CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

Originally posted by Fish Novice
i dont think thats true tony.....

RD's arent like THAT mean....lol

i mean like....if theres a fish fast enough, then itl live...

err... who the hell made you a moderator? Red Devils, in anything less than a 180g tank are not suited for tank mates. you can try, and you might succeed for a while, but the facts are clear: YOU CAN NOT TRUST THEM.
The only fish you CAN expect to live in a tank with red devils are fish that can kill them, and most likely WILL kill them. Also i wouldn't say that dovii finish growing at 24", they keep going until about 30" for a fully grown male. the only thing you can realistically expect to keep in a tank with an adult male dovii is a female dovii, and then you have to be vigilant of his attentions to her post-spawning. the key word here is DIVIDER. if you don't have the big tanks, don't keep the big fish. seriously. 90% of central american cichlids are tankbusters. monsters. with temperaments to match.

There is no way a convict could kill a red devil cichlid.CONVICts are literally used as feeder fish to snakeheads and other large fish.Red devils are the most agreesive american cichlid.

A Red Devil could just as easily be used as a feeder fish to a snake head or other large fish. An Adult snakehead would have no problem making short work of an RD.

Red Devils are one of the more aggressive New World cich's but to say they are the most aggressive is impossible. Every cichlid's temprement varies but even ignoring that... what about Dovii, Jaguar, Midas, trimac and all the other equally or more aggressive American cichlids?

what about Dovii, Jaguar, Midas, trimac and all the other equally or more aggressive American cichlids?

Yep good point - my dovii used to get excess red devils for food. And even as adults a 28 inch dovii is capable of makeing a meal out of adult red devils.

I like red devils , so I have nothing against them and
Red devils are up in the list but, top? No , top 5? maybe on a good day.

In fact, I have seen in print (so it must be true!) that given a large enough tank -- say over 350 gallons -- they're actually fairly peaceful.

Originally posted by stilllearnin
Yep good point - my dovii used to get excess red devils for food.

I've heard (but can't confirm) that they use adult whales as feeder fish for Dovii.

And even as adults a 28 inch dovii is capable of makeing a meal out of adult red devils.

I like red devils , so I have nothing against them and
Red devils are up in the list but, top? No , top 5? maybe on a good day.

Here's what I've read (I don't remember the source) that makes an interesting angle. Dovii roam at depths of 20 feet or more in lake Nicaragua, and when they venture up close to the surface they are often times driven back by groups of Convicts. One-on-one, a Wolf would gulp down a Con in one gulp -- but if what I read is true, teamwork may put Convicts at the top of the list - --Mark

I've heard (but can't confirm) that they use adult whales as feeder fish for Dovii.

Only small ones

Here's what I've read (I don't remember the source) that makes an interesting angle. Dovii roam at depths of 20 feet or more in lake Nicaragua, and when they venture up close to the surface they are often times driven back by groups of Convicts. One-on-one, a Wolf would gulp down a Con in one gulp -- but if what I read is true, teamwork may put Convicts at the top of the list -

I've always read and heard that wild Dovii eat entire schools of convicts and neets. Which is why Nicaraguans will either spawn with dovii or help dovii raise spawns - they spawn with them for protection and help raise their spawns to help control neets and cons that bully Nicaraguans out of their prefered spawning areas.


Maybe in some places they're bullied but it's hard to imagine these guys

being pushed anywhere by bite sized fish.
before my big male got a little to nuts for his own good and broke my tank and his spine he always tried to attack groups of people across the room.

I have to agree with oscar 2001. I've never heard of anyone having a RD with tankmates after the RD realized it's potential for devastation.

yea i bought my RD small about 2 inches 4 months ago.i dropped him in the tank should have seen him so scared.fast forward to now and 6 inches hes not affraid of nothing and tries to bully everything

well research the Petenia umbriferum and see if you still think the rd is the most aggressive cichlid

Commonly called the blue freckled monster. Here is alink to the forum page listing the order, of the top ten cichlids.
http://www.cichlidfish.com/aggressionorder.shtml
I am not saying I agree with the order, or disagree.

Originally posted by Fuzzy
Commonly called the blue freckled monster. Here is alink to the forum page listing the order, of the top ten cichlids.
http://www.cichlidfish.com/aggressionorder.shtml
I am not saying I agree with the order, or disagree.

Bad thing is, while I'm babysitting several juvis for a local LFS, I've got 4 of those ten housed together in a 55 -- the RD, a green Texas, a pair of convicts, and a Jaguar. But they're all less than 3" and don't seem to mind each other right now. They should be moving on to new homes shortly, but looking at the RD and the Jag I'm thinking of investing in a 200 and keeping one of them -- they are both amazing looking fish. --Mark:cool:

Mark, can you get a pic or two, I for one would like to see them.

Originally posted by Fuzzy
:D Mark, can you get a pic or two, I for one would like to see them.

Sure -- it'll be a couple of days, I'll need to take the pictures with my daughter's camera phone, then bluetooth them to the computer, etc. No promises in regards quality!:D --Mark:cool: