# Red Devil and FlowerHorn Lip Locking, Please Help!



## Oscarmeyer321 (Jul 23, 2010)

I purchased both my red devil 4" and flowerhorn 4" on the very same day. They have been in my tank for a month today and they have started lip-locking non stop and making small circles around each other.

I have noticed my king kamfa flowerhorn not eating for the past 3 days, turning dull in color, and just floating around at the top right corner of my tank.

The red devil is full of energy, eats like a horse, etc...

Today I noticed them lip-locking and they won't stop, even if I net a fish and let it hang in a corner of the tank for a few minutes. If I release either fish, they will just start lip-locking again and I am worried one of my fish will be dead in the morning...

I have no hospital tank or any other tank to remove a fish for the night.

What can I do?

Can this possibly be spawning? It seems too violent to me....

Please help...

Thank You.


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

They're fighting, Red devils and flowerhorns are both VERY aggressive fish as I'm sure you already know. This Is a situation where I believe they need to be separated from each other. The red devil is clearly winning the skirmishes and it won't be long before the flowerhorn eventually pays the price... Either way someone has to go i believe


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## Oscarmeyer321 (Jul 23, 2010)

Chubbs the Jellybean said:


> They're fighting, Red devils and flowerhorns are both VERY aggressive fish as I'm sure you already know. This Is a situation where I believe they need to be separated from each other. The red devil is clearly winning the skirmishes and it won't be long before the flowerhorn eventually pays the price... Either way someone has to go i believe


Thank You, I honestly thought the same but I can't even think of letting either of these fish go. From a financial stand point, the flowerhorn set me back $250.00, the red devil only set me back $14.99 but both these fish have outstanding qualities and personalities.

I may be forced to buy a 75 Gallon just for my FlowerHorn...

I turned the lights off for 5 minutes and they took a break. I put the lights back on and they are clearly avoiding each other. The flowerhorn is now back at the top of the tank again. The red devil is re-arranging my tank in search of food...

Oh jeez, what do I do?


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

The solution is simple....
Separate your fish with a DIY divider until you can get a new tank set up.


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## homerl (Jan 6, 2009)

There pretty young still at 4".There is still a chance they could be male and female.My fh is a male and the rd is a female.They get a long fine but every now and then the big fellow gets a bit aggressive but he backs off from doing anything to bad.
I think you are right about the fh being a investment as mine was as well.His colours are amazing and a wicked attitude as well.Good luck!.


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## grd1616 (May 18, 2010)

If you like the FH then you better buy another tank and get him out cause he will lose the battle to the devil, no question. That's an expensive fish to let get bullied to death


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## zoyvig (Oct 27, 2006)

It looks as if the FH is getting along with the other fish in your aquarium. I would remove the RD/Midas instead of the FH. I would be willing to bet that if you remove the FH, the RD will advance onto other members of your population.

Of course, the same can be said for the FH. As it grows, it will probably take control of the population as well.


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## homerl (Jan 6, 2009)

In my opinion fh can be more nasty than a rd.Remember a fh is a cross with a trimac and rd?What do you think now? :thumb:


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

Actually no...FH's are not necessarily a cross between a Trimac and an RD/Midas. There are many different variants of flowerhorn, and there are MANY different species that go into them. So don't assume there is any RD or any Trimac in any flowerhorn.

You'll likely have problems with them both as they mature anyway, but the best solution for now is to either separate them into their own tanks, or divide the tank.


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## Oscarmeyer321 (Jul 23, 2010)

Thanks for everyone's help.

I worked out an excellent solution with the help from Gregga, a forum member here who breads some of the most beautiful Frontosa I have ever seen.

I made a DIY tank divider and gave up 1/4 of my tank to my King Kamfa FH. An hour later his color started coming back and he actually ate some blood worms later on that night. Today he seems almost back to normal.

I introduced an 8" 2 year old male Frontosa with the help from Gregga here on this same forum.

I perform weekly 50-75% water changes every Sunday so last night I did my usual maintenance which included a 75% water change and I also removed every decoration, rock, and plant in the whole tank. I then re-decorated, added fresh water, and fed my current fish. I then turned the lights off for 30 minutes and introduced the new male frontosa in hopes of keeping aggression down with my 4.5" male red devil.

Immediately after the frontosa went in, my red devil started sniffing him out but not chasing or nipping. After a few nudges back from the frontosa everyone settled down. This morning everything is back to a nice peaceful community.

Hopefully it stays like this for a while. I will be setting up a 55 gallon for my Flower Horn so I can have my whole 210 back for everyone.

Thank for the help everyone.


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

Hold on...you put a frontosa in with a red devil? Extremely bad idea. A frontosa with almost all of the fish listed in your tank is a bad idea. They just are not compatible.


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