Advice on feeding

[HB87]

Okay.. So he should be fine then? I worry.. I love my fish.. I'd be upset if anything happened to him..

This is unrelated to eating habits but i'm curious, can he/she have tank mates?? Also, does anyone know how to determine the sex??

 

[IvanMike]

Red devils didn't get that name for nothing - they can be very aggressive. The easiest way to sex them and a lot of cichlids is to look at the back ends of the soft dorsal and anal fins - if they end in long filaments, the fish is prolly male, if the points are kind of short - probably a female. The pic of your fish is really tiny, but it looks like a girl to me. Males can also get a LOT bigger, and sometimes develop a hump on their forehead.

I wouldn't put a breeding pair of red devils in anything smaller than a 75, but a 125 would be a lot better. In either case I'd have a divider made of plastic egg crate diffuser grating pre-cut and ready to put in in a moment's notice.

Red devils can have tank mates, but they should generally be other aggressive cichlids. Even then individuals vary, so you never know. It's really hard to put another fish in with a fish like a red devil if the RD has lived alone in the tank for a while - If I was adding another fish or two I would move them all at once into something like a 125 so it's new to all of them. In a tank of your size, I would be content to keep it as a specimen tank.

 

[HB87]

Okay.. Yeah that pic is from when I first got the fish and its hard to get a good shot because if I get too close to the tank the fish goes crazy lol. So I guess I should call it a she now? I would like a male but I think for now just my one red devil is good. Did I pick a difficult fish to keep? I fell in love as soon as I saw it and the people at the pet store were really glad to see it going to a home.. I was told not many people around here buy them because of the aggresiveness though.

 

[IvanMike]

No they're not difficult - they're as tough as nails. Difficult to keep with other fish - yeah. Difficult to breed - yes and no - the difficulty arises in the male slaughtering the female. There's a fine line between aggression and sex in cichlids. In the wild they have all the room in the world to get away from each other - in a tank, not so much.

As a "pet fish" they're pretty cool and darned near indestructible. Very intelligent.

 

[HB87]

Okay thank you. Do you know if when I get her in a larger tank if I could get some type of algea eater? I tried a snail and found it slaughtered later the same day I put it in the tank.

I'm sorry for all the questions... Alot of what i've found online and heard from the people at the pet store has confused me and its nice to talk to actual people who can help...

 

[HB87]

My fish is eating agian

I held a pellet over the water and she got curious and as soon as I dropped it she ate it..

Thank you guys for all the help!!

 

[IvanMike]

Good.

Big huge LOL on the snail - Red Devils are molluscivores! In the wild the develop large fleshy "lips" hence the second part of their name - "labiatum" from ramming their mouths into the bottom grabbing the snails.

 

[HB87]

Lol I know that now! The woman at the pet store actually recommended the snail.. Said my fish would be less likely to attack the snail than something else LOL

 

[IvanMike]

"Trust me - this cat won't even know this mouse is there - they'll be great pals."

Time for new pet store (or just do what i do and completely ignore whatever they say, educate yourself from reliable sources like some good books and local fish clubs - or now y'all can use the net - wasn't so up and running when i started, buy food, dechlorinator and equipment online at thatfishplace, and just go in the local store for tanks and fish).

 

[HB87]

Lol yes I agree its time for a new pet store. They couldnt tell me anything about the fish.. When I bought it I asked what size tank ect and was told it'd be fine in anything 10 gallon or bigger.. Clearly not LOL. I have found out mostly all I know (besides what i've been learning here ) on the internet...

I will look into that site and give it a go. Thanks for the advice!

 

[IvanMike]

Just a follow up - how's the fish and water parameters doing?

 

[HB87]

Everything is good I believe. Im out of town til saturday. I'll update when I get back home

 

[HB87]

Everything is good water temp ect wise but she quit eating agian I fed her a baby snail just to see if she'd eat it and she did but she still won't eat her pellets... I tested her water and everything was at the level it should be. Could my fish just be being stubborn?? I'm doing everything i'm supposed to be and I really dont want to lose my fish I want to fix this but i'm at a loss... Any new advice?

 

[HB87]

Also i'm about to buy a larger tank.. What size is best? And how long do I cycle before I rehome her? Im sorry for the off topic questions but I really wanna make sure I do everything correctly

 

[IvanMike]

It's odd that she quit eating after not being fed for a few days (you didn't have someone feed her while gone did you? - fish, particularly bigger fish, don't need to eat every day, and I've often left mine for a week).

I would raise the temp a couple of degrees and not feed for a few days - that brings most fish around to eating. Also look for any other odd symptoms. In terms of tank size - bigger is better. If you have her in a 30 now a 40 breeder offers more room, as does a 55 - both are on sale at petco right now. A 75 is better for long term, but those cost some.

Tanks don't need to be cycled - filter media does. If you get a bigger tank and use the same filters right away, you're all good. If you switch to larger filters for some reason, you can stuff the media from the old filters in the new ones to inoculate them, but unless you get a huge tank - I think you can use the same filters for now.

 

[HB87]

Well, my mom had fed her the morning I left but my fish didnt eat so I told her to just leave her be til I got home. I will try what you suggested about raising temp a little. As far as any other symptoms I dont see any... Shes as active as ever n she looks healthy which is why i'm confused.. Do you think I should try a variety of food instead of just the one i've been using?

Thank you for the advice on tank size.. I'm looking at 55 or bigger. I will do like you said though with filter media when I get it setup. I just wanted to make sure how I needed to go about rehoming without causing stress on her.