I have a six inch red devil in a 55 gallon tank. I would like to add some other smaller fish that would be too quick for him to catch. A knowledgable guy at my lfs has suggested a small school of tiger barbs, rainbowfish, or even a couple of dwarfs like apistogramma or rams. Do any of these suggestions sound feasible or should I just leave well enough alone and keep the monster by himself?
Tankmate for Red devil
- Thread starter JeffLeMay
- Start date
Red Devil Midas are extreamly agressive fish and get more agressive as they get older so i personally wouldn't add anything with them maybe you could add a fish of similar size which could hold it's own in there like a jag maybe or an Oscar something which won't be pushed around
Hes gonna be by him self one way or anouther anyway. the tank is way to small to have anything else in there. you can try but im thinking he'll kill whatever you put in.
I don't think you should put any thing in there with it the tank is to small for another big fish but if you want to find out for your self then get a managuensis
Giant Danios are pretty fast, and they dont get big.
55 gallon is kinda small for any dithers to get away from a crazy RD. They could get cornered easily. 75 gallon would be cool for a dither. 6" more width makes a world of difference!
But right now, my 10" Midas/Red devil seems be living harmoniously with a 4" Texas....it might be a female texas and i hope they mate. The texas is always in breeding colors and a tube is sticking out, but no eggs yet.
In a 75 gallon you could try some Tinfoil barbs...super fast reflexes. They get kinda large too tho. But they are fast. Silver dollars are a possibility for dithers in a larger tank too. You could always use convicts too.
55 gallon is kinda small for any dithers to get away from a crazy RD. They could get cornered easily. 75 gallon would be cool for a dither. 6" more width makes a world of difference!
But right now, my 10" Midas/Red devil seems be living harmoniously with a 4" Texas....it might be a female texas and i hope they mate. The texas is always in breeding colors and a tube is sticking out, but no eggs yet.
In a 75 gallon you could try some Tinfoil barbs...super fast reflexes. They get kinda large too tho. But they are fast. Silver dollars are a possibility for dithers in a larger tank too. You could always use convicts too.
your tank is to small.
but you can try cons but only if they have where to hyde.
but dont try adding big fish like a jag or some other big cichlid becuase they will fight until one of them is dead
but you can try cons but only if they have where to hyde.
but dont try adding big fish like a jag or some other big cichlid becuase they will fight until one of them is dead
Definitely not apistogrammas or rams. They are meek and pretty slow. At least barbs are cheap, it can't hurt to try a small school. I have a small red devil with some rainbow cichlids, one convict, and some geophagus, and a sun catfish, all of them about two inches.
I gotta agree with most of the others. a 55 is too small for another cichlid of any kind and dithers wouldn't have enough room to get away. in a larger tank the red devil may not even mind dithers, but in a 55 it'll probably need to be kept alone. 
