Quick red devil question
Hi - I hope it's Ok for me to drop an email with a quick question. I'd really appreciate any insight or advice.  I am temporarily moving to house-sit and am concerned about moving my red devil.  The new place is about a 20 minute drive from my current location. Do you have any thoughts as to how to make this as smooth as possible for her? Also, do you think that it would be more traumatic for her to move rather than to let her stay where she is with a friend who will be living in my apartment? I'd rather not leave her as the move will be for about 9 months, but I want to do what's best for her.  Many thanks for any info.
< Move and take the red devil with you. Put this fish in a 5 gallon bucket and cover it so she can't jump out. Move the tank to the new place and set it up. Make sure the new water is treated for chloramines. Your fish will appreciate the new water. These fish are pretty indestructible. Thirty years ago I was moving a red devil in a 5 gallon bucket on the passenger side of my car. I was forced to hit the brakes and the bucket with the fish spilled onto the floorboard of my car. The water drained out and I needed some water fast. I pulled over to a gas station that was closed and filled the bucket up with radiator water! Cold untreated radiator water. I flopped the fish back in the bucket and resumed taking it over to my friends house twenty minutes away. I told him what has happened and we flipped the fish into a waiting 40 gallon tank. The next day you couldn't tell anything happened at all. It never got sick. -Chuck>

 Re: quick red devil question
Thanks very much! I feel better about the whole thing and will get a bucket.  They must be pretty indestructible. I didn't know that the fish was a red devil when i acquired her -- thought that she was a small, orange goldfish and had her living in a container with cold water. Eventually figured out that she was manipulating objects in the container and that she was much more than a goldfish. Three tanks (she destroyed one of them) four filters and a couple heaters later, she's bigger than my hand and behaves more like a pet dog than a fish.  But, especially since I've been picking up info about her as I go along, there are a few things I'm concerned about...Can I ask you just a few more questions --
Should I be concerned that she seems to only want to eat pellets and tropical fish flakes?  I put a couple of guppies in the tank once and she ate them, but she is no longer interested in meat of any kind, it seems.
< The pellets and flake food are much better for her as well as less expensive too.>
Also, How do I get her in the bucket? Should I use a net?
<  Place a black plastic trash bag in an empty five gallon bucket. Fill the five gallon plastic bucket about two/thirds full of water from the aquarium. Pull the excess bag to the top. Catch the fish in a large suitable net and place her in the bucket. Then tie the top of the trash bag close to the top of the bucket to prevent her from jumping out as well as spilling any water. When the new tank is set up then take the net and place her in the new tank.>
And, finally, she used to lay eggs and hasn't for a while. Does this have to do with natural aging or is it because of some kind of ph imbalance in the tank? Or general unhappiness?  
< It means that she is in very good shape and is in condition to breed. Good food and clean water has her primed to spawn but she unfortunately has no male to spawn with so she still has to lay her eggs to get rid of them. As she has matured she will not waste anymore energy on egg production until she has paired up.-Chuck>
Thanks again.
Kate

10" Red Devil + 55 Gallon Tank = More Fish? Maybe not...
Is there any type of cichlid I can put in with my Red Devil?
<Depends on the nature and size of the Devil.>
He is about 10 inches long.
<Well that narrows down the possibilities.>
He is in a 55 gallon tank.
<...And that pretty much kills them.>
Do you think I can put another Red Devil in with him?
<I don't think you could put much of anything else in with him. a 10 inch cichlid in a 55 gallon tank is already pushing it in regards to bioload. I'd leave it be until you get a larger tank.>
Thanks for answering my question.
<No problem, glad I could be of assistance. Mike G>

The Devils in the Details  9/19.5/05
Hi there! Have found your site to be most informative. Thanks for being there for us. We've had a small starter tank (10 galls) for about a year now. We bought several fish as we learned, and only our Red Devil has survived all of our stupid mistakes. <Guppies and Neons go missing?> He's about 6-8 inches now and has become rather cramped in the tank. We really enjoy his obvious intelligence and fun personality. He eats right out of our hands...and is always waiting eagerly for his next meal. After much discussion, we've decided to expand our tropical fish hobby, and went out this morning and purchased a nice 80 gallon tank. This fish was purchased from a pet store and has lived with other cichlids in the past, so we know he can get along with others (although he's been living alone for awhile now). Our question is this. We want to introduce new fish into the new aquarium....maybe 5 or 6 others that would be comparable sized fish at full term. We are basing this whole new environment around our beloved Red Devil. Knowing that he is one of the "milder tempered" Devils <There is a reason they are called Devils> what sorts of fish would you recommend as being most compatible? (we want them all to survive and "just get along"). We know we have to introduce the Devil as the last fish to the tank...but want to get started on putting together his new neighborhood as soon as we can! Thanks...we look  forward to your advice!
<First and foremost...Do a fishless cycle on this new system before you stock. Read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm This will take about six weeks to complete. The cycling that is, not the reading. Please forget about him being "mild tempered". He's now maturing and chances are he will be anything but mild. But each fish does have his own personality. The way he interacts with you may be quite different than the way he treats an intruder in this space. So he's going to need large, sturdy tankmates. And as big as that 80 looks, it will not handle him and another five or six like him. Two or three max. Four fish would give each one 20 gallons. Not really enough for a large, messy, aggressive cichlid. As to species, well what can I say. There is always a danger when housing large cichlids. Again, it may come down to the personality more than the species. But two of my favorites would be a Green Terror or a Jack Dempsey. And a great big Pleco, of course. Don>