you can give me. I really want a plan in place before I even start cycling the big tank!

MissMTS

If you keep the demasoni in a school of 11 or more, they shouldn't bother your other fish. They will just chase eachother. I would put yellow labs and red zebras with them. I would only worry about interbreeding if you are planning to keep the fry and raise them. I don't have a grow out tank for fry, so when my africans start breeding, the babies will just get eaten. Albino Socolofi would also look nice with the demasoni.

You could do:
12 demasoni
and 3 females to 1 male ratio of two of following groups
yellow labs
red zebras
albino socolofi

MousePotato

Thank you for your input, MissMTS. Do you have any advice concerning the Socolofi? Could he possibly go in the mix if he had a few "honies" of his own or would he keep being a nuisance to the Dems?

If he needs to be separate, would the 29 gallon be sufficient for him and a few tankmates? Do you have any suggestions for good tankmates he won't tear apart? Sorry about all the questions - I just want to make sure I go into this with as much good information as possible. Thanks.