who,s the meanest

[mickey]

1. Jack dempsey
2. Red devil
3. Convict
Would you guys agree that these are 3 of the meanest cichlids out there
Can anybody come up with 3 meaner cichlids.

[dbcb314]

what about the jaguar, and wolf. those are twice as mean as the dempsey and convict. what about the green terror?

[ChilDawg]

Dovii, Urophthalmus, Black Nasty/Odo, Umbee/Basketmouth/Blue-Freckled Monster, Convict, Buttikoferi, Zebra Cichlid, etc., etc.

[Tightdog1]

1. umbee aka blue freckled cichlid
2. dovii aka wolf cichlid
3.TIE
convict aka punk (my own name 4 it) or
red devil pure

[ChilDawg]

Jewel Cichlids are pretty mean, too!

[ChilDawg]

So are the Texans.

[dbcb314]

my three would be:

1.jag
2.wolf
3.red devil

4. auratus

the auratus once killed my entire african cichlid tank (30gal) in one day. i was pissed, he WAS my favorite fish. i had to take him back, he was too mean

[ScottoMacD]

1) Dovii. Without a doubt the apex predator

2) Umbee One nasty fish.

3) Red Devil. There is no fish that is pound for pound more aggressive in protecting a territory.

[GEV83]

From my experience it's

1) Jag
2) Red Devil
3) Buttikoferi

From what I hear it's

1) Umbee - Blue Freckled Monster
2) Dow's - Wolf Cichlid
3) Jag & Red Devil

I put 2 for third place for alot of peeps say the Jag and about the same amount say no the RD so I call it a Draw. Fair enough well if not to bad.

Other Mean Fish

Green Terror
Red Terror
Convicts
Black Nasty

I know theres more my mind just completely blank though.

[Dragon_Lord_Tia]

would have to be my second fav cichlid the wolf cichlid

once i was over seas at my cousin who had a 3500 gallon tank with 12 piranhas and i thourght i would be nice (and inexperianced)and buy him a fully grown wolf cichlid for $250 and put it in why he was off fishing and with in 4 hours the wolf cichlid have killed and eaten every piranaha in that tank holy **** so i had to beg the guy at the shop to take the wolf cichlid back and replace it with 12 new piranahas before he got back but when i got beck he was their on a chair waiting for me to return and you know the rest:D

1)wolf cichlid hands down
2)red devil
3)flower horn or a trimac(ever seen these to fish fight krikey)they would take on a wolf cichlid with out looking twice they would lose but still their fisty

[VoodooChild]

Normally I don't post in these, but I have to stick up for Africans. Ounce for ounce auratus are the most tenacious fish out there.

[dbcb314]

finally someone else mentions the auratus. that fish is the devil.
i love africans more than red devils and i think on average, they are meaner.

a firecracker also is a mean african

[GEV83]

DB come on we all know a Ram is meaner then a Firecracker or Red Devil any day. LOL sorry had to post that. What the hey is a Firecracker anyways post a pick.

[dbcb314]

i cant have put a pick on. i dont have a capable scanner or anything. i could probably get the scientific name later this weekend, but i dont have the book that has the scientific name.

it bright bright red. some dude i knew had a 150gal african cichlid tank with a bunch of cichlids. this thing would wait in the rocks, and when someone would float above him it would come out and try to tear the bottom out of the fish. it did it to every fish that passed. the only thing was that it doesnt get huge. it looks tight. anyway the dude had to give it away. too bad too

[CoCoFiShY]

I think the meanest fish is

1) piranha
2) Wolf cichlid
3) red devil
4) flowerhorn/trimac
5) red terror

[ChilDawg]

Piranhas aren't cichlids.

dbcb, is this your fish? http://www.cichlidlovers.com/n_leleupi.htm

[mickey]

Its a nice looking fish, it dont look very mean but then you can never tell.

[dbcb314]

no, its not. ill get the scientific name sunday and post it and see if i can get a picture. thats why common names suck. they give a whole bunch of things the same name

[GEV83]

That is true to many fish go under the same common name. They should just call fish from there scientific names it would be easier to know what the hey it is then a common name.

Also Pirahna is one not a cichlid notice this was posted under the cichlid part of this forum and to pirahna's aren't really mean they just have big teeth and can do damage with them but they aren't mean. My uncle use to have one they go crazy with blood but thats it. Put it this way a dude put 3 5" pirahnas in a tank and then put 5 3" Jack Dempseys and went to work. He wanted the pirahnas to tear them up well when he got home the pirahna were the ones that got torn up not the Jack Dempseys. Yeah the Pirahnas were out numbered but sa truly mean fih this would not matter. My Jag was out Number and out sized 3 oscars against one Jag and he oscars didnt have much fun the Jag still was queen of the tank.

[Baraka]

1 UMBEE
2 DOvii
3 Flowerhorn
4 MIdas/Labiatum
5 Jaguar

[Dragon_Lord_Tia]

people think cause a large school piranaha will eat a cow that they are aggresive but they arnt they just have very very high survival instint a red devil vs 2 piranaha the red devil would win

[Slappy*McFish]

ounce for ounce, P. Demasoni is one of the meanest little cichlids there is. I can imagine what it would be like if it grew to Dovii size:eek:

[inxs]

RDs are nippy instigators so I would have to say they are always looking to pick a fight.

Convicts are small so they try to bully, bite and chase everybody and ounce for ounce they are high up on the list.

Buttikofferi are capable of dominating and destroying anybody and everybody in the tank that is within the size of it and smaller.

Jags are strong and they are hunters but I don't think they are really aggressive unless they are spawning (they don't have to be since everyone pretty much gets out of their way because they look big and mean). From what I understand Dovii is pretty much the same . I hear they are nocturnal hunters , very smart , and will not attack anything they don't feel they can take. Once they have caught up in size they will wait for the moment and attack, ripping the stomach open first and then finishing the rest.

Green terrors - I find them pretty mellow.

Any cichlid kept in a tank that is too small, crowded, in the company of too many other terratorial cichlids , without enough structur and hiding spots, poor waterconditions or spawning will usually act a lot more aggressive. Cichlids are also very individualistic.

[Tightdog1]

enough about piranhas but 1 cant killa cow but a pack of them in the wild can.

[inxs]

I've had pirahnas , they are very skittish unless they are in a pack and in a large tank. Quite dissapointing, definitly not anywere near the top of aggressive/interactive fish.

[o snap its eric]

you guys are really missing the point... yes dovii/jags/umbee/RD/midas/etc are agressive but it all boils down to individual persoonality. i had docile RDs before and ******* as RDs too. about your KILL stories on piranhas you guys missed the fact that piranhas take a very long time to get used to their surround unlike cichlids. piranhas i had before took about 2 weeks to get used to the tank unlike a RD that took half a day. so untilmatily if you threw in piranhas into a tank that is esablished by a huge cichlid then the cichlid would win. i threw in a large RD because no1 wanted not even my lfs and my piranhas that i had shredded it like no 2m. i even fed the piranhas before i threw in the RD. so yeah.... your arguments are not that vaild. also, what kind of piranhas did you guys throw in? red bellies? the wussiest piranhas of all. if you threw in a rhom or caribe,piryia,ternizti,spilo you would definitly see sme carnage. those fish dont take crap from anyone, not even their own kind.

but i do give credit to cichlids. they have personality unlike the dumb muscle boound piranhas. did i mention color too? haha i think i like piranhas more because dealt with cichlids for too long and they got boring for me. they dont do the same damage as piranhas. cichlids suck in their food while piranhas take chunks out. thanks i rambled way too long.

-eric

[osmond91]

wut about the pike cichlid i have 6 jd and a pike all around the same size about 5 inches the jd dont even try to go near the pike he doesn't take ne thing from ne one the jd's stay at the opposite side of the tank from the pike and when i feed them feeder's the pike eat's almost all of them within minutes

[NWfishman]

Here is my 3 most aggressive.
1. P. dovii (Wolf Cichlid)
2.C. umbriferum (Blue Speckled)
3.H. fasciatus (Fire Throat Jewel)

[VoodooChild]

Back to the whole piranha debate. This was said before but I think it should be repeated again. There's a big difference between being piscivorous and being aggressive. If a school of piranha ate a devil it wasn't because they're jerks it's because they're hungry. And the only African that I can think of that'd be bright red and aggressive would be zebras. I'm pretty sure it'd be Malawian since usually rarer Africans, such as Tangs and Victorians, have a Latin name posted with them. Sounds like a Maylandia to me.

[GEV83]

My Jag use to be savages when Ide put large goldfish in there and they didnt fit in her mouth she just keep attacking them tearing the belly open eating all the intestines and all that good stuff the eat the tail end then eat the head the only thing he would leave is this small whitish grey sac of like gas or air which I believe helps the fish keep its balance. Not like it does at her size now she would just ingulf 4-5goldfish one after another. I think it was cool seeing two heads and three tails sticking from her mouth but I wont be doing that anytime soon since she got sick with the last batch about 3-4months ago.

[Mattimeo]

Heavyweights: 12 inches+...

1) Caquetaia Umbrifera
2) Parachromis Dovii
3) Parachromis Managuensis
4) Nandopsis Haitiensis
5) Nandopsis Beani
6) Hemichromis Fasciatus
7) Parachromis Motaguensis
8) Amphilophus Citrinellus
9) Amphilophus Trimaculatus
10) Amphilophus Labiatus


Light-midweights: under 12 inches

1) Nandopsis Istlantus
2) Nandopsis Grammodes
3) Nandopsis Salvini
4) Amphilophus Zaliosus
5) Melanochromis Melanopterus
6) Melanochromis Chipokae/Loriae
7) Hemichromis Elongatus
8) Neetroplus Neematopus
9) Melanochromis Auratus
10) Melanochromis Interrupus

[optix]

Listen at you guys, with your wolf cichlids and pirahna's, and you go and forget about the all mighty Betta splenden, they aren't called siamese fighting fish for nothing ya know :D:D:D;) ;)

Sorry I know that was uncalled for lol, but I've got one in a 1 gallon mini on my desk and I happened to catch him out of the corner of my eye getting frisky for once while reading these posts :P but I honestly can't put any input into this post because the meanest fish I've ever kept and have any experience with is a jack. But out of what I've researched my votes go to Dovii,Jag,red devil. Of course this is if their personalities are of the normal and they aren't your occasional mellow mild guy

[Rare Cichlids]

Being larger than the rest doesn't make a cichlid more aggressive.

[ChilDawg]

True that, RC...anyone ever watched a Jewel Cichlid defend some territory?

[GEV83]

Yeah Jewels are mean fish Childawg but not as mean as a RT or RD or a Jag. Its like comparing todays game Lakers against T-Wolves only the best survive. Hey what happened to my NBA thread anyways was goin to talk crap and it was gone. Oh well.

[o snap its eric]

again, about the piranhas. they didnt kill the RD because they were hungry. they killed the RD because they just didnt like them. that thank was esclusivsly piranhas. they wouldnt tolerate anything else in the tank. not even plecos. basically, give a big tank with a bunch of piranhas and no cichlids would be comparable. piranhas are highly terriotrial.

[scott]

Exactly eric, "a bunch of piranahs". I would confidently put my three inch festae against a piranah twice it's size one on one, not that I condone that behavior or cockfights or aghem...uh anyway. One on one look at some of the fish Matimeo listed (and why didn't Amphilophus Festae make the list, I hope they were eleven but I think they are more agressive than a tiger) they are large, powerful, individual predators. Highly evolved killers and incredible to watch. Piranahs are a completely different fish and like most gangsters without their posse they ain't sh...........

[o snap its eric]

pound for pound i believe cichlids are meaner. but i wouldnt bet all your money on cichlids. serra species are stricly solitary fish. anything in their tank they will kill. pygo speices are wussie alone.

[Slappy*McFish]

Great White:rolleyes:

[optix]

no offense but pirahna's "intelligence" isn't all that keen. I honestly think a little convict could kick one's *** one on one, especially my little guy clyde. let alone the larger more aggresive examples. And when I say intelligence, I mean while the pirahna dashs about aimlessly, the cichlid is exploring confidently knowing exactly what is going on around him or her. I watched my convict destroy my snakeskin gourami (which I was told would be ok in there) and the gourami never knew what hit it, and the convict would strike and dart away and pay attention to its next best attack point. Now I know a pirahna and a gourami are no comparison at best lol, but the intilect attributes are much of the same. The pirahna would also be panicing from not having his homies around. Poor *******. But ok honestly I don't think a convict could kick ones *** without any teeth, I was just stressing my point that the larger examples definatly could take care of buisness if put in with a single pirahna:D and mainly this is because like someone said earlier, pirahna's aren't mean, they're hungry. And hunger isn't gonna help when a dovii, or jag is about to check you out of their room, the pirahna better check the menu elsewhere, or it'll become part of it ;)

[ScottoMacD]

My 2 cents.

The pirahna aggressiveness level has to be one of the most overrated things in aquaria history.

They are pack hunters in the wild and that and only that makes them a danger. No single pirahna will would ever even think of attacking any fish, man, woman, animal etc. that was the same size or bigger. This is a known fact. Yes there are the stories of the fish that goes bonkers then kills and eats a man or cow or whatever by itself. Those are the rarities of life.

I have owned and watched a 6 inch Salvini kill and eat a 11 inch domiant male Texas. In the texas' own tank. Dosen't mean all salvini's are killers. This one just happen to be one special SOB with a serious chip on his perverbial shoulder

I have seen many adult pirahna in tanks my life and not ONE has EVER come up to the glass and challenged me to protect it's terrotory or try and attack or eat me. I am talking about both tank raised and wild. Established or new to the tank. They have turned tail and hid, but never challenged. A true aggressive fish will. Be it african or SA/CA.

All of the fish mentioned so far could (except the previously mention pirahna) fall under the most aggressive fish area. Depends on the fish though. They all have their own personalities.

[optix]

Scottomacd, I definatly agree with that whole post

[GEV83]

Good point made Scott. You get two thumps way way up.

[mickey]

I think scott has summed up this whole thread in a nutshell.

[u-m_fan]

who cares about the t-wolves or Lakers, the pistons are the best team, they are going to come back and force a game 7, that shows character.

[mickey]

You got way to many fish in your 55 gallon.

[Mattimeo]

I disagree. There are some serrasalmus sp. that just WILL NOT tolerate tankmates. FOr example, S. rhombeus and S. elongatus, I would give them the win over ANY cichlid their size. They are solitary predators and with every tankmate I've tried, nothing has worked. I've INTRODUCED a 4 inch S. rhombeus to tanks with:

4 inch dovii
7 inch managuensis
3-6.5 inch red devils
salvinis
jack dempseys
texas cichlids


and many more. The result was; the rhom would flee to a corner, start defending it, then chew off tankmates fins and go for body shots as well. If another fish came too close to the piranha, it would put on a threat display, and start circling the other fish, then make rapid strikes until the other fish retreated. THe only fish that scared my piranha sh*tless was my asian redtail catfish @4.5 inches who gave the piranha a good hit. After 5 minutes I had to remove him from the tank because he was attacking the fins of the other ifhs and scaring them to death.

I DO NOT CONDONE FISH FIGHTING. I just attempted this because i have heard stories about piranhas tolerating tankmates and such, and mine didn't seem too aggressive compared to others I've seen. Now my piranha is the lone resident in his 35g.

[stik6shift98]

rhoms are very aggresive....but i agree piranhas are over rated...the common red bellies are wimps

[skellon]

Thats all I have to say is Serrasalmus Rhombeus! NOTHING will survive in a tank with it and it is a SOLITARY aquarium fish. As eric said when you make your comparisons you make them with the most skittish of all piranha; the red belly!
If all you know about the piranha species is the Red Belly then you are ignorant to atleast a dozen other piranha species that are more fierce!!!

[skellon]

Mattimeo stated the argument well!

[inxs]

I believe the Exodon Tetra is one of the meanest, fiercest and most dangerous. If you have them in a tank you really can not have any other fish as they will repetedly attack and take bites out of almost any and anysized fish.

I haven't owned any but I did observe them at a store once where they had just added a couple of catfish of some sort to the tank . Didn't see them add the other fish to the tank but when I got to the tank they were hitting the other fish with lightning speed and nipping away. I did get an employee and they removed the cats and put a lable on the tank that said "Not community fish , extremly aggressive and WILL kill tankmates".

Never went back to see what happened as I wasn't impressed with that store and fish tearing eachother apart isn't something I find interesting.

[peifc]

Hmm...what will happen if you put a 3' arowana with Red Devil or a mean cichlid? I've seen a full grown arowana opened his mouth to eat a frog (a big one from South America). Shoot! I think that fish can swallow my head without any problem. I've never seen a fish open his jaw up to 90 degree. Ok! Just think of full grown Jag's mouth, but 3 times bigger. That's how big. :eek:

Arowana isn't the meanest fish tropical fish list, but I've owned 2 arownas in the past, they were only 1 year old and already more than a foot long. Maybe just happened that my fish were aggressive. They tried to attack my hand every time I tried to clean the tank. Feeders never knew what hit them when they dropped in that tank. I don't think those feeders ever got a change to flip their tails once.

In rating the meanest fish?

I will say Flowerhorn, Jag, and Red Devil. I've never been around Dovii, Umbee, and Trimac, so I don't know how aggressive they are to do any comparison. Then again, I heard that fish being aggressive can also depends on their environment and diet. I don't know if that's the truth.

[Dragon_Lord_Tia]

aggression is mainly cause of terrortory or instint

[palehorse78]

Where does the pure breed midas fits into all this?I thought they were dominait over jags, and red devils

[Jinks]

Id put my bumble bee up against my jack dempsey anyday.

Psh africans kick way more a**!

[dbcb314]

^^^^ heck yeah, africans all the way

[palehorse78]

my midas make my africans run just by looking at them

[Slappy*McFish]

Carcharodon megalodon owns them all....

[ScottoMacD]

Originally posted by Slappy*McFish
Carcharodon megalodon owns them all....

Slappy ... you mean the fellow who once owned this tooth as one of many?
http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~shells/cmt-5.jpg

You mean this guy right?

http://www.creature-corner.com/graphics2/megpic.jpg

Bah!

He isn't so tough.

Slappy: If you want to read a good book (fiction) about them I just bought "Meg" by Steve Alten. It's a pretty good read, but hard to find as it is out of print. I got mine on ebay.