Midas Cichlid is atacking his tankmates.

[glasstapper]

when i say they hate to see me come in? I'm serious they run and hide i've spent hours there explaining things to people that i,ve learned here and my own errors, gave my cell phone # and this web site, i even posted it on the board leaving the store the web site that is not my #. but they gotta move merchandise,

 

[jennymit21]

sorry i didn't get back to you sooner but i was in Hurricane Frances.....i have an 8" Red Devil (he's pinkish/orange) and he tried to kill the pleco in with him also....had to take it out. Although i can hand feed him, he will attack the siphon tube and the cleaning sponge when i put them in the tank, so they are extremely aggressive.

sorry he didn't work out for you.....they really do have an awesome personality. he follows my fingers across the tank, watches tv with us, and is always aware of what's going on around him. Good Luck with your Oscars and stay away from Petsmart (except for hardware)

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

I didn't mean to start a chain-store bash-fest!

Seriously though- a lot of those places hire employees just like Wal-mart, the grocery store, or McDonalds would. They don't pay much so they're usually staffed with high school and college kids. Lots of those folks don't have Clue One about pets. However, not all chain-stores are like that (we've got a PetSmart that's got a college student that's pretty darn sharp when it comes to fish, and her water chemistry knowledge puts me to shame). In addition, not all local shops are "the" place to go: we've got several around here that are walk-in toilets and I'd not take a fish from their water if free!

The best thing to do is to hit every shop in your area and find the one that best suits your needs. Newbies should always find a sounding board to bounce info they've received from these shops to determine the good from the bad, i.e. a web forum you trust.

 

[spence0416]

Not quite what this post was originaaly about, however most Petsmart/Petco will sell a cross between the Red devil and the Midas. Its very rare to have a pure strain of these fish at chain stores.

 

[glasstapper]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm i think and prrreeeettttyyy sure the lips are the id central tween the two,, Jack is now turning white he will eventually be all white hump on his head and oh, attacks the siphon tube

Petsmart/Petco will sell a cross between the Red devil and the Midas. Its very rare to have a pure strain of these fish at chain stores.

is this for certain spence? i'd love to know for sure, but only proof positive, thanks in advance

 

[spence0416]

Well, I had purchased two Midas from Petco, and once they got to around 3-5 inces I began to notice difference between the pair. One had the large hump forming while the other had the slanted head of the Red Devil. I began asking around and found that many people have had the same results with theirs.

The idea that it is hard to find a pure strain of these fish is based mostly on what others have told me. I don't have first hand knowledge to where Petco/Petsmart get their fish. Just from posting on other boards many people agree that most of these Petsmart Midas are actually a cross. Mine were.

 

[glasstapper]

the hump on the head indicates males as is true with a few chiclid species, it's tough to know unless we have an ichtologist [sp?] degree, but in all the devil has larger lips, and a nasstier disposition because they are not territorial, just always lookin to fight and the hump on the head is indicative to males of the species

where Petco/Petsmart get their fish

thats a really good question i wonder if anyone knows?

 

[spence0416]

You can clearly tell the diffenence between these fish. Both were from a Midas tank at Petco

 

[Menagerie]

FWIW, IME--most cichlids are "mutts." If you ever go to a LFS, and the tank says "assorted cichilds," I would put money on the parents not being the same species. Cichlids are not far along in their evolution and can interbreed (not SA with Africans, but you get my point). Happens all the time in my Mbuna tank Now, I am not saying you cannot find a true breeding cichlid, but I would go to a breeder or a LFS that specializes in cichilds if you want "the real deal."
Stepping off...

 

[glasstapper]

I have indeed heard of hybrids take parrots for instance, I'm sittin here with my Axlerod Atlas of mutts and on page 493 top left citrinellum aka midas is rite over the labiatum reddevil quick description to correct myself if i have erred,
citrinellum long dorsal, thinner lips big "paddle" fins, Labiatum shorter dorsal bigger lips and the hump indicates male in either, all 3 of the refrence guides i have show 3 color schemes for the devils, anyway those are gorgous fish Spence they always have a place to go in georgia

 

[ted630]

That's way too many fish for that tank for one. You should return the oscars as even one oscar needs about 100 gallons to itself. After you get rid of the oscars and the red devil the aggression should start to subside. However, unless you pretty much return all the fish, except the pleco the aggression will never go away.


Bottom line, you can't really mix large predatory SA cichlids unless you have a very large tank and sorry to say that 75 gallons is nowhere near how big of a tank you'll need.

Cdawson, you think my tank is overstocked, look at what Petsmart recommends. Yesterday I stopped at Petsmart and noticed they have a recommended compatability/stocking chart according to the various size tanks and type of fish. For my 75 gallon tank they suggest stocking the South American Cichlid tank with a total of 11 fishes: 2 Oscars, 2 Jack Dempseys, 2 Green Severums, 2 Firemouths, 2 Convicts, and 1 Plecostomus. Now thats a lot of Fish!

 

[Lance M.]

Wow that is way too many fish. (Suggested by Petsmart) Most times the people at large chain stores like Petsmart are just trying to sell the fish and the people have no idea what they are talking about but occasionally have an idea.

My friend had a Midas Cichlid. It was living fine with just a wild caught bass in a 55-gallon. But just randomly one day the Midas killed the bass. The bass was more than twice the size of the Midas.

 

[cdawson]

That's way too many fish for that tank for one. You should return the oscars as even one oscar needs about 100 gallons to itself. After you get rid of the oscars and the red devil the aggression should start to subside. However, unless you pretty much return all the fish, except the pleco the aggression will never go away.


Bottom line, you can't really mix large predatory SA cichlids unless you have a very large tank and sorry to say that 75 gallons is nowhere near how big of a tank you'll need.

Cdawson, you think my tank is overstocked, look at what Petsmart recommends. Yesterday I stopped at Petsmart and noticed they have a recommended compatability/stocking chart according to the various size tanks and type of fish. For my 75 gallon tank they suggest stocking the South American Cichlid tank with a total of 11 fishes: 2 Oscars, 2 Jack Dempseys, 2 Green Severums, 2 Firemouths, 2 Convicts, and 1 Plecostomus. Now thats a lot of Fish!

Petsmart recommends that an albino channel catfish is a community fish and only reaches 6". DO NOT pay any attention to what petsmart does with any livestock. They also say a pacu reaches 6", as well as the oscar.

I think they can only put up to 6" on those stat cards for each species.

 

[Lance M.]

Lol. Great advice cdawson. NEVER LISTEN TO PETSMART or other places. You can never know what they are telling you is true unless your experienced and have done enough research on fish by yourself beforehand.

 

[cdawson]

Lol. Great advice cdawson. NEVER LISTEN TO PETSMART or other places. You can never know what they are telling you is true unless your experienced and have done enough research on fish by yourself beforehand.

Exactly, after spending countless hours on these boards I can walk into a petshop and walk out without worrying about wasting money.