Cichlid fry confusion and questions

[GarGuy]

A month ago I bought a little cichlid labelled in the tank as a "Red Devil". The problem is, he wasn't red or orange *in the slightest* and now a month later he's nearly doubled in size (about 2.5 in.) and there's almost no red on him. I don't have any pics of him right now (I'll try to get some tonight), but he's grey with vertical black stripes along his body, his fins have this very faint reddish color to them, his eyes are red, and there's a round black blotch on his tail fin. I guess my question is, do you guys have any idea what species he could be until I'm able to get some pics? He eats like a freaking pirahna, he follows me around the tank, and he seems to be very self-aware. He "sleeps" in the same spot almost every night.

Thanks.

P.S. What makes me think he isn't a Red Devil is the fact that there were several fish in the tank, some smaller than him, that were completely red/orange.

 

[viejafish]

They have to go through a peeling process to turn red and white, and when the peeling process will be completed depends on individuals.

 

[Jonny_boi1986]

Ya that's normal man, over time he will start to go red/orange/yellow can't tell u what it exactly will look like per say but I'd bet its not even a red devil its probably a Midas cichlid

 

[Aquanero]

The various species of Amphilophus all look very simalar when they are young this makes it diffacult to tell some of them apart during adolescents. If you compound this with the fact that the amphilophus family is one of the most hybridized familys of cichlids in the hobby, it becomes vertually impossibile to determine weather or not a particular fish is a specific species or a mix. The term Midevil has been coined as an acronym for an amphilophus of mixed or unknown lineage. While you may be able to see specific trates of one species or another you can never be certain of the purity. It is widly accepted that fish of unknown heratage be considered a Midevil and if breed should never be soild as anything other then a hybrid mix, aka Midevil.

 

[Madness]