Red Devil (Amphilophus labiatum)

Common Name:

Red Devil.

Other Name:

Mojarra picuda.

Scientific Name:

Amphilophus labiatum.

Family:

Cichlidae.

Class:

Central American.

Distribution:

Lago Managua, Lago Nicaragua, and the Atlantic Slope lakes of Nicaragua.

Size:

Approx 12 inches.

Diet:

In the wild, they eat small fishes, snails, and epiphytic organisms, as well as some plant matter. These are omnivorous, so standard aquarium fare supplemented with greens will suffice, though live foods are always appreciated!

Water Temperature:

72-77 degrees Fahrenheit (22-25 degrees Celsius).

Water Chemistry:

KH: 3-21, GH: 3-18, pH: 7-8.75.

Lifespan:

15+ years.

Description:

These are large, regal fish with a pronounced head seemingly designed to inhale potential prey. The aquarium morphs generally have a white backdrop with orange blotches strewn throughout. They have pronounced lips unlike their congeners, but they are otherwise similar (hence the reason why they have been hybridised so often in the aquarium hobby).

Behaviour:

They have a well-deserved reputation for aggression and territoriality, and will dispatch many small tank mates (and some larger ones!), especially during the spawning and nest-guarding processes.

Sexing:

Males are larger, have more pronounced nuchal humps, and longer fins. Their vents are slim and protrude from the body. Females have larger vents, which are angled toward their anal region.

Breeding:

These are crevice/cave spawners, and do well with regard to guarding their nests. Any other tank mate will likely be destroyed in the defence ritual. Some forced pairings between males and females will result in disaster, so the best bet is to allow for the pairing off process between six to nine juveniles in a large tank.

The fry will be well cared for by the parents, so leaving them together will be in their best interest.

It is rare that the actual spawning process will be seen, but the results are very evident when the pair lives in a community tank...or when target fish are provided in order to cement the pair bond. Be ready to remove targets, as they are likely to be dispatched by angry and protective Red Devils.

Minimum recommended tank size :

Some say 55 gallons, but that's way too small. 75 would be the barest minimum, while 90 will be comfortable for an individual Midas.

Natural Conditions

These are lacustrine fish that dominate their lakes.

Miscellaneous:

There are way too many changes nomenclaturally with regard to the Midas to list them all here, so I'll leave it to the reader to research. Here's a good starting point in order to find the history of naming the Red Devil.

They are not often found in their pure state in LFS because of the extensive hobby hybridisation of their species complex. (This isn't completely fair, because they appear sympatric to Midas in the wild and hybridise in some of the lakes in which the two coexist.)

Photo Credit:

Photos supplied courtesy and ^© Aquamojo