Red Devil or Midas?
- Thread starter CajunFloridian
- Start date
there is no reliable way of telling Amphilophus labiatus from A. citrinellus without buying them from a reputable breeder who knows the catch location/locale. We simply refer to them as "Midevils" because all 20+ species are known to hybridize and you can't rely on the average LFS to keep the species separate much less identify which ones they are (again unless highly reputable).
Whatever it is, it is a nice fish so take good care of it and make sure it has at least a 75g tank by the time it reaches adulthood with at least 150g of filtration and weekly water changes of 60-90% as they are prone to HITH disease from poor water quality. They will also appreciate a varied diet consisting largely of a high-quality pellet, but also various frozen foods, market seafood and fish and various vegetables.
Do you have any tankmates for him/her?
Thank you for the info! And yeah I don't know if it's a male or female yet. And no right now I just have it in my 20 long quarantine tank for a week or 2. It'll be going into my 125g with a sand bottom with driftwood and rock structures. The tank mates will be a full grown albino tiger oscar, bushy nose pleco, 5 cory cats, and a 2 pound largemouth bass, which is really laid back and friendly to other fish "except feeder fish" lol.
you might as well just say your "good-byes" to all those other fish now then. Amphilophus is a very VERY aggressive genus of cichlids. You MIGHT get lucky and have the LMB and/or the Oscar survive but I wouldn't count on it.
You might as well just move the Corys and BNP into the 20g permamently of re-home them if you plan on keeping the Midas. He might not be a problem as a juvenile, but an adult male Midas can grow to 15" and weigh over 3lbs. I had one I kept with a 23." Channel Catfish and I had to remove the catfish before he got killed by my Midas.
Red Devils are just as nasty, and while the females are slightly smaller and a tad less aggressive, they are still more than a match for 2 "punk" fish like Oscars or LMB. Make sure you have a back-up plan. Oscars and LMB only have small bristle-like teeth meant for subduing prey long enough to swallow it whole. Cichlids have large pointy cone-shaped teeth that appear Reptilian and cause a LOT of damage when they bite.
Mine has drawn blood from my hands on several occasions. I seriously hope you take these factors into careful consideration. Also, make sure the tank lid is secure because they ARE glass-bangers and will knock the tops off, jump out, ram the glass, attack anything they can, inside or out.......and also cover you electrical outlets because they splash water EVERYWHERE
Oh wow, well I might just give the lmb to my brother and put my oscar in my other 125g which has a male and female green terror and young male flowerhorn. Any suggestions for a tank mate for my midevil? Maybe my flowerhorn? And the tanks have covers on them.
you'd be better of putting him in the the 125g w/ the GTs and the FH, but beware if the FH and Midevil are both male they will fight to the death and if they are opposite sex they will pair-up and kill the GTs or vice versa. If both FH and Midevil turn out female you have a chance, but the Midevil and FH are WAYYYYYYY to aggressive to keep with an Oscar or LMB.
My advice to you would be keeping the GTs, Oscar and LMB together and giving an entire tank to the Midevil and FH and MAYBE some heavily armored catfish like Striped Raphaels, or Plecostomus; I have also had luck with Synodontis eupterus and reclusive cats like Eclipse Cat/Indian (Burmese) Sun cats.
Mind you, everything and anything you put in with any Amphilophus or FH is a risk and there is no guarantee they will not get beaten to death so keep a close eye on them daily and remove anything that gets damaged.
A breeder net is optimal since moving a beaten stressed fish to another tank will only make things worse and stress it more. Place any beaten fish into a breeder net ( or use light diffuser crate to make a tank divider) and let them heal FULLY in the current tank before moving them.
Um, Oscars are a cichlid. Not all cichlids have large pointy cone-shaped teeth. The LMB isn't a cichlid, but is in a family containing fish with many characteristics that cichlids have.
