Might get a Midas

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J

James B.

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 17, 2007
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P.E.I., Canada
Hey every one, I've been looking to fill my 55 gal and possibly rearrange a couple tanks to clear out a 125 if need be later on and guy in my area said I can have his midas as its too aggressive.
What do you all think? Should I take him? And what if anything would you keep with him? It's just over 5 in total now.
Also is it a midas or a RD? I have seen pics of fish like him and told they were RD but have never really looked into getting ether so I have no idea how to tell the difference.
Any way off to search out more info on Midas', and find out what I'm in for if I take him.

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I'd go for it! I have two juvie Midases and they are two of my favorite fish. Tons of personality. The one you're looking at has awesome color, and looks more like a Midas than RD to me, although unless he's obtained from a breeder he's likely a hybrid of both.

He would go perfectly in your 55g right now, but if he turns out to be a male then he'll need a 75g in the future (your 125 would be a great home for him). I would say tankmates are probably out of the question if he's being sold for being "too aggressive"-- that means he's probably terrorized his tankmates. You could try some FAST dithers like giant danios if it doesn't bother you that he'll eventually kill him. He probably won't coexist well with cichlid tankmates in the 55g, but if he moved to the 125g you could try to find him a mate.
 
So it is a Midas. around what size do they start to fill out, iit looks small in turms of gerth and hight compared to most pics I see and will it stay that red/orange or will it change with age?
Thanks
 
Let me preface this by saying I'm pretty new to Midases too, so everything I put here is what I found out while doing my own research:

At 5" you have a sexually mature individual but he/she still has a LOT of growing to do. In general, males will tend to get more "beefy" looking than females, which will come with time. If you have a female, she may or may not get very thick. Fastest growth will occur with optimal water conditions (50% weekly water changes), a sizeable tank (which you have), and a varied high-quality diet.

There is no way to tell if and how color will change as a Midas grows. (I think that's one of the cool things about them.) In general I've read that once a Midas reaches 7" in length, it has reached it's adult coloration. To enhance the intensity of your little one's orange and red try feeding frozen krill and bloodworms. A varied diet is really recommended for these guys, with the staple food being a high-quality cichlid pellet (ex: Hikari Cichlid Gold).
 
You should definetly pick that guy up! He looks really healthy. He will most likely start thickening up at around 6" or so. It cant really be confirmed as a midas due to all the mixing going on so it is probably a mix. His color will change a few times as he grows. My RD went from orange like yours to orangw with black edged fins and finally she is now orange and white. As said above feed him some krill and other high carotine content foods to enhance his orange but it will still change regardless.
 
Yeah my midas/rd has gone from white, to orange with black spots now back to orangey peach all in the space of about a month.
 
Should you get him I would not think of housing it with anything in a 55g, at least not once it reaches sexual maturity (thats when aggresion tends to kick in).
 
I love my big male
His color is washed out at bit he's just pale yellow but tons of personality
throws rocks etc
right now he's in fish jail (30 gallons) because i redid my living room and am trying to cut down.
He's a pet, I do have a brightly colored female, but the tank i was going to set up busted so i gotta wait til the weekend.
Oddly because of his personality i would much rather keep him than some much more valuable fish
 
I've had only one midas/red devil, and he got destroyed by my little jag that I also used to have. XP I want to get another though, in the not too distant future. :) Have fun with that one. :)
 
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