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I bought a damasoni (among 8 others) last week and added him and friends to my 90-gallon tank with 12 other cichlids. They are all playing nicely - except for the damasoni.

He sits in a cave, as if he is protecting his turf. He rarely comes out, and when he does, he doesn't interact with the others and isn't very active. He's swimming around fine, but he's seems lethargic.

When I feed them, they all eat enthusiastically - except for the damasoni. He doesn't react or chow down like the others.

Is this behavior normal? I'm concerned he's having trouble adjusting to the new tank and his not eating (or at least going after the food) is troublesome.

Advice? Suggestions?

2 possibilities when cichlids won't eat

1) it could be a female holding eggs
....female Demasoni have relatively light colored bellys....
...male Demasoni have very dark bellys....
(that would explain the territorial thing too)

2) it could have or be starting to get bloat
see my bloat paper
http://unclenedsfishfactory.com/Library ... Bloat.html
if it is bloat, just bring it back, I'll give you another one,
assuming you bought it from Uncle Ned's
and assuming you only bought it a little while ago

In my experience, demasoni are extremely shy fish even in the company of dithers. I had a tank of 28 of them some years ago and they would not come out of the rockwork often, even to feed. I included 4 rainbowfish as dithers but it did not help.
When food was added the individual fish would quickly swim out of his cave, grab a flake and immediately return to the cave. Additionally, they are a very aggressive mbuna especially prone to fight among themselves.
Hopefully your fish will, over time, get used to his environs and come out of hiding.