I have moved my RD back to his tank for the second time, and am leaving him there. He is very violent and I haven't been able to donate the time to netting him and such to reduce aggression. He stressed my lutino out so badly he got dropsy...

Anyhow all is well, but do you think it is possible he is depressed???? I never thought cichlids needed other fish around, and thought that they are fine alone, especially since RDs are not exactly 'sociable fish'. But he seems to be in good spirits when he has other fish around to follow or chase or bully etc....

Do you think I should get him a few target fish? He hides behind the driftwood or in his PVC and only comes out every other day, does his little dance, wants a VERY little amount of food (Im talkin one worm or two pellets, when he usually eats WAY more than this) before jetting into hiding again..Its like he is either thinking I am going to scoop him out or something...I dont understand whats the point of hiding, and if someone enters the room he leaves and hides. He used to be more sociable and beg for food anytime he saw movement. But when I left out of town and one point, he got bored after 2 days went by, he dug a HUGE hole and ended up ripping my divider off the wall and the baby severum and salvinis I had got to his side.

Instead of them being eaten, he was hiding from them, like he was scared or something. He was put into the other tank just so I could get him out of his funk, cause he was going on a week without food since he would not come out. He did his bullying and swimming about in the other tank and I had to move him back cause he was being SO BAD!!

Well, in a nut shell, ever since he got back in his own tank, alone, he is sad again... I just figured I would include everything from when it started, to give u an idea of whats has been going on.

And my water is perfect so its not that...

Maybe he is just stressed out and scared of constant tank moves and is trying to setlle in one tank?

LOL, this thread makes me giggle... RD = RED DEVIL! He is doing what they do, but in my opinion, he is not depressed he is upset from being netted and moved. I would leave him on his own and wait him out... I am sure he will come around.

yeah, but I was thinking that this started when I was out of town, BEFORE i even moved him...The move actually made his spirits lift and was much more active! He was like this in his own tank at first, until the baby sevs got over there, as little as they are...I was only gone 2 days and he went NUTS and tore my tank divider of the side! But the little sevs were on his side like they owned the joint and he was hiding like it was sharks in there.

I dunno, he did this before the move, and like I was saying, the move improved his spirits, until he terrorized the tank and had to go back in time out, lol....

hes been in there for close to 2 weeks now, still acting crazy...what a DRRRAAAAMMMA queen!

I have kept RD's for years and the truth is, get him a tank all by himself. He won't be as active initially like he would if he had other fish to pester. But eventually he will learn to enjoy being by himself; moveing substrate and other decor, and being active with people that come by the tank.

I just had to spend 20 minutes trying to fish my 5 inch RD out of my new 140gallon because he is just too much of a "Red Devil" . He will have is own 60 gallon to himself, and thats the way he likes it.

Good luck with your RD. They are one of my favorite fish ... and can be a great little companion in the right situation.

I hope he does act good after a while. He does re arrange his tank often, diggin HUGE holes, which is how he was able to dig under the tank divider and rip it up off the tracks..

I alsways find pile up against the side, and he usually settles between a rock and the pile, kind of like his own personal hiding spot. He came up today to eat, but got spooked and ran down to hide again. I havent been able to get hime to eat in several days..he just seems bored or something. He wont stay up and about for too long if someone comes around him and ends up running. Its like he wants to eat, but something pulls him the other way and he doesnt do it.

so target fish would be a big no-no? I mean he would either get more reclusive, or come out and chase them. They may get killed, they may not, I dunno. He seem more feisty towards large fish, doesnt give two craps about a little fish, from what I noticed with the severums, i mean, he seemed spooked by the little guys!

Speaking of gravel moving. My last RD was a gravel mover for sure, seem to like to make waves of gravel. I saw on another forum years ago, that RD's move the gravel in a wave pattern similar to how engineers build foundations for buildings; not sure how true but very interesting.

Here is a pic my RD I used to have. You can see how he liked to move the gravel. I did monthly water changes and flattend out all the gravel each time. but in a couple days he would have it back looking like this...:


As far as tank mates. I did have some look with a couple of African Cichlids for a while. (but there is some debate on wheater you should mix central and Africans). They were quick enough to elude the RD and were able to be out in the open most of the time and not hiding scared for their life (like most fish will end up being).

hmmm, Rds seem musch smarter than most think! Mine does the same patterns, and will have HUGE mounds, followed by deep holes. He loves to stay down in the mounds.

I dont wanna mess with africans, what could I put in there, if anything? he has plenty of hiding spots, and I cant deal with him not acting happy like he usually does when i come into the room. He has quickly become at the top of the list with my Oscars, in personality!.

honestly, I think you just need to give him some time. He will come around for sure. I say go without tankmates for a while (atleast a few weeks) and see if your RD starts welcoming your company, interacting with you, and gobbling up food right out of your hand as you drop them in his tank.

how long should I let him go without food? This is a week now, I know they can last about 2 or so without food, but he just stays in his PVC pipe and stares at me with one eye....so sad...I miss how he used to jump to see me and did exactly as you said, gobbled food as I dropped it in. I mean, he used to eat SOOO much!

wow, already a week huh? I recommend placing some plasic plants on the top of the tank to float. This will give some cover and help make the RD feel more comfortable. Also leave the tank light off for a bit allowing some natural light in the room. Then get some food that he can't resist like bloodworms (something that will sink)... and drop some food in (w/ lights offf) and let food sink to bottom. then go in the corner of the room or leave the room so that the RD doesn't see you or notice you. then cross your fingers.

Just an idea, its something I would try. the floating plants has worked for me in a similar situation.