Rd/Midas/Pink convicts..or else?? pretty confusing

[Allah'sSlave]

hey can someone tell me what are these and tell me how he knew that..
the male is the all pink one right ??
here are the pics
http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2003-12-10/20732-001.php?set_albumName=albun07&id=Resize_of_DSC00030
http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2003-12-10/20732-002.php?set_albumName=albun07&id=DSC00019
http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2003-12-10/20732-003.php?set_albumName=albun07&id=DSC00062 http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2003-12-10/20732-004.php?set_albumName=albun07&id=DSC00001

[Karl]

they all look like red devils to me..... and i dont really know for sure but they look like males

[Allah'sSlave]

Reaallyy !! how do u know??
i think people that sell fish here suck !!
that somehow figures why the totally pink one chases the other one all the time all over the tank , the other one squeezes itsself upside down behind the filter all the time looking terrible i've put a tank divider but i constantly take it out trying to let them to get along so they can breed, i guess they can't now hehe.. it's pitty
can anyone else here give us his opinion on these if they're both male red devils ??

[ludwig]

red devils,and normally you can only have one,they are just to mean.Bifacti can handle them if equal sizeand maybe some convicts would be a good distraction so it won,t chase the other so much,but the convicts may get in on the chase.

[ludwig]

you must get that coral out of the tank and if thatscrushed coral gravel thats got to go also,it makes the water to alkaline.

[Rex Karr]

Hard alkaline water is prefered by Midas and Red Devils. Coral is a fine decoration.

[chc]

Nice point, Rex.

The only knock on coral is coral gravel which can irritate the gills of digging cichlids. Hard and alkaline (even more so, sometimes than for Rift Lake cichlids) is SOP in Central America. I run most of my tanks with crushed coral in the filters.

[ludwig]

then you must have lots of coral in your tanks too,say why don,t you show us some pictures of your coral filled cichlid tanks,lest ye be a hypocrite

[Rex Karr]

Ludwig, Nobody said that coral was a absolute necessity. But it is 100% true that the Nicaraguan crater lakes are very alkaline and decorations such as coral will help to keep the aquarium water hard.

Personally I think that coral and Central American cichlids just don't look good together, so I don't keep coral in my tanks. However they are filled with mussel shells.

[chc]

Originally posted by ludwig
then you must have lots of coral in your tanks too,say why don,t you show us some pictures of your coral filled cichlid tanks,lest ye be a hypocrite

(can't believe I'm responding to this.... but.....)

I didn't say I had pieces of coral in my tanks; I said I had crushed coral in most of my filters........ It's actually a pretty common practice among experienced (key word) neotropical cichlid keepers who need to adjust their tap water a bit.

Not trying to offend, and I generally prefer not to contradict, but us Moderators have a responsibility to ensure that all advice here is sound. I think Rex and I were just taking issue with your comment about alkaline water.

As far as the hypocrite comment goes........ hmmmmmmm...... ask around........ you'll find I speak from long experience.........

[Allah'sSlave]

hey hey !!! stay cool everyone..
there are always different opinions
that are respected all of them even
if it's wrong. so don't act like my 2
RD..lol some sites do say that RD needs nuetral ph so i guess that's where ludwig gets his opinion.. but i'll go with the more alkaline
i thank u all for your help
i'll take out the crushed gravel,
leave the coral, put some crushed
gravel in the filter, separate the 2
Red devils ;o)) so u're all helpful
and put a picture of peace sign
pigeon on the tank !..lol
i'm afraid when i going to take the gravel out the water will get very cloudy and stuff so is that safe

[chc]

Completely safe......... all that stuff is going to be there whether you see it or not..... stirring it up won't cause any major trouble.

Rex, I noticed your post was edited......... I liked it better the first time! It gave me a chuckle!

[Rex Karr]

:) Chc, it wasn't edited by me. I guess Tom thought I was to harsh.

[chc]

Maybe, but I always appreciate sincerity!

Thanks!