How did they get this to work?

[ktluvsfish]

My husband and I have a favorite Chinese food restaurant that we frequently eat at and they have what looks like a 180 gallon tank on display. In the tank they have at least 15 Midas/Red Devil (which one I'm not sure) and all of them are between 6 and 12 inches. There are often pairs in the tank breeding and I always see tons of babies swimming around. I've never seen the fish lip locking or injuries on an of the fish and the all look healthy and well cared for.

With the temperament that these fish have, how is it that these fish aren't killing each other? I am currently growing out a group of Red Devils from Ken Davis, and I'm pretty certain that I will be lucky if I can keep more than one permanently in my 150g tank, especially with other tankmates.

I'm just curious what you guys think makes this particular tank work.

 

[Bazinga]

they just make everything work lol

 

[odinthejd]

Maybe they have grown up with each other since being fry???

 

[FishFreak95]

Ive seen overcrowded tanks tend to have less aggression but I do not support it. Maybe they are so cramped they have no room to fight

 

[stuckinthemiddle]

Catch of the day?......

 

[knifegill]

Probably the crowding.

 

[Clslogic]

I havent seen too much aggression in my LFS's tanks either.

 

[hairdog]

overcrowding and growing up together is what I would say

 

[David R]

Same reason african cichlid keepers tend to overstock their tanks. If you took out half the fish you'd probably see a lot more fighting/damage. None of the fish have room to form a territory and there are enough fish to spread the aggression between.

 

[sikoko]

ancient chinese secret