I wanted to make this thread to help newbies (like myself) who are just entering the hobby. It will be lacking in detail, I'm sure. I figured this may help one or two people one day, via search criteria alone.
I had piranhas in a 150 gallon tanks and have also kept Oscars. Entering the hobby this time around, it had been about 15 years since I kept those piranhas and oscars (I was a kid and my father helped a lot). I was practically starting from scratch.
Here is what you should know before you do anything..
Read up on the fish. Understand you're getting an aggressive fish that will not likely due well in a community tank. If you've never kept Cichlids before or don't know the temperament of the fish you'd be putting in there with it, just keep it solo. There are folks (on this forum even) with decades of experience keeping aggressive Central Americans who can't get them to coexist with other fish, or even their own kind. Every fish is different, but most of the time, the Red Devil/Midas should be kept separately. Everyone is free to do as they wish though and there have been folks who have kept them with other aggressive Cichlids with success.
What size tank?
The bigger, the better. At minimum you want a 75g. Some males can grow out to be quite large though 15"+. If I had one that size, I'd upgrade the tank. My female is right around 9" right now and 75g is still plenty for her on her own.
What can you feed it?
I've done quite a bit of research on this and found a lot of good stuff, mostly by users on this forum. The reality is some companies use higher quality ingredients. How much does this matter for a fish long term? No clue. With that being said, New Life Spectrum seems to be highly regarded for the quality of ingredients on this forum. I had a hard time getting my fish to eat them.
I would find a high quality pellet and make that it's primary diet.
My fish also LOVE worms. I don't feed them as often, but I use Andy Woods method of gut loading them when I do.
I also have a tank under my Midas tank that I use to breed shrimp to live feed him. I've only ever done this 3 times in a year though. Only rarely.
Vegetables. When she was younger, I would let her hit cucumber slices on the top of the water.
They are not typically picky eaters.
This is what worked for me though.
What substrate/deco?
I made the mistake of going with a fine white sand. My thought process is the waste would sit on top of the substrate and I could see it quickly and get it out. This did work. However, the sand destroyed two AC110 filters and sand is awful to deal with during vacuuming the substrate. I would never do it again.
I WISH I WOULD HAVE SEEN THIS THREAD BEFORE I MADE MY TANK. I would have done things completely different. This will show you real pictures of CA Cichlids in their natural habitat. I would have emulated that, had I known.
www.monsterfishkeepers.com
Plants or no plants? I mean, you can try, but I doubt you'll be able to keep a plant in a tank with a Cichlid, especially a Midas. Mine even moves the rocks around. I just went with rocks and a single piece of drift wood. I want her to be able to swim freely and hide.
What filters can you use?
There are a lot of filters out there that will work. It really depends on what you want to do. AquaClear 110s are cost effective and highly recommended by most people. I went with two cannister filters (Fluval 407 and a SunSun HW-3000) on my 75g tank.
What I've been told is you want the water to turn over 10x in an hour. With a 75g tank I want filters who cycle at least 750 gallons per hour. In the end, it depends on what you're keeping/bio load and how big the tank is going to be.
Maintenance - How Much Work?
Honestly? Not much when you consider other pets/hobbies. I do feel like you get out what you put in though. You want to change the water as often as possible. I was concerned about water changes so often at the start due to fear of killing beneficial bacteria, but I've been told that was a silly concern (they were right). I change water as often as possible right now, whenever I have a free 20-30 minutes.
You should be changing water at least once a week, in my eyes. These fish are messy and if you want a monster, it seems the consensus is that clean and fresh water are SUPER important. You can kind of tell the fish appreciate it too with how they act afterwards- its weird.
I change my water 3x a week, at least 50% each time. If I have extra time, I will take a little more out. While I'm changing water, I'm also vacuuming fish waste out. I use the python hose to do all this. There are a lot of options.
I do a deep clean on the aquarium once a month, scrubbing algae (dont get much) and cleaning cannister filters.
What should I be budgeting $$ wise?
It's up to you. There are a lot of ways to get these items, used, new, internet, etc.
-At least 75g aquarium
-Heater
-At least 10x the gph as the size of your tank
-Substrate
-Deco
-Lighting (if you want it)
-Powerhead (I use this to push waste toward my intake filters)
-Net
-Water test kit
I got all of that stuff, can I just go buy a fish now?
NO. You need to cycle the tank for beneficial bacteria. Luckily, there are TONS of good guides out there for that. Just do a search on this message board.
Where can I find a Red Devil/Midas?
I would search this website for some of the options. Chances are if you start calling some places around your home who you know sell fish, you'll find one.
Growth and Temper..
Every fish is different, but these guys/gals grow quick. I got mine at just shy of 3" and she is pushing 10" at a year. I have a feeling if it was a Male, she'd be even bigger already.
In terms of their temper? It can/will bite you if you're not paying attention. They are SUPER territorial and nothing seems to scare them off. Once you put something in their tank, it's usually game on.
Cleaning the glass can be tricky depending on their mood. It's their world in there.
What else??
It's really not a hard fish to take care of. They are super interactive with their keepers too. I would HIGHLY recommend getting a juvenile if you're just getting started as it will ease you into what happens with them as they grow, at least it did for me.
My girl will slam the top of my tank when she wants food and splash water when I open her lid to feed her. Sticking my hand in the tank is a challenge now a days, but as long as I'm careful and have something between me and her- no nips that day. If that sounds crazy to you, probably not the best fish to have, but if it sounds awesome - go buy one, they're amazingly fun to watch grow into those monsters. THEY GET BIG QUICK!!!
Here is a pic of some color after a water change!
Oh! and this is the day I got her...
I had piranhas in a 150 gallon tanks and have also kept Oscars. Entering the hobby this time around, it had been about 15 years since I kept those piranhas and oscars (I was a kid and my father helped a lot). I was practically starting from scratch.
Here is what you should know before you do anything..
Read up on the fish. Understand you're getting an aggressive fish that will not likely due well in a community tank. If you've never kept Cichlids before or don't know the temperament of the fish you'd be putting in there with it, just keep it solo. There are folks (on this forum even) with decades of experience keeping aggressive Central Americans who can't get them to coexist with other fish, or even their own kind. Every fish is different, but most of the time, the Red Devil/Midas should be kept separately. Everyone is free to do as they wish though and there have been folks who have kept them with other aggressive Cichlids with success.
What size tank?
The bigger, the better. At minimum you want a 75g. Some males can grow out to be quite large though 15"+. If I had one that size, I'd upgrade the tank. My female is right around 9" right now and 75g is still plenty for her on her own.
What can you feed it?
I've done quite a bit of research on this and found a lot of good stuff, mostly by users on this forum. The reality is some companies use higher quality ingredients. How much does this matter for a fish long term? No clue. With that being said, New Life Spectrum seems to be highly regarded for the quality of ingredients on this forum. I had a hard time getting my fish to eat them.
I would find a high quality pellet and make that it's primary diet.
My fish also LOVE worms. I don't feed them as often, but I use Andy Woods method of gut loading them when I do.
I also have a tank under my Midas tank that I use to breed shrimp to live feed him. I've only ever done this 3 times in a year though. Only rarely.
Vegetables. When she was younger, I would let her hit cucumber slices on the top of the water.
They are not typically picky eaters.
This is what worked for me though.
What substrate/deco?
I made the mistake of going with a fine white sand. My thought process is the waste would sit on top of the substrate and I could see it quickly and get it out. This did work. However, the sand destroyed two AC110 filters and sand is awful to deal with during vacuuming the substrate. I would never do it again.
I WISH I WOULD HAVE SEEN THIS THREAD BEFORE I MADE MY TANK. I would have done things completely different. This will show you real pictures of CA Cichlids in their natural habitat. I would have emulated that, had I known.
Natural habitats of cichlids
I don't know how you get a thread made a sticky,but I am hoping this one can be. A lot of people seem to have an interest in biotopes,myself included.I thought it would be good to have a thread just for videos or pictures of cichlids in their natural habitat. Hopefully other members can add...
www.monsterfishkeepers.com
Plants or no plants? I mean, you can try, but I doubt you'll be able to keep a plant in a tank with a Cichlid, especially a Midas. Mine even moves the rocks around. I just went with rocks and a single piece of drift wood. I want her to be able to swim freely and hide.
What filters can you use?
There are a lot of filters out there that will work. It really depends on what you want to do. AquaClear 110s are cost effective and highly recommended by most people. I went with two cannister filters (Fluval 407 and a SunSun HW-3000) on my 75g tank.
What I've been told is you want the water to turn over 10x in an hour. With a 75g tank I want filters who cycle at least 750 gallons per hour. In the end, it depends on what you're keeping/bio load and how big the tank is going to be.
Maintenance - How Much Work?
Honestly? Not much when you consider other pets/hobbies. I do feel like you get out what you put in though. You want to change the water as often as possible. I was concerned about water changes so often at the start due to fear of killing beneficial bacteria, but I've been told that was a silly concern (they were right). I change water as often as possible right now, whenever I have a free 20-30 minutes.
You should be changing water at least once a week, in my eyes. These fish are messy and if you want a monster, it seems the consensus is that clean and fresh water are SUPER important. You can kind of tell the fish appreciate it too with how they act afterwards- its weird.
I change my water 3x a week, at least 50% each time. If I have extra time, I will take a little more out. While I'm changing water, I'm also vacuuming fish waste out. I use the python hose to do all this. There are a lot of options.
I do a deep clean on the aquarium once a month, scrubbing algae (dont get much) and cleaning cannister filters.
What should I be budgeting $$ wise?
It's up to you. There are a lot of ways to get these items, used, new, internet, etc.
-At least 75g aquarium
-Heater
-At least 10x the gph as the size of your tank
-Substrate
-Deco
-Lighting (if you want it)
-Powerhead (I use this to push waste toward my intake filters)
-Net
-Water test kit
I got all of that stuff, can I just go buy a fish now?
NO. You need to cycle the tank for beneficial bacteria. Luckily, there are TONS of good guides out there for that. Just do a search on this message board.
Where can I find a Red Devil/Midas?
I would search this website for some of the options. Chances are if you start calling some places around your home who you know sell fish, you'll find one.
Growth and Temper..
Every fish is different, but these guys/gals grow quick. I got mine at just shy of 3" and she is pushing 10" at a year. I have a feeling if it was a Male, she'd be even bigger already.
In terms of their temper? It can/will bite you if you're not paying attention. They are SUPER territorial and nothing seems to scare them off. Once you put something in their tank, it's usually game on.
Cleaning the glass can be tricky depending on their mood. It's their world in there.
What else??
It's really not a hard fish to take care of. They are super interactive with their keepers too. I would HIGHLY recommend getting a juvenile if you're just getting started as it will ease you into what happens with them as they grow, at least it did for me.
My girl will slam the top of my tank when she wants food and splash water when I open her lid to feed her. Sticking my hand in the tank is a challenge now a days, but as long as I'm careful and have something between me and her- no nips that day. If that sounds crazy to you, probably not the best fish to have, but if it sounds awesome - go buy one, they're amazingly fun to watch grow into those monsters. THEY GET BIG QUICK!!!
Here is a pic of some color after a water change!
Oh! and this is the day I got her...
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