Midas Cichlid

[p1ngu]

Hey all, i was wondering if its fine to keep one midas cichlid ( orange ) and the grey ( barred ) type together?

 

[Kevdogg852000]

Yes as long as your tank is big enough, color variations don't really matter. You should try to pair off your cichlids as wel. If you have a big enough tank however, it shouldn't matter what gender combination you have.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Yes as long as your tank is big enough, color variations don't really matter. You should try to pair off your cichlids as wel. If you have a big enough tank however, it shouldn't matter what gender combination you have.

It does matter, two male Midas cichlids will tear each other apart, and as far as I am aware it is some what difficult to mix male and female too as the males tend to kill the female if he doesnt like her.

 

[Kevdogg852000]

you are full of it. I had two midas cichlids that weren't paired off for 2 years in a 55!!! I eventually traded them in. Sure there were fights, but 2 fish in a 70 gallon THEY DID NOT KILL EACH OTHER.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

you are full of it. I had two midas cichlids that weren't paired off for 2 years in a 55!!! I eventually traded them in. Sure there were fights, but 2 fish in a 70 gallon THEY DID NOT KILL EACH OTHER.

Well lucky you huh? I never said it was impossible to keep male and female together, but you try keeping 2 males together in a 55 or a 70 I guarantee it will end in tears. But go ahead take this guys advice since he obviously knows best...

 

[Kevdogg852000]

You can never be certain what will happen. They may tear each other apart, or they may not. I cannot see two midas cichlids, both males, killing each other in such a large tank, unless the tank is completely bare. but hey, i've only been doing this for 15 years.......

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Whatever man, go ahead like I said take this guys advice, but I personally wouldnt do it. And you could have been doing this all your life for all I care, 15 years experience or not Its still a bad idea if you ask me, and I'm sure many people who keep cichlids would also agree that keeping 2 males together in most species of cichlid is never a good idea, let alone a species as aggressive as the Midas. Anyway, I have nothing else to say on this matter , so ill leave it to you to continue giving 'advice'...

And I wouldnt go as far as saying a 70 is a 'large tank' when a 55-75 is recommended for ONE specimen on a few sites, these being just a few

http/www.worldcichlids.com/fishprofiles/midas.html
http/fish.orbust.net/midascichlid.html <--our very own
http/www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/f...lids/midas.html
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=71030
http/www.cichliddepot.com/american/midas.php

I think thats enough.

 

[juanveldez]

this is what makes cichlids ( amphlious in particular) so great and mystifying at the same time. I have noticed through my own experience that they are amongst the most owner responsive not the most though that opinion is reserved for my pikes. they like all other preditory cichlids can either be full of piss and vinigar or doscile as your house cat. it is entirely too unpredictable imo to put 2 males in a small tank such as a 70 gallon and yes for these fish it is a small tank, after all males could possible obtain an adult size of 16" but again imo 12-14 being more reasonable, but as I was saying even with extensive decorating which probably woudn't last too long due to their habbits of rearranging to suit their needs, issues would arise that would facilitate the selling of one or getting seperate tanks for each. so then the most reasonable approch for the hobbiest would be to get one 70 gallon and one midas. for others there wouldn't be a question I would have 2 70s in my house if not a divided 180.

 

[Synirr]

I have a confirmed female (she laid eggs once) midas hybrid, and even though she's only 75% midas and a female, she gave my oscar quite a beating when she reached sexual maturity. He was twice her size at the time.
Given that, I would think that two male midas housed together would indeed tear one-another apart. 70 gallons is not a large tank for an adult midas, and when these fish decide they don't like a tankmate, I don't think it would matter how big the tank is. They chase and chase and chase. The other fish can display submissive signals and flee as much as it likes -- it doesn't matter to a midas.

That said, I kept my midas and oscar in the same tank with a divider between them for a while, and now they happily live in an 80 gallon together... as a mated pair . They may be incompatible species, but I'm not going to tell them that

Sooooo.... to answer the original question, yes, you can sometimes keep them together in a large enough tank if they are a mated pair or two females.