Red devil/ black belt sexing and question.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
S

Squirtle919

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2011
1,563
2
53
Within Earth
Hello MFK!

were to start... went to LFS 3 days ago they had another RD like mine ( the whiteish kind) not easy to find here, I really enjoy her/him but this other one was a bit bulker and had a massive hump! which makes me believe mine is a female seeing as the size difference is not too much maybe 2-4 inch max I was wondering if I got this one and slowly introduced him to my one if theres a chance they will pair up? I cant seem to find much on pairing adult red devils with another I did it with some larger jags but I dont believe jags are as aggressive as RDS.

also would a 120G (4x2x2.3) running on a 100G sump be enough space for them? or would a 180G be the min? I have never really never seen RD pairs come to think of it.

heres my one if anyone wants to give sexing it a shot, I am pretty set on being female after seeing the bulkiness of this other one

IMG-20120228-00052.jpg

can get a picture of the full body tomorrow if that helps, all I have for now.

Also would the same work for a blackbelt they have a larger one who is also more bulky and has a bit of a bump where as mine is slim and not bulky so I too believe its a female, is there any point in trying to get them to pair up also? He said the male BB is quite aggressive so is mine but again unsure how mating larger cichlids works is it a hit and miss or is there away will they be desperate to reproduce etc? I have only grown out babies with one another apart for the jags which was a pain to get going thats a story for its self but.

Heres a picture of the blackbelt if anyone would like to give sexing a shot also.

IMG-20120229-00075.jpg

Thanks guys. I just really enjoy having my fish in pairs over singles, I find they show much more behavior together and it makes it more fun to watch, I got these 2 fish as the colors are one of a kind down here I am yet to find others that look like this BB and this male RD is the only white one I have seen so I couldn't say no! hehehe

IMG-20120228-00052.jpg

IMG-20120229-00075.jpg
 
You can't reliably visually sex RDs. Bulkiness or Nuchal Hump size is not an accurate way to sex them. Both males and females can exhibit these traits. Venting is the best way to sex RDs. Trying to pair RDs based on visual sexing alone can lead to quick and devastating issues. Introducing a female to a males established territory can be tricky enough, placing another male in the same territory can be even worse. Once you are sure that you have a male and female, introducing the female with a divider in place could keep them both safe until they are use to each other. Some people even use clay pots that are only large enough for the female to pass through to provide females a means of escape instead of dividers. As for the BB, I don't know how to sex them. But I know there are plenty of members that have bred them. Use the search function to look up more about BBs and RDs. There are a lot of useful threads that will help you.
 
Thanks guys. I have been doing some searching but nothing really detailed comes up, I will vent the "male" at the lfs before buying him but if that fish is not a male then I dont see how RDs could breed if the females can bulk up like that, its nice to a full grown flowerhorn and even the flowerhorn back downs from it looks a dam bulldozer with a mini gun for a mouth!

I am thinking to separate them for 2 weeks let them out and see what happens then maybe introduce a larger fish if they fight to intimidate the male.

After some reading on others history with it, sounds like my jags so I feel pretty safe giving it a shot with the devils, I am going to try them in the 4x2x2 first but it seems a 6ft long is showing the best outcome for unsocial RDS I will keep you posted.
 
well....the lfs let me vent all his RDs and the one with a big hump was actually a female, sense I wanted her I found 2 males also which were xl so 55 each anyways cut a long story short he offered me all the red devils for almost the price of all 3, so...now I have a 6x2x2 with 8 RDS in it hoping to let them pair up, then move the pair out and sell the rest, hoping my 3 favs will find a partner! I will try to take a picture.
 
yikes your gonna have a mess in there if they all pair off,
better go tank shoppin you gonna need to be moving alot of fish around very soon...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom