Red Devil - Tank size
Mike Pietersen
I have a Red Devil that is about 8" long. Can anybody with experience with
these fish give me a recomendation as to how big it will get, and what size
tank would be the minimum it should be in.
Also, I have yet to find (and I have been trying since it was about 2") a
compatable tankmate. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Mike
Dave
They grow to about 15". I would suggest a minimum of 75 gal. I gave
up on mine at 4". The only fish that could handle themselves with
mine were a salvini, green terror and a pike auratus. However, they
were all bigger than the devil. As they get bigger it becomes harder
to find suitable companions. They are almost like piranhas - throw a
fish into the tank so your guests can watch the devil whoop_ass! If
you want other fish you'll need a much larger tank!
DJWhitfill
In Aquarium Fish by Dick Mills he calls this fish the Midas Cichlid with other
names given as Red Devil Cichlid and Lemon Cichlid (Ciclhasoma citrinellum).
This fish can get up to 12 inches in length and is labeled as an agressive
carnivore with the habitiat given as the rivers and streams from southern
Mexico to Nicaragua. This is a great looking fish!
I would think that any of the other CA Cichlids that share its habitat would
work- the ever popular Convict Cichlid (up to 6 inches, occupies all tank
levels), Dow's Cichlid (length to 16 inches, occupies middle and lower tank
levels), Black-Belt Cichlid (length to 12 inches, occupies all tank levels),
the Managua or Jaguar Cichlid (length to 12 inches, occupies all tank levels)
and perhaps the northern cousin the Texas Cichlid (length to 12 inches,
occupies all tank levels). All are aggressive carnivores.
Keep the board posted on what happens-I've thought about getting some Red
Devil's myself.
=======Mike wrote=======
Derek Benson
On 31 May 1998 06:25:12 GMT, djwhi...@aol.com (DJWhitfill) wrote:
>In Aquarium Fish by Dick Mills he calls this fish the Midas Cichlid with other
>names given as Red Devil Cichlid and Lemon Cichlid (Ciclhasoma citrinellum).
>This fish can get up to 12 inches in length and is labeled as an agressive
>carnivore with the habitiat given as the rivers and streams from southern
>Mexico to Nicaragua. This is a great looking fish!
Regardless of what Dick Mills or other people think, the true red
devil is the C. labiatum. This is the species referred to as the red
devil when I got into the hobby 30+ years ago. The C. citrinellum
you're talking about was always called the midas or lemon cichlid.
These two species are very similar in appearance and very closely
related, and as juveniles can supposedly not be identified as either
the one or the other, hence some citrinellum being called the red
devil.
The C. labiatum can be identified as an adult by the thick fleshy
lips, this is not foolproof though as some populations (in the wild)
of the citrinellum will also have these big lips. If the 8" red devil
in question in this thread is a labiatum, I would think it cannot be
kept with other cichlids. My experience with these is that they are
born killers; okay, I've only had them once, but I had to get rid of
them quickly, otherwise all the other fish I had at the time would
have been dead. And these red devils were only 2 or 3 inch size. The
C. labiatum kan probably be kept with other cichlids under certain
conditions, but I would'nt do it unless it was in a public aquarium of
a few thousand gallons.
-Derek
DJWhitfill
Interesting information-it sounds very similar to the confusion associated with
the Green Terror moniker.
=====The thread=====
Pat Draves
The site "real cichlids don't eat quiche" has some cool pictures
not available elsewhere and also has a tank list. Check out the
tank list for ideas about potential red devil tankmates and realistic
tank sizes. Here's the URL:
DJWhitfill
My interest was definitely peaked so I did a net search and ran across Mike
Hanlon's Cichlid Mania at:
http://www.escape.ca/~mhanlon/cichlidmania.html
He profiles many Cichlids , with photographs, including both the Midas Cichlid
and the "true" Red Devel-the adults are distinctly different, both in
coloration and head shape. Mike Hanlon gives the average length of the C.
labiatum as 9 to 10 inches and reccomends at least an 80 gallon tank. He gives
the habitat as the lakes of Nicaragua: Micaragua, Managua, and Xiloa.
I would suggest that everyone who thinks they have a Red Devil to check out
these photographs-you may have the Midas Cichlid.
Wow-this was a learning experience!
====my previous response====
pa...@iglou.com
On Sat, 30 May 1998 21:57:23 -0500, "Mike Pietersen"
Well, Mike just to confuse you more, I have a "malawai eye biter"
(forgot the latin name), Melanochromis Johanni, Red Devil, a 3 inch
"mystery cichlid" and two 3 inch dither fish.
The eye biter is about 5 1/2 inches, the Johanni is 41/2, the red
devil is about 4 inches. So far I think the fish respect each other
although I believe the Johanni is the dominant fish. He was the first
fish introduced so perhaps that has something to do with it. I've
heard that red devils swim slighly to the right of Pol Pot in
personality but so far things are OK. The Johanni I believe won't get
much bigger while the red devil and eye biter are still young.
For an 8 inch fish my opinion is at least a 65 gallon square tank, a
75 or 80 would be much better. The fish is long so a square tank
rather than a recatangle is important for turning space.
Other than that you might want a full can of breadcrumbs, some lemon
juice, and a iron skillet!
Vantak
pa...@iglou.com wrote:
>
> On Sat, 30 May 1998 21:57:23 -0500, "Mike Pietersen"
>
> Well, Mike just to confuse you more, I have a "malawai eye biter"
> (forgot the latin name), Melanochromis Johanni, Red Devil, a 3 inch
Dimidiochromis compressiceps
formerly known as Haplochromis compressiceps
Males are awesome looking when they change colors. I have 5 of them
currently, biggest one is about 2.5 inches already, and I bought them a
month ago at 1.25 inches (standard length that is)
Best Regards,
John
--
Who pee'd in your wheaties?
e-mail: vantak.d...@mediaone.net
(remove the diespamdie to email)
Candi n OK
>Dimidiochromis compressiceps
>Males are awesome looking when they change colors. I have 5 of them<BR>
>currently, biggest one is about 2.5 inches already, and I bought them a<BR>
>month ago at 1.25 inches (standard length that is)
Mine is about 2.25 inches. It's silver with one green stripe down the
horizontally down the middle and a little bid of red on the tip of its dorsal
fin. Not very colorful at all. Do you think this is because it is female or
because it isn't dominant? Or maybe I should wait longer??? It's currently in
with other africans, moori, venustus, labs, mbuna, etc...
Candi -- Quote under construction.
Vantak
They get up to 8 inches in captivity, so ours aren't ready to change
just yet. One LFS I got to, the guy told me that they get up to 10
inches in the wild, so you can possibly expect that in captivity as
well. In my book "Cichlids: The pictorial guide", they have pictures of
both male and female compressiceps, males are blue with a solid red
stripe at the top of the dorsal fin, dorsal fin is also dark. the anal
fin has red on it also. The five i have match what yours looks like, as
they haven't reached maturity yet. I saw a full grown male at an LFS
once, and was in awe. Ugly as hell, but the colors make up for it. :)
Caltiki, The Immortal Monster
> Do you think this is because it is female or
> because it isn't dominant?
2+ inches is a bit small to tell with these. At about 4",
males will begin to show blues on the head. Males are
definitely more agressive, but this is a fish which will not
show well if it is uncomfortable. As long as water quality
is maintained, they should be fine, but I've found they like
some tall valissneria (plastic okay) in their tank.
Kevin C.
--
"Too many hands in too many pockets,
Not enough hands on hearts."
http://www.interactive.net/~knmcarr/index.html