# Red Devil Tank Mate



## clossboss (Feb 13, 2011)

I currently have a 8-9 inch female red devil in my 55g. i have done lots of research and forum searching about possible tank mates for her. I know everyone is thinking, and has told me that no red devil can have a tank mate in a 55g.....and so far my research supports this. However everything i read talks about 13-15 inch hyper aggressive males, and i have found very little on anyone keeping a single female. mine is currently with a 5-6 inch male who is constantly harassing her (trying to mate), and she still tolerates him very well, just pushes him away, occasionally chasing. She is not like any other red devil i have seen, she is far from a glass banger. does anyone have a suggestion on what to try as a tank mate with her? i suspect i will take alot of criticism for this, but i am prepared to constantly check them for any issues and i have a divider in case. my LFS knows me very well and will allow me to try any fish and bring it back if it doesnt work out, although they have also suggested not putting anything with red devils. thanks for reading....

p.s: the male i have will be re-homed prior to adding anything else.


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

The issue with a female in a 55gal tank is not the aggression so much. It's that the tank is barely big enough for her. Personally, I would never keep even a female RD/midas in a small tank...my 55gal has 3" Geophagus babies in it, and I couldn't imagine a 9" fish in there. If you can get her a larger tank - even just a standard 75gal - it gives you some options because the tank has more depth and space.


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## Astronotus Labiatus (Jun 25, 2011)

clossboss,
I've got a female Red Devil for about a year. At first she was very nice, black and grey with red eyes and lived in a 32 gallon with africain ciclhids. I bought at the Pet Shop as a Firemouth or something... and i didn't know anything about Red Devil.
After some months my africain cichlid started to die, and i found out that she was killing them, so i removed the ones who survived and i gave them to a friend. I keeped her alone with a pleco in the 32 gallon tank till now that i put her in a 225 gallon tank with other fishes.
She is a psycho and when you less espect she will kill, you'll see, she will delivey it.
I put A LOT of hidden places in my new 225 gallon tank and so, a lot of swall fish can survive with her, but she hates all of them, se rather stayed alone, they survive thanks to the hidden places.
But she shall never have tank mates, you can call them tank enemies likely to get killed.
If an Oscar, who gets much bigger than a red devil, can lead a good life in a 55 gallon by itself so can a red devil, but ALWAYS alone by herself.
Good luck!


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## blkmjk (Apr 9, 2011)

Let me start first by saying I have never kept a RD. That been said I recently purchased some vieja from a guy that was housing 7 RD and a ZZ Flowerhorn in a 75 gallon tank with a spawned pair in the tank! I was astonished. When questioned about aggresion issues in the tank I was asked to examine all of fish and their fins for damage. I could find no damage on any fish. Im not an expert by far but his tank worked? I guess what Im getting at is not all fish are the same but your taking your own chances putting another fish in there with your RD. If your ok with coming home and finding one of your beloved fish dead then go for it. If not I wouldnt risk it. Just my two cents
Drew (CICHLID OOBER-NOOB)


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## ivanmike (Jun 15, 2003)

the fact that she hasn't killed the male already is amazing..... opcorn:


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

My female RD lives with a lot of other species...Red-finned loaches, Synodontus Catfish, Gouramis, Giant Danios, and several other cichlids. She is the largest and dominant fish, and she's a good 10 or 11 inches. She occasionally demands "space" and the other fish know to stay away. Most of the time she is relatively peaceful. But she is in a 125g...I don't think I would have such luck in a smaller tank.


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