Red Devil Cichlids?

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mfdrookie516

mfdrookie516

Aquarium Free - 2+ Years
Joined
Jul 23, 2009
Messages
19,407
Location
Orange Beach, Alabama
Anybody know anything about red devil cichlids? Once again, ive had several people tell me several different things... seems like if i ask a question around here, i get pretty much all the same opinions... There is a guy needing to get rid of several red devils, i want them bad, they are one of the fish that i have wanted for quite some time. As most of you guys who browse the cichlid discussion forums know, i have several tanks, i have jd's and convicts in one, brichardis in one, and the rest are pretty much just tropical community tanks. Can these fish get along with any of my other cichlids or will i need to set up a tank for them alone? he has 25 that he needs to get rid of, i have 55gal tanks, i figure 25 is too many, so i can set up 2 tanks, i was just wondering if i can put some in with any of the others, because i just have a few of each in those tanks... any ideas?
 
haha, im getting rid of some of my fish... i am so in to cichlids, i am selling the livebearers, and converting that tank to pfs... ( i love pfs!)... i am being careful not to let my obsession get out of control too much, i wont overstock, i am ocd about keeping my tanks in tip top shape, i keep my water params 100% in check. I have learned so much from you guys and reading articles.. Heres the thing, i am trying to get all of the aquariums set up and running before november, because ill be a dad then and wont have the money or time to do much more than water changes and feeding. I bought a python water change system tonight, i cant wait to use it, i just have to buy an adapter because the piece of crap faucet i have wont work :(. do you know if these fish are compatable with any others though?
 
I dont know the red devils, sorry. Congrats on being a dad! Is this your first? I have 2 girls, 4 and 7. They are my reason for life. No matter what happens in the rest of your day, you come home and every thing is ok. I do understand you wanting to get these done though. Wish I could be more help.
 
Oh no prob spoon, you know what you know, you dont what you dont... youve been a big help on some other things, cant expect ya to know everything :) im sure somebody here has some experience with them. I know im going to be setting up a tank one day with those mbunas like you have... just a matter of time. This is our first, i had the most wonderful day, i got to hear its heart beat and see it somewhat... theyre running late for some reason, im not sure why but most people know what their baby will be by now. She is due nov 28th. I am so excited.
 
are your girls interested much in your aquariums? I have debated putting an aquarium in the baby's room so it will be able to look at the fish, just afraid once it starts walking it might topple it over:(
 
About 3 weeks ago I set up a 10G in each of their rooms. They were both really excited about it at first, then the 4 year old has kind of lost interest. The 7 year old has taken over feeding the 4 y/o's fish and helping me with the water change and adding fish and such. The 7 y/o is also the one that has taken all the interest in the 115G cichlid tank. She was the first one that notices everything about that tank. She noticed the acei that was holding, she noticed the first little fry in the tank. She goes on line with me and looks up fish to see if they are compatable and stuff. Its really cool.
 
I am not too sure about breeding this species. But, I will say this... I had a lone Red Devil systematically destroy every fish in my tank, one at a time till all were dead and he was alone... and this was without a mate...

I can only imagine what a breeding pair are capable of. Now, Convicts may be able to hold their own, but I am not sure... Mine killed Oscars five times his size...
 
wow, i might have to just set them up in their own tank, i have one waiting to be set up, i guess i could always just take the plunge lol
 
I have two red devils in a 75g tank with a green terror and a bumblebee. I used to have 2 green terrors and 2 bumblebees....if that tells you anything.

Red devils do not play nice with each other especially. The larger dominate one has grown to almost 6 in. in just 6 months. While the other (same size when I bought them) is only 3 in. The dominate one bullies all the other fish, I've contemplating taking him out, I just dont have the money to spend on another tank.

That being said, they are extremely aggressive to fish that look like them. He leaves the bumblebee alone almost completely, and gets into head butting matches with the green terror only occasionally. If the other red devil comes out of his hiding spot, he chases him instantly.

Also, red devils can get quite large. If you plan to put them in a tank with other cichlids, they need to be able to defend themselves.
 
That is why you don't put 2 together. Red Devils are very aggressive fish. You have a over stocked tank and need to take 1 of the devils out before a death occurs in your tank. Or else get a larger tank.
 
Chances are the Red Devils he has are hybrids of Midas Cichlids, unless he got them from a reputable vendor like Jeff Rapps. My understanding is about 90-95% of the Red Devils and Midas found in the aquarium trade (what you find at LFS and box pet stores) are hybrids of each other.

If you have a pure strain of Red Devil or a hybrid of a Midas, chances are you will end up with a fairly aggressive fish. Also you 55g sounds over stocked and one RD/midas will be too large for it, let alone other tank mates. In that size tank the RDs will eventually kill his/her tank mates and/or the bioload of the tank will be too much for the filters to handle. It is suggested one RD or Midas in a 75g tank by itself.

If you attempt to keep the RDs you will need a large tank, my guess is at least a 6ftLx1.5ftW, and 8ft would be better. I've had problems with my 14-15 inch Midas/RD in my 300g and also in my 240g (he was with Aro's, Peacock bass, and a Jurense cat) he was constantly picking on my Jurense cat (who is about 17-18 inches), so he was moved to a 75gal with a female midas I'm trying to breed him wiht. He started to pick on her so a divider need to go in.

Here is some info from another forum I belong too.

Midas http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=113

RD http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=116

mfdrookie516 said:
Anybody know anything about red devil cichlids? Once again, ive had several people tell me several different things... seems like if i ask a question around here, i get pretty much all the same opinions... There is a guy needing to get rid of several red devils, i want them bad, they are one of the fish that i have wanted for quite some time. As most of you guys who browse the cichlid discussion forums know, i have several tanks, i have jd's and convicts in one, brichardis in one, and the rest are pretty much just tropical community tanks. Can these fish get along with any of my other cichlids or will i need to set up a tank for them alone? he has 25 that he needs to get rid of, i have 55gal tanks, i figure 25 is too many, so i can set up 2 tanks, i was just wondering if i can put some in with any of the others, because i just have a few of each in those tanks... any ideas?
Click to expand...
 
yeah, i got 8, they were all less than an inch long... stuck them in a 10g qt, they all died during a "plague" that went through my house. Not real sure what happened... i lost a total of 13 fish that day. Anyways, ive since moved on and got rid of all those tanks, now ive got a 150g mbuna tank, 55 community, 10 shrimp, and 10 qt... I only like mbuna now lol, i posted that right after i started keeping fish and was totally clueless on just about everything
 
if you want to keep red devils, you will need a separate tank. while you may come across one now and again that is not as aggressive, this species is generally not going to work in a community setting.

my 12 year old midas just died a couple of months ago, and she would not let anyone in her tank. in 12 years, she had 1 tankmate, and that was only for 6-8mo. and it was a flowerhorn. lol
 
Sucks they died.

Nice, I had a 135gal mbuna tank for about 3-4 years, they breed like crazy, even though I wasn't planning on it. About 1.5 years ago i sold the fish and the tank and filled the nice big 9ft hole in the wall with a 240g.

Post some pics of your 150g if you have a chance.

mfdrookie516 said:
yeah, i got 8, they were all less than an inch long... stuck them in a 10g qt, they all died during a "plague" that went through my house. Not real sure what happened... i lost a total of 13 fish that day. Anyways, ive since moved on and got rid of all those tanks, now ive got a 150g mbuna tank, 55 community, 10 shrimp, and 10 qt... I only like mbuna now lol, i posted that right after i started keeping fish and was totally clueless on just about everything
Click to expand...
 
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