# questions about breeding pair of red devils



## Apolly (Sep 13, 2019)

i bought a female for my 10 inch male rd in attempts to pair them,well at first he showed a lot of interest before full blown attacking,biting with a lot of force,taking scales off relentless chasing.there would be breaks in between all of this where they would circle each other really slow and then the abuse would begin again.i put a divider in for a few days after which i took it down and gave her hiding spots.the last day before they finally paired a week later they mouth locked and he beat her up, after which they were a real pair, following each other around,0 aggression between them. they havent spawned yet but just hang out together and making a nesting site.my question is there a reason why now is he waaaay less aggressive towards everything.even other fish in the tank he finally tolerates besides a little chasing here n there.this guy has been in his own tank for years and didnt like anything in his tank even the armored pleco which now he even tolerates it going into his territory.i have put a couple of blue gill target fish in to give them something to hold their bond and team up against and they tolerate them pretty well as long as they stay on their side of the tank.no signs of stress from either of them,he doesnt even bite the glass anymore like he used to.all things *** read about them breeding says they are both supposed to be extremely aggressive during this time which they are clearly not


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Apolly said:


> he doesnt even bite the glass anymore like he used to.all things I've read about them breeding says they are both supposed to be extremely aggressive during this time which they are clearly not


Attacking the glass isn't really a measure of anything. Really doesn't indicate much, whether a cichlid will be aggressive towards other fish. It's the typical behavior of most large cichlids that are kept by there lonesome, with out tankmates. No tankmates, or very few tankmates, they focus outside of the tank. I've had many cichlids that did no such thing in the community tank, and became glass bangers when temporarily placed in their own tank, only to stop doing it the moment they are with tankmates again.
Some, like my large male _Coptodon zillii_ became a glass banger instantly, the very moment he was placed by himself, and exhibited no such behavior ever, when he had tankmates. Others took a few days or weeks in isolation to start attacking the glass.
Your Red devil is more focused on it's mate. If they haven't laid eggs yet, then you haven't witnessed the breeding aggression. A lot of cichlids won't become all that aggressive when they spawn, until they have free swimming fry and begin to herd them around the tank. But really in the long run, the aggression problem that you are likely to encounter is between the male and female. They really only come together for a spawn. After that they go there separate ways. Sometimes in captivity, outside threats can keep the pair together between spawns, and the high calories and low activity, keep the female ready to breed frequently (rather then once per season, as in the wild) . So keep a close eye and have your divider ready. Also good practice to have hiding spots that the female can fit into and the male cannot. At least this might give you more opportunity to get a devider into the tank if needed, before the male seriously harms the female.


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## Apolly (Sep 13, 2019)

yea i made a shelter out of egg crate for her to fit into and he cant follow.the thing is he was extremely aggressive to her before pairing up for about a week now its been another week and still no spawn and no aggression between them really,i do know if a pair breaks up it can be really bad for the smaller fish,their are target fish in the tank to hold their bond


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