Day 1: Saffron the Midas

[Manu8__too]

Long story short, I had been looking for a nice male Midas for several weeks, and finally found a local hobbyist who was kind enough to sell him to me. He's round 6", and is going to be a beautiful fish. I have a long history of keeping Amphs, and am very much looking forward to observing his new journey under my care. He exhibits the prototypical peach/orange color that we commonly see in Midas Cichlids. I've decided to name him Saffron. I will be using this thread to update his growth, progress and overall wellbeing. I hope you enjoy the pics (he's only been in his new 90G for about 1 hour). All of my images were shot with my Nikkor AF-S DX 35mm F/1.8G

 

[TommyNY]

Beautiful

 

[Nilsafeller]

Long story short, I had been looking for a nice male Midas for several weeks, and finally found a local hobbyist who was kind enough to sell him to me. He's round 6", and is going to be a beautiful fish. I have a long history of keeping Amphs, and am very much looking forward to observing his new journey under my care. He exhibits the prototypical peach/orange color that we commonly see in Midas Cichlids. I've decided to name him Saffron. I will be using this thread to update his growth, progress and overall wellbeing. I hope you enjoy the pics (he's only been in his new 90G for about 1 hour). All of my images were shot with my Nikkor AF-S DX 35mm F/1.8GView attachment 1383042
View attachment 1383043
View attachment 1383044

Doooh! Very exciting! What is his diet?

 

[Manu8__too]

Beautiful

Thanks!

 

[Manu8__too]

Doooh! Very exciting! What is his diet?

Hikari Cichlid Gold.

 

[adamsfishes]

Very nice citrinellus. You must be ecstatic to get a fish of that caliber locally.

 

[Manu8__too]

Very nice citrinellus. You must be ecstatic to get a fish of that caliber locally.

Quite lucky actually. Most so called Midas (or RD’s) are a mixed-bag, due to common hybridization in the hobby. I could tell right away that this guy was a Midas, based on his taller/thicker build, and more pronounced rounding of the lips. My other big Amph (a 13” MiDevil) shows characteristics of both, as where this guy is Midas all the way. Either way, all Amphs are a pleasure to own.

 

[Manu8__too]

1 week later, and settling in beautifully.

 

[RD.]

Nice looking Amph, congrats on the new fish!

I could tell right away that this guy was a Midas, based on his taller/thicker build, and more pronounced rounding of the lips.

Not to nit pic, but one cannot always differentiate between the two species by simply viewing body shape, lips, etc.
It is for that exact reason why both of these past discussions became stickys.

Please read before asking if you have a Midas or Red Devil

There have been a lot of threads lately from people asking if their fish is a Midas (Amphilophus citrinellum) or Red Devil (Amphilophus labiatum). A lot of these threads have pics of juvenile or sub adult fish. Trying to determine the identity of an adult fish is difficult enough, but...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

A. cf. citrinellus - A potential case of F1 Midevils?

Hopefully this works this time ....... I was reading Jason's sticky on midas vs red devils the other day & while I agree with pretty much everything that he posted, according to some of the most recent studies that have taken place in the various crater lakes I'm beginning to think that...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[Manu8__too]

I've now owned Saffron fro a little over a month. Of all the Amphs I've kept over the years, he is hands-down the tamest and non-aggressive of them all (at least for now). He pays little attention to the female Carpintis (4"), female Salvini (3") and 5 Giant Danios that occupy his 90G tank. I'm really hoping his demeanor stays this way, but obviously realize they can snap overnight. Anyhow, here's his latest portrait at roughly 6".