Red Devil

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baracuda

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 2, 2005
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SoCal
A friend of mine doesnt want his red devil anymore and its about a foot long with a huge head. He said he'd give it to me free if i want it. So i have a few questions. First, are tankmates possible like fish that are fast enough to move out of the way (tinfoils, convicts, other small aggro fish)? Second, what food is good for the kok? Its huge and i wanna keep it that way. And lastly can it be kept with bottom dwelling fish like bichirs,catfish,rays,loaches etc? Any and all info is appreciated! Please share your experiences! Thank you!!
 
Hey, I have a small male red devil that lives in his own 75G tank. From my experience anything you put in the tank the red devil will see as one of 2 things.

1. Food

2. Thing to kill

Ive put a large male convict in with him, he barely made it out alive. I dont think anything would be safe with a large male. Best to just have him and save your money and the other fishes deaths. Hope I helped :D

PS they are the best fish ever. One of my flat mates compared my devil to a "water dog" the other night, hes vicious, chases people who go near his tank and follows things when you throw them! Best thing is that he is responsive to me (the owner) Getting the large one will be worth the trouble!
 
A lot will depend on the tank size. Smaller living quarters means they are much more hostile.Tanks in excess of 180G will allow you to have a wider range of fish. Tinfoils, Bala Sharks, Convicts are all fast fish.
 
really depends on how big the tank is and the aggression of that particular fish. i have an 11 inch female, and i've got tankmates with her, a pleco, a synodontis cat, and a dwarf pike, and they all do fine except around feeding time when she goes beserk if they try to touch her food...but a big male? i don't know, might be tough, but if you get it in a large tank with some other bigger aggressive fish, you might be ok. still, with red devils you can never be too careful. as far as the kok goes i would just feed a good, varied diet, as they'll eat almost anything, and i think you should be fine
 
I would put maybe other big cichlids with it in a huge tank like above 240 but otehr than that personaly I wouldn't risk it ESPECIALLY if its been on its own for its entire life, because it will be pretty much used to being an only child.
 
I'm having a hard time seeing a convict standing up to a red devil. However, anything larger is generally ok. Red devil's usually don't get much larger than a foot, so you have lots of fish to choose from. You'll also have a better chance of success if you put the RD in the last after everyone else is established.
 
honestly i'd just keep the big bugger by himself and grow him up to be a personable show fish.
as far as making his nuchal hump larger - find that kens cichlid sticks, hikari gold, krill all work ok.
 
hey thanks guys picked him up today. I have him with a johanna pike and some tinfoils. No aggression for now. I will keep an eye on them.
 
What a nice bump.

Red Devils easily exceed 12". At a pet shop near me, as a referance, they at one point had 5 13"-15" Red Devils. Most in seperate tanks.

Also, my long distance friend used to own a 14" female red devil.
 
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