Just picked up this Red Devil...my first 1, help?

The August FOTM Contest Poll is open!
FishForums.net Fish of the Month
🏆 Click to vote! 🏆

leprshaun

New Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2005
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
hi guys, i just rescued :grr: "lucifer" :grr: a full grown red devil from a local petco, he was sitting in a 10 gallong tank hiding behind a rock, and of course noone gave a sh** about him, or that he couldnt swim more then 5 inches in any direction. Someone had brought him in complaining he killed everything in his 30 gallon tank, (wonder why) so i adopted him and now hes in my 50 gallon (by himself), soon to be 125 hopefully. Hes been with me for about 4 days now, hes very active now that he has relaxed a bit, allready started rearaging his tank and attacking me through the glass :) im becoming concered tho, he has some very strang feeding patterns, ive tried both small and large pellets, he wont touch the large pellets, puts the small 1's in his mouth and then spits them out. I figured I couldnt go wrong with feeder fish so bought a few of them and gave him 1...this is where it gets weird..he seriously will swim right up to it, and even TOUCH it when his face! and then just turn around and swim away...2 seconds later, charges it, then just looks at it and swims away, he repeats this for a undetermined ammount of time, but i have never seen him eat it! Sometimes he even puts the fish in his mouth and then just repeatadly spits him back out. ill come back hours later and it will be shredded at the bottom of the tank, but wont look like he did much eating, rather then just mutilating. Im confused, and im gettin worried he isnt eating enough, been 4 or so days now. Ive tried pellets, and live fish..Ive yet to try worms or flakes, its tough because i have no idea what he was eating in his previous home, ive never owned such a finicky fish! Any ideas??

EDIT: just dropped a blood worm cube in there, wont eat those either, just staring at them :(
 
If he's in good shape (as in plump in the belly) I wouldn't worry. Most Cichlids kill for sport (and Pizz you off. For wasting food). By the way Red Devils are South American (not going to name the geographical location). When hungry enough he'll eat. I wouldn't worry for at least another ten days or more. Well fed fish can go for at least 14 days without.

If you can contact the original owner and ask. If not Ghost Shrimp, Beef Heart, Crayfish (Declawed and shelled), fresh water clams. Just try a few things after he settles in.
 
Try frozen bloodworms, shrimp, prawns... or just use what you've got - it might just need som adjustment to the new home and/or the new food. Fish generally don't starve themselves. Feed, take out uneaten food, try again the next day. I'll bet he eats soon enough, and you don't need to worry, he won't starve to death any time soon.

By the way, if he even fit into a 10 gallon in any way, he's still not full grown - these guys get pretty big. Good luck.

One other thing - these guys are from the new world.
 
quite right RDs are new world. central american to be more exact. they can be picky at times but will eventually take everything that you throw at them. currently mine takes pellets, scallops, frozen shrimp, frozen plankton, freeze dried plankton, and a small amount of beef heart. but its just a matter of your will over his. he will eventually get hungry enough to want food and when you do feed him he will eat. I would wait a couple of days before you put more food into the tank. and even then it would only be the pellets.
 
Just give him some time. He should eventually settle in and start eating. My oscar goes through phases where he won't act very hungry for a couple of days, but once he gets hungry man does he ever get hungry! :hyper:
 

Most reactions

Back
Top