sprewel1612

So I have a big male red devil who has been by himself for a long time. I introduced a pretty little girlfriend to him a little while ago. I built her a shelter out of bricks that he can't access. Unlike anything else I've ever tried to keep with him, he seems to tolerate her once in a while. Other times he will chase her right into her shelter. She is attempting to swim with him but sometimes he gets too aggressive and she runs away. I can see her breeding tube but no eggs. Has he rejected her? What can I do to help them pair up? They flare at each other, shake heads, and swim together until he snaps and chases her off. I have included pictures of them as well as some bonus pictures of my jaguar pair (who do seem to get along).

She hides for a few minutes at a time, musters up some courage and comes out flaring at the male. She seems pretty protective of the bricks, cleaning them off and swimming around them. The log is there as an emergency escape route for her in case he somehow breaks into that brick structure while I'm not home.

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peacemaker92

They're beautiful and such a beautiful scaped tank! Well done! Looks like your male has an attitude problem, or a social problem! I don't know much about Red Devils, but I'm sure more experienced members who know more about them will come along soon. Good luck!

Fu Manchu Dude

i would say that all the flaring, chasing and niping is the breeding ritual and hes not ready to breed but she is...
good luck

Amanda

They're beautiful!
The female will usually lay eggs every month or so whether the male is ready to breed or not. I'd give it some time to let him get the idea of what he's supposed to do. But if he's picking on her too bad, they'll need to be seperated. Most people who breed large, aggressive cichlids only keep them together during breeding times. Then they have seperate tanks the rest of the time. They're called Red Devils for a reason.

btate617

Nice pics.

It normally takes males longer to become mature.....hmmm sounds like real life

He seems to be pretty good sized, possibly one of them isn't quite ready yet.

Like someone else said sometimes they need to be seperated, what lots of people do with large aggressive Centrals is put 2 tanks side by side so the fish can see eachother. The male coming up to the glass shaking and what not will stimulate the female and when you notice her tube you can put them together. Problem is you need the space to have 2 good size tanks sitting side by side.

Another idea is a divider with a hole in it just big enough for her to fit through, that way she can escape him if needed. Or you can use egg crate to divide the tank and they should lay the eggs near it so both male and female can do their thing. I personally hate divided tanks and I do not do it, however I have lost some very nice fish by not doing it, most recently my new male Paratilapia Polleni when my female went crazy.

Also your jags look great!

Brian

aquarist48

Beautiful tank and fish.
Ken

I've moved your thread to the "breeding fish" section of the forum.
Thanks!
Ken

sprewel1612

Thanks for the replies everyone! I'll post some updates when I see eggs.