# red devil and africans?



## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

i found a red devil today at a pet store. the owner is moving and going to adopt him to a good home for 15$.

he is every bit of 10". my question is can he be housed with african cichlids such as haps, peacocks, and lesser aggressive mbuna such as acei?


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## jaybuc (Dec 15, 2005)

awilson0001 said:


> i found a red devil today at a pet store. the owner is moving and going to adopt him to a good home for 15$.
> 
> he is every bit of 10". my question is can he be housed with african cichlids such as haps, peacocks, and lesser aggressive mbuna such as acei?


He will kill them all


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

really? thats bad! but wow... thats wicked. do you think its a good price for him?

maybe ill set up a tank for him :roll:


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## jaybuc (Dec 15, 2005)

awilson0001 said:


> really? thats bad! but wow... thats wicked. do you think its a good price for him?
> 
> maybe ill set up a tank for him :roll:


sounds good if he looks good etc...I would say brining him in at that size yes I would give him his own tank or with other large agressive cichlids..even then he might end up kicking some tail


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

I wouldn't say outright that he would kill the Africans....a lot depends on his personality, as well as the size of the tank.

If you really want to keep Africans with a RD though, a single species harem with one of the more aggressive mbuna species usually do better....in a tank of at least 6 ft in length.


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

You never know it could work there might be a nice perfect balance where the Africans won't attack and the RD won't. It could be a perfect balance in there. Africans can certainly handle themselves against an RD.


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## jaybuc (Dec 15, 2005)

marinerm10 said:


> You never know it could work there might be a nice perfect balance where the Africans won't attack and the RD won't. It could be a perfect balance in there. Africans can certainly handle themselves against an RD.


true you never know..but disagree on africans handling themselves against a full grown RD...NO WAY


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

okay, heres the scoop...

i spoke to the owner. he says the RD came from a 90 gallon tank that had jacks and i think he said firemouths, he also said it had clown loaches as well.

the RD was fine in his tank and did not attack others. he said he got some tail nipping and some territory issues, but no fighting.

i do not know the fish, so i am kinda worried to try it. it does sound like he isnt too aggressive.

any thoughts?


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

the tank is a 125 gallon 6 foot long


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

Technically an RD is the more aggressive, more powerful fish but the Africans will still be confident, in fact they may just be wary but ignore it as it may be seen as no competition.

Give the RD a try you never know it might work but have a spare tank ready - its always worth trying as long as you are able to act to remove it if things get a little wild in there. Or if you can't get a tank get a divider or just take it back to the store. I kept my male Jack with Africans a while ago and it is great, a really nice balance in there no aggression all of them were in perfect condition. I removed them to add a female.


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

Personally, I'd do it.

Set up one side with rocks, leave a couple of feet of open space, and have a large decoration on the other side for your RD. Add them all at the same time. I'd avoid M. Estherae (Red Zebra) though, they look just a little too similar to a RD.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

thanks for the comments.

i am tornreally... i want to try it and i think it has a good background from the past owner. but, RD has a aggressive rep.

just dont want to wake up with a dead ahli or lab you know... :?


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

I know the feeling - thats why whenever I see a RD in a store I have to look away or keep walking lol. I am always tempted to bend the rules a little and give it a shot but I never go through with it because I don't want to risk my cichlids. RD's are serious customers when it comes to aggression, everyone knows what they are like - even people with limited knowledge of cichlids. If you do do it - i'd be very interested to see some pics/videos. Good luck


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

ill be sure to post some if i do it 

hopefully of success...


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I'd try it too. If your tank is set up properly like oldcatfish suggests then you've got a good shot of success. BUT the RD does have some growing to do and in my opinion will eventually want that tank for himself/herself. Or, just read my signature...


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## gverde (Mar 3, 2010)

I have a Female 8 inch red devil in my 220 gallon with about 30 africans (mbuna, peacock and haps). She'e in there with a Male 9-10 inch Jack Dempsey also. It all depends on the personality and size of tank. In my tank my RD is not that aggresive maybe because she's a female. She doesn't harass any of the africans, they are too fast for her. I have alot of rockwork and that helps also for the africans to hide. Large aggresive mbunas can hold there own against a RD. I had a large 6-7" Pindandi a few of months ago that was terrorizing my whole tank chasing everyone including the RD. He was real mean and a real good fighter. I had to get rid of him after a couple of weeks. I had a large male 7" chipoka when I was a teenager. I remember that fish was one of the most aggresisve fighters I have ever seen. I wouldn't have been scared to put that fish in with any RD or smaller Dovi. So I would definitely try it.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

should i just put him in or should i quarantine him?

he was owned by the lfs manager and was in a tank at the store... but that tank was on its own system.

i would hate to quarantine him as he is already aggrivated, any thoughts?


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

okay... i made the move :thumb:

i put him straight in the tank since he was not at lfs long and was in a seperate tank from the main system. hopefully all goes well with any parasite issues.

anyway, hes been in there for a couple hours so far and has taken a liking to the wood in the tank... i had just moved the stuff around to mix up the territories, but because he liked the wood, i moved it so it was to one end... hopefully keeping him to his own area.

he has already started moving gravel and he wants my attention already 

as far as agression, he is swimming with the rest and isnt hunting anything down.

my fire eel did go over and poke his head past the wood. oh no!  he let the eel know it was his area, but did not agressively go after him 

i will post pics when i get a chance and get a video if i can ever learn to make them look better on line


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

oh yeah, as far as him getting meaner as he grows... hes bigger than i thought... got a yardstick by him. he is everybit of 11 inches and i think maybe 12. so huge next to my africans.

hope all goes well.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

12 hour update... he hasnt hurt anything overnight, the africans are swimming around and near him as if he was always there.

nobody stressing. wonder how long till he would do something if he was gonna...

heres a couple pics


























hope to try more later...


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## zoyvig (Oct 27, 2006)

I would not be worried! Your RD appears to be very old and I would guess that it has out lived it's mean years!

Nice specimen. Enjoy it!!!!


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## ebjdftw (Aug 24, 2010)

very pretty fish!!!


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Hi *awilson0001*,

Great looking RD at a great price.

I personally would keep the closet eye on the Haps, I would think they would be the first target of the RD based on size and the area of the tank they like to occupy.

Thanks,
Matt


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

if he does get agressive, how long do you think it may be till he feels comfortable enough to do it?

if he goes two weeks with no issues should i still worry?


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

They can snap at any point. It's kind of what they're known for. If you find you have trouble with this midas feel free to let me know and I will gladly take it off your hands.


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

Very nice Midas!


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

okay, he is now chasing my africans. he hasnt hurt anyone yet, but a couple of my fish are kinda hiding at the top.

the rd is poking his head into spots where the africans hide. at this point i have a serious question.

is he being agressive or just exploring and checking out his tankmates?

how do i know if he is being agressive?

he did mellow out some after feeding, so maybe it was food agression. i am keeping him either way...


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

He's probably just establishing dominance. I wouldn't worry unless he really starts going after them.


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## xXGrEeNxTeRrOrXx (Jan 25, 2006)

I would assume he is being aggressive. At that size, RD's are done being curious and exploring and are more concerned with defending and claiming territory.

Thats a beautiful RD/Midas by the way.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

TheFishGuy said:


> They can snap at any point. It's kind of what they're known for. If you find you have trouble with this midas feel free to let me know and I will gladly take it off your hands.


Quoting myself is fun...


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

anyone know much about getting good video results with a web cam or what else to use for a good video?

i took a video, but it seems so grainy.

anyway, i did remove him after one day cause i was kinda scared he was gonna go nuts...

i kept him in a seperate tank for a couple days kinda as a time out. i have seen where fish accept others if they see them some first. i actually believe it too. it won't always help i know, but it can.

so he has been back in the 125 for a few days now and is protecting his area, but not going after any of the fish.

as for the haps, he doesnt seem to even care about them for what ever reason.


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## LordDracula (Aug 4, 2010)

Hi
It's grainy because the sensor on a webcam is very small. If you can increase the lighting it should give you a better result. Good luck


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

heres a quick video of my new red devil and some of his tank mates...

http://s1188.photobucket.com/albums/z407/awilson0001/?action=view&current=HPIM0572.mp4

hes doing very well, going on about two weeks now no problem.

he sure likes to splash lol


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

well, this will be the last update as far as the red devil/midas goes with my africans.

although he did not hurt any of my fish and is actually a very well behaved fish, i removed him to be in his own tank with possible future tankmates.

the reason was just he was out of place in the african set up. he did get territorial and his territory was near half the tank. but he allowed others to roam near his area and in it some.
he was just too big and bulky to look right in there. plus his bio load was worrying me in addition to the africans.

i am surely keeping him as he is wonderful as far as midas go. this was a great topic.


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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

TheFishGuy said:


> They can snap at any point.


+10


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## justin3p0 (Apr 5, 2010)

my buddy has had his red devil with like 6 africans for a long time...

the red devil will run them off a few times but thats it...

the only fish it ever beat up was his green terror...


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Every cichlid is different. But I assure you, the caapability is there and it will only take one thing to set them off. Then your friend will wake up to a one fish aquarium. Seen it happen a million times. A lot of people don't keep midas long enough to witness it...


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