I just bougth a 3 inch red devil cichlid from my LFS and they said these guy's are really mean? Mine isn't mean at all actually he/she is getting chased by the convict? It's a 55 gallon aquarium all for him/her. What size do they really start getting aggressive because, I have 220 gallon that's housed with 1 dovii,1 jag,1 buttikoferi,and 1 festae. It will be upgraded to a 340 gallon so all the fish can have room, That's why I bought the red devil cichlid, so it can get bigger, and I can put it with the bigger cichlids. My brother gave me his 55 for awhile for the devil..It needs to be meaner because if he will be housed with the bigger fish, and he isn't mean? it will get killed more than likely!
I know red devils are agressive, but why is mine not?
- Thread starter AfricanCichlidFan
- Start date
aggression does depend on the individual fish but i would guess that when it gets to about 5 inches he will definately be able to beat down that convict.
Convicts are the boss... Even when they are puny. The devil is just small right now and has yet to reach the 'man' stage.
I have a Midas that just hit 3 3/4" and he too is kind of a wimp.
When I purchased him he was 1 1/2" and hid all the time so I added 2 Convicts that were 3/4" to give him something to chase. Bad idea! The Convicts paired up to mate and terrorized the tank chasing my Midas who was twice their size. The funny thing is that during this time the Midas also became a lot more out going and started to eat like a pig. I took the Convicts out and he was like a new fish with lots of spunk and very friendly.
Well I just could not leave well enough alone! This week I put in 7 Buenos Aries Tetras as dithers (I hate the Giant Danios!) to get him used to something else in his tank so that when I get a larger tank he would not be a total killer. I thought he would chase them or kill them instantly, nope. He ignores the fish but also kind of goes out of his way to not even get close to the school of tetras.
So I too am kind of waiting to see how aggressive he will become and hope I can at least keep something else with him in the future. At the same time I dont want a wimp... Time will tell!
When I purchased him he was 1 1/2" and hid all the time so I added 2 Convicts that were 3/4" to give him something to chase. Bad idea! The Convicts paired up to mate and terrorized the tank chasing my Midas who was twice their size. The funny thing is that during this time the Midas also became a lot more out going and started to eat like a pig. I took the Convicts out and he was like a new fish with lots of spunk and very friendly.
Well I just could not leave well enough alone! This week I put in 7 Buenos Aries Tetras as dithers (I hate the Giant Danios!) to get him used to something else in his tank so that when I get a larger tank he would not be a total killer. I thought he would chase them or kill them instantly, nope. He ignores the fish but also kind of goes out of his way to not even get close to the school of tetras.
So I too am kind of waiting to see how aggressive he will become and hope I can at least keep something else with him in the future. At the same time I dont want a wimp... Time will tell!
AfricanCichlidFan;3618959; said:
Ive never seen a true red devil (labiatus) at more than about 5-6 inches that was scared of anything. Ive had to get rid of several because they just were not community fish, even in big tanks with other bigger cichlids. They are on par with the dovii & butti in aggression and will put a serious hurting on jags and festae IME...unless all are full grown (12-16").
DMD123;3619087; said:
Once he gets used to them, he'll be out and about ignoring them Ill bet.
mine is super aggressive, hes 4" and is already a headbanger. can't wait to see what he is like when he is older. he bangs his head on the tank even when im walking by the tank. Just give it time.
give it some time...mine got the **** beaten out of him at first but in the end he dominated the tank!
there just like oscars
when there that small they are puny and weak, but when they get 6 or 7 inches, boy do they get agressive
when there that small they are puny and weak, but when they get 6 or 7 inches, boy do they get agressive