Red Devil pairs: Disaster waiting to happen?

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AikidoGuy

Cichlidiot
Jul 3, 2001
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Sparta, New Jersey
the eggcrate divider is the best way to go about keeping them seperated, if the female is smaller than the male cut out a hole in the divider only large enough for her to fit through. If they are a true bonded pair, that means absolutely nothing lol, the male will still beat the female. As for the fry, the male *usually* wont eat them untill they are large enought to roam free, then they are free game, but as wigglers and for a few weeks of free swimming he shouldnt bother them. besides that they will keep to the females side of the tank, i have seen in with my devils when they bred and i believe mojo has a nice picture of one of his breeders where the fry all stayed on the mothers side. A 55 gal is fine to breed a pair of devils in alot the top breeders keep th elarge adult fish in divided 55 and 75 gal tanks for breeding purposes. i save about a dozen fry and place them in a 30 gal long and then swtich them to a 55gal to grow out long enough to sex(well guess anyway) them. i have a dozen left and i still have an adult female im pretty positive about one of the fry being a male and a nother being a female so i will put them in by them selves and leave the rest didided with the mother and let them grow abit more to se eif i can get any other pairs. so more than 1 tank is nes. if yo uwant to keep the fry for a long period of time.
 

tino giardina

AC Members
Dec 5, 2002
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Thanks for all ur replies,

I decidied to go for the egg crate option and it is as sturdy as Mcdaphenia had suggested 20 yrs ago. I however didnt put a hole in the divider but put it on an angle so both fish can access each side. I thought that this might be dangerous but i have some big rocks and some fake plants coupled with the divider on an angle it is hard to see through.

The male and female are still getting to know me and are still pretty shy when im around (unusual for RD). But if the male comes round the other side where she is, she will back right into the corner of the grate and the male has a little push and swims away.

They do interact with eachother but that only lasts for a few minutes at a time as the male will push her around and she eventually swims back to her side. Breeding them isnt high on my priority atm, but i do regular water changes and gravel cleaning every week so the water quality is always very good.

A side question have any of u guys bought RD at larger sizes ie 20-30cm. If so how long did it take for ur fish to become aggressive again. For example i put in a couple of goldfish as i thought that this may bring out their instictive personiality but they just ignored them.

Regards
 

Swordfish

aka Max Power!
Nov 9, 2001
23
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London, Ontario, Canada
besides that they will keep to the females side of the tank, i have seen in with my devils when they bred and i believe mojo has a nice picture of one of his breeders where the fry all stayed on the mothers side.
Not to be a jackass, but
if you have an eggcrate divider with a hole cut for the female, won't the eggs have to be laid on the males side of the tank in order for them to be fertilized?


In response to tino's last post...i tried the same thing (putting the divider on an angle to give them both access to the tank, free to lay eggs wherever they please, and yet still provide a chance for the female to stay away from the male) and it didn't quite work out. First of all, the male is bright enough to know his way around and get to her any way he can. Secondly, when swimming at high speeds around the tank they bang into the sides of the divider a lot and that really can't be good.
Give it a try and see how it works but a more permanent seperation technique may be needed to have a healthy female.
 
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