Red Devil Breeding???

[macattack]

Alright so here is the deal about 3 weeks ago i picked up a pair of 7-8 inch red devils. they are the first cichlids i've kept. the first 3 weeks they were quite friendly to each other but for the past few days one has been chasing the other one around and bullying it around. they also have started going to town working together excavating what looks like 2 big spawning beds in my substrate. i guess really i have a few questions here. the fish look the same to me but then again im no expert. will the fish still make these spawning beds if they are both the same sex? or does this mean i indeed have both sexes? How can i or can i even sex these fish? i hope this isnt too far out there and is some what understandable

 

[B33ker]

Based on what I've found online, sexing them is easy, and you need to make sure the female (assuming at least one of them is), has hiding spots she can get away from the male.

Sexing mature Red devil cichlids is not hard, since the adult male Red devil cichlid develops a prominent bump on his forehead and has a pointy genital papilla. The male is also typically bigger than the female. The Red devil cichlids form monogamous pairs and both sexes participate in the raring of their offspring. Before any spawning takes place, the male can be very aggressive towards the female. It is therefore important that the female have many suitable hiding spots in the aquarium. You can also include a net in the set up with an opening that is too small for the male Red devil cichlid to swim through. If the female have no place to escape in the aquarium, she can die of injury or become severely ill from the stress.

Hopefully someone here with first hand experience can chime in.

 

[marvin]

mack you made a big leep..all b33ker's info is good.. the size of your fish would and there moving sand etc. tell's me they have bred before.. they lock lips to see if one or the other is geneticly sound enough to bare good frey. there are a few vids. on utube you might want to look at.. if you realy want to see a good one look at jack demps. vid. it is very intresting.. this lip locking is normal for most large cichlids. if the female keeps defending against the male after the spawn pull the male. you need a flat rock for eggs..good luck they lay 1,000 eggs. to be safe what i did was place a black rock so t could see the eggs.. then placed the stone UNDER THE WATER in a trans port container to move them into a grow out tank...