If I want to start a tropical fresh water tank and keep 3 Demasoni is a 35gallon tank ok? Also is it?

Question

possible to pick only males? and can I mix them with 2 Frontosa and 2 Synodontis decorus (7 all together) If this isnt possible what could I do with showy fish at that gallon size

Answer 1

All the demasonis look alike, so the odds are 1 in 8 that you'd get all 3 males. They can be aggressive for their size, and I wouldn't try keeping them with any of the others in a 35 gallon tank (frontosas should have at least a 70 gallon). Because of their aggression, I would suggest you get a larger tank and keep a larger group of the demasonis so they can spread out any aggression among their group. If the group is too small (say just the three) two will pair up (assuming you have mixed genders) and will make life miserable for the third.

If you're limited to a 35 gallon tank, consider a different species of fish. I really like rainbowfish (which are easier to determine gender in as well) and to get the best color, get 2 males for each female. The males display color to attract the females, so by having more males, they really try to out-compete each other for the females' attention.

If you want to stay within cichlids, look at some German rams (sensitive to water quality) or cockatoo cichlids (both South American) or Orange Leleupi (African).