Keeping Demasoni in a heavily planted 75

[Green Grove Aquatics]

I'm wondering if this would be feasible. 

I have a heavily planted 75 gallon, stocked with Guppies, Cory's, a Koi Betta, Cherry Shrimp, and a few ottos. 

Plants include Val, Dwarf Sag, Ludwigia, Hornwort, various Anubias, and Moneywort.

If I add some Demasoni, how bad would they tear up the plants and fish?  And how many to stock?

 

[CorydorasEthan]

7 minutes ago, Green Grove Aquatics said:

I'm wondering if this would be feasible. 

I have a heavily planted 75 gallon, stocked with Guppies, Cory's, a Koi Betta, Cherry Shrimp, and a few ottos. 

Plants include Val, Dwarf Sag, Ludwigia, Hornwort, various Anubias, and Moneywort.

If I add some Demasoni, how bad would they tear up the plants and fish?  And how many to stock?

 

What are your water parameters? I don't know too much about Demasoni, but one thing I do know is that they are Lake Malawi cichlids, meaning that they're water parameter requirements are different from most of the other fish in the tank. In addition, (again, only from minimal research) I read that they don't play well with most classic community fish like the ones you already have in the aquarium. So from this, I would advise against the Demasoni altogether. An alternative might be a pair of kribensis, Apistogramma, or Bolivian rams if you wanted some small, colorful cichlids for your planted community.

I hope this helps.

[Green Grove Aquatics]

I have hard water, I don't remember the specifics off the top of my head.  But last I checked it's ideal cichlid water parameters.

I'm constantly trimming plants, so I wonder if adding them would just reduce trimming or kill the plants all together.

[CorydorasEthan]

6 minutes ago, Green Grove Aquatics said:

I have hard water, I don't remember the specifics off the top of my head.  But last I checked it's ideal cichlid water parameters.

I'm constantly trimming plants, so I wonder if adding them would just reduce trimming or kill the plants all together.

Okay I did a bit more searching and found that some sources say no, while other say that yes they are indeed plant safe. I guess it really depends on the environment they are kept in and how often they are fed, and maybe also the individual tastes of the fish, so I can't make a sure estimate on whether or not your plants are going to be eaten or not.

[Patrick_G]

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but they’ll eat your fish and shrimp. 

[Patrick_G]

Cory recently did a vid on Electric Blue Acara. That’s  an option to checkout. 

 

[Green Grove Aquatics]

Thanks, I'll look into them.