Red devil aggressiveness?

[avengerz43]

So when I set out to get back into monster fish keeping one of the fish I always wanted to raise and keep was a red devil. I used to run a piranha tank a arowanna/catfish/Oscar tank and a Oscar/dempsey/bass tank and I was a frequent in my lfs buying feeders and what not. He always had this huge full grown red devil that wasn't for sale and I loved how crazy aggressive and personable it was it would go crazy when you approached it's tank and fed it I always said one day I wanna have one.

So with my current situation I'm setting up a 300 with a RD, 2 jags, synspillum, and maybe something else in the future. I got them all as babies about 2 months ago and I've had them all in a 45 gallon just until I get the 300 setup. This way I'm hoping that they'll grow up together being more tolerant of each other. Well the RD is SO TIMID I recently did their first live feeding of small crickets followed by a live feeding of guppies. Both times the 2 jags eat everything the RD doesn't even give chase or attempt to eat the live food. And when I feed them their regular diet of pellets, freeze dried blood worms/tubiflex, or brine shrimp he/she will fly up to the surface grab something real fast then fly back down between the plants.

Is the aggression and personality that I've read so much about something that surfaces later as they mature? Is it just the intimidation of the 2 jags owning the surface most of the time? The jags and the RD were same size when I first got them in the 2 months since the RD has grown incredibly fast as has one jag the other jag not as much but the one big jag absolutely dominates everyone. He's an absolute terror. I'll post pics below from the guppy feeding. He literally had 2 guppies in his mouth and was chasing his tank mates away and still trying to attack them lol.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Crazy mike]

Aggression during feeding means nothing in regards to aggression in other situations. I've had lazy eaters who are murderous and shy fish fly at food like it their last meal. It will grow and more then likely become more aggressive. Jags are known for being hard hitting feeders.


Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

 

[avengerz43]

Yea even not during feeding the RD never really defends itself it runs when one of the jags intimidates it or never really is the aggressor or even tries to defend itself other than to run.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Empyreal]

Yes aggression will change with size with sexual maturity. BUT when ur talking about multiple fish per tank, aggression will vary. Ur dominate fish may end up being one of the jags or veija every fish and situation is different. The rd at ur lfs was alone? Even if it wasn't it may have been the boss of its tank and showed aggression. You can't assume ur rd will be the same with the tankmates in there.

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[avengerz43]

Yea it was the lfs owners personal RD and he had it in a 75 I believe it's been a while.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Empyreal]

Yea it was the lfs owners personal RD and he had it in a 75 I believe it's been a while.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

Yeah so that RD had a tank to himself and no other cichlids to push him lower in the pecking order (not saying he would be the lowest). But in your case its possible that your jag and vieja may keep your RD from being dominant and therefore less of the aggressive personality your looking for.

 

[sethbrown]

I have never had one, however there was one at my lfs that was approximately 10-11". The guy told me that a customer had given it to them because it had been dragging around the guy's 2' catfish. Though there are obviously certain things that can be adjusted in the tank to help reduce stress, I think a lot of it is luck of the draw.

 

[Community Disorganizer]

Agression comes in size and maturity with red devils. When I got mine, I had him in a 40 breeder with a full grown rainbow shark, who used to pick on him and chase him relentlessly. But when the devil grew a bit, he murdered the shark, Dexter-style, by tearing it in 2 pieces, then swallowing whole each piece.

Most of them, not all, are not happy unless they are the king of the tank. If your Jag or whatever is higher in the pecking order, one of two things will happen, and both will result in a severely beat up fish or a dead fish.