red devil or midas

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mon

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 27, 2005
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singapore
hi... may i know how can i see the difference between a red devil and a midas and where i can i find a midas cichild in singapore?
 
I doubt the tangled up in cichlids site will do much to help out here. I have personally never seen a red devil with lips like that. Eventually, even wild caught specimen's lips shrink into more of a 'normal' look.

I have done lots of research on this, as these are pretty much 2 of my fav fish, and I am trying to breed a true strain of them. This is how I differentiate them, besides 'eye-balling' them.

1. Pics (especially red devil x midas hybrid) are a bit fuzzy, but bear with me.

On the red devil, when the fish is head on (not quite in this photo, but close), and in a head down position, the snout should come to a point, or 'V' shape. This does NOT guarantee pure 'Red Devil' (labiatus), but at the very least, you are guaranteed NOT a pure Midas (citrenellus).

On the Midas, you can clearly see a more 'U' shaped mouth. It never comes to a point. I have yet to see pure midas strains have a 'V' shaped mouth, though admittedly I can't say it is 100% accurate. I can't even give you a rough figure, but I do believe it is by far the most reliable method overall, next to genetics.

Immature midas also look rather like a red devil on steroids. Ignore the head. Hormone induced hybrids between the two from the east will have heads growing prematurely, but look at the general build of the fish. A young midas will look more like a bull mastiff and a red devil will look more like a great dane.

You keep looking at them enough, and abide by the rules above, and I would bet that after a while, you will be able to distinguish them with a high percentage of success. I know I can't do it 100%, but I would bet I am close.

I am from Canada, so I don't really know where you can obtain some.

red devil.jpg

midas.jpg
 
I'm pretty sure but I think I have a red devil and a midas female who have mated and now I have small stripped babies that range from 1'4 inch to an inch.
 
if you didnt purchase both of said fish from a reputable dealer, they're almost certainly both just hybrids.
 
if you look in my gallery i have some pics of pure labiatus, aka the red devil. i also have a pic of an f1 juvi devil there. there are a lot more midas out there in my opinion. they are normally more bulky and develop a more pronounced nuchal hump. devils are more slender and have the v shape lips when viewed from above and the midas has a more u shaped mouth as stated by RUI. if you want pure fish you have to buy from a reputable source.
 
Awesome, I always wondered how to tell them apart.
 
Hi can any one tell me if a wild red devil will be aggressive if it came from a group of about 50 that congregate in one spot anything will help thx
 
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