Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Cichlids > Malawi Zebra Cichlids > Demanson's Cichlid

Demanson's Cichlid

Midnight Demasoni Family: Cichlidae

• Puzzles
• Postcards

Pseudotropheus demasoni Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Frank Schneidewind

   Sought after for its bright colors and crisp patterning, the Demanson's Cichlid is also a very curious fish!

   The Demanson's Cichlid from Lake Malawi, Africa is a more recent addition to the aquarium hobby. It was first described and brought into the hobby in 1994 by Ad Konings, and named after his good friend Laif Demason. It is an interesting fish to watch as it follows the contours of the rocks, swimming along at odd angles to the point of being upside down. They are very curious and have lots of personality and spunk.

   Moderate to hard to care for, the Demanson's Cichlid is a dwarf Mbuna that only reaches about 3" in length, but is very aggressive. This is not a community tank specimen to be housed with fish other than cichlids. They need to be kept in a group of twelve or more in an aquarium with rock formations providing multiple hiding places to ward off the brutal aggression between them. They can also be kept in a large aquarium of mixed Mbuna, again with plenty of hiding places. Success is dependent on the aquarists willingness to do frequent water changes, have sufficient numbers and hiding places, and provide appropriate tank mates.

   The Demanson's Cichlid is in a group of cichlids called Mbunas. There are 12 genera full of very active and aggressive personalities. The Demanson’s Cichlid is sometimes confused with the Pseudotropheus minutus, being similar in size and color. Differences are that on the P. minutus, the lines stop before the tail fin and are less distinct, and also the Demanson's Cichlids male has an egg spot. The Mbuna's have been bred in captivity and with all the different hybrids that have been formed, there is no way to tell exactly what you are getting unless it is from a reputable dealer. Try and keep the different species blood lines pure.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Distribution:
   The Demanson's Cichlid was described by Konings in 1994. They are found in Lake Malawi, Africa. They inhabit rocky areas in large groups at a location called Pombo Rocks, which is off the Tanzanian coast. They pick at algae for food which may contain Aufwuchs. Aufwuchs refers to tough stringy algae that is attached to rocks. “Loose” Aufwuchs can contain insect larvae, nymphs, crustaceans, snails, mites and zooplankton. The Demanson’s Cichlid is considered to be in the 'dwarf' category due to its size.

  The genus Pseudotropheus was formerly used for a variety of Lake Malawi mbuna species.  Recent revisions split the genus into three sub-genera: Pseudotropheus Pseudotropheus, Pseudotropheus Tropheops, and Pseudotropheus Metriaclima. (There is some debate on the naming of this last sub-genera, these fish may be found described as either Metriaclima or Maylandia.)

Status:
   This species is listed on the IUCN Red List with the status of 'VU', meaning 'Vulnerable'.

Description:
   The Demanson's Cichlid has the typical Mbuna elongated 'torpedo' body shape. They have alternating vertical bars that are dark blue, almost black and light blue. There are six dark and five light, starting with a dark stripe behind the gill cover and ending with a muted dark stripe at the base of the tail fin. On their head they have three light blue stripes alternated with the two dark ones. One of these dark stripes is between the eyes and the other one runs across the forehead, where it sort of intersects with the very first vertical bar just behind the gill cover. Their “chin” is a medium blue coloring. On the dorsal fin the stripes angle back with the lighter blue ones being thinner than the dark. The tail fin has very thin “horizontal” lines of dark and light blue and the edge is 'outlined' in the light blue and underlined with a dark blue.
   All cichlids share a common feature that some saltwater fish such as wrasses and parrotfish have and that is a well-developed pharyngeal set of teeth that are in the throat, along with their regular teeth. Cichlids have spiny rays in the back parts of the anal, dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic fins to help discourage predators. The front part of these fins are soft and perfect for precise positions and effortless movements in the water as opposed to fast swimming.
   Cichlids have one nostril on each side while other fish have 2 sets. To sense “smells” in the water, they suck water in and expel the water right back out after being “sampled” for a short or longer time, depending on how much the cichlid needs to “smell” the water. This feature is shared by saltwater damselfish and cichlids are thought to be closely related.

Size - Weight:
  The Demanson's Cichlid grows to a length of 2.5” to 3” (6.4 to 7.6 cm).

Care and feeding:
   The Demanson's Cichlid is an omnivore that needs mainly herbivorous foods. Their diet should consist of vegetable matter. An all purpose, high quality cichlid formula can be used as a basic diet. Including vegetable supplements to their diet will help with overall health. This food has fiber which keeps their intestinal tract disease free. It is always better to feed them small amounts several times a day instead of one large feeding. This keeps the water quality higher for a longer period of time. Of course, all fish benefit from added vitamins and supplements to their foods. It would not be wise to house this fish with other genus of cichlids that eat beef heart or other mammal meat, as these foods will cause intestinal infections and death.
   A 40 gallon tank will work for a single fish, but 100 gallons or more will be needed for a group or a mixed mbuna tank. The Demanson’s Cichlid must be house in numbers of 12 or more. They do fine in either freshwater or brackish freshwater but need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Crushed coral or sand for salt water tanks can help keep the PH up. Gravel is acceptable as well. They need caves and rocks to explore as they are very curious little fish. Having several niches will help them have their own territory, which is also better for the subdominant females and males.
   Malawi Cichlids will deteriorate under poor water conditions. Along with an established filtration system; doing water changes of 50% a week with a crowded system, or 20% to 40% depending on load, is needed for their health. Malawi bloat is a typical disease especially if their dietary needs are not met with quality foods. It is caused by too much protein matter. They can contract other diseases that ail all freshwater fish.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   These fish will swim in the middle areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   The streams that flow into Lake Malawi have a high mineral content. This along with evaporation has resulted in alkaline water that is highly mineralized. Lake Malawi is known for its clarity and stability as far as PH and other water chemistries. It is easy to see why it is important to watch tank parameters with all Lake Malawi fish. A higher PH means that ammonia is more lethal, so water changes are a must for these fishes. A very slow acclimation to different PH levels can sometimes be achieved.
   Hardness: 10 - 18° dH
   Ph: 7.6 - 8.6
   Temp: 75 - 82° F (24 -28° C).

Social Behaviors:
   The Demanson's Cichlid is aggressive and is not considered to be a community fish. In fact, it should only be housed with other aggressive Mbunas. Only keep them in a community Mbuna designed tank with lots of rock structures. They are very territorial, even a 1/2 inch male will chase away a medium size fish from his territory. Do not house with similarly colored species, especially the Dogtooth Cichlid Cynotilapia afra or Kenyi Cichlid Pseudotropheus lombardoi. Do not house with ANY fish that has the same hue or other fish that have bars, including a yellow with dark bars. You can house them with a yellow Mbuna that does not have bars and they will be fine. Some examples of appropriate tank mates are a yellow species of Electric Yellow Labidochromis caeruleus, the Red Zebra Metriaclima estherae, and the Cobalt Zebra Maylandia callainos.
  This fish is best kept in a group of 12 or more. The male to female ratio can vary, but there should be more than one male. You may need to experiment with your fish’s temperament to determine how many males you can keep. Besides being how they live in the wild, the reason for the large grouping is that in a captive environment, this larger number will prevent the dominant male from focusing his aggression on just a few fish, thus leading to their death. With a large number, the subdominant females and males are 'lost in the crowd'. If the numbers are too low, such as 5 or 6, a male will systematically kill the others until he is alone. There will be a dominant male in the group, and once he has established himself, the other Demanson’s Cichlids will avoid fighting with him. If you cannot provide the needed room, it is best to leave this one at the store.

Sexual Differences:
   For the first couple of months juveniles of both sexes are the same size, making sexing next to impossible unless you vent them. As they get older, the males will develop elongated ventral fins and an egg spot.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The Demanson's Cichlid has been bred in captivity. This cichild is a mouthbrooder that needs to be in numbers of 12 or more. At one inch a female will start to brood but the number of fry will be low. Once the dominant male decides to breed, he will become severely aggressive and pummel to death any other male in the tank if the tank is too small, or if there is a lack of hiding places for the other fish. Like other mbunas the males coloring will change. He will shake and circle the female, moving her to a flat rock in his territory, then the breeding begins.
   The female will lay between 5 - 15 eggs and then immediately takes them into her mouth. The male will then flare out his anal fin which has an 'egg spot' patterning. The female mistakes the patterning for her own eggs and tries to take them in her mouth as well. This stimulates the male to discharge sperm (milt cloud) and the female inhales the cloud of 'milt', thus fertilizing the eggs in her mouth. In seven days, at about 80° F, the eggs hatch. The fry are free swimming in another two weeks.
  Feed the fry crushed flake, Cyclopeeze and freshly hatched artemia. Even the fry are aggressive and will pick on each other. Older siblings don’t think twice about eating the newborns if they can fit them in their mouth. See the description of how cichlids breed in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Buy Demanson's Cichlids From LiveAquaria.com

Availability:
   Demanson's Cichlids are usually found online or in fish stores and run about $14.00 to $18.00 USD for a two inch specimen. Juveniles are only occasionally available, and will run about $2.00 to $5.00 USD. These fish may be special ordered if you are willing to wait for them if they are out of season.
   When acquiring a Demanson's Cichlid, with all the different hybrids that have formed in captivity, there is no way to tell exactly what you are getting unless it is from a reputable dealer.

Author: Carrie McBirney

Add your comment here!

Back to Malawi Zebra Cichlids