# My Ruby Reds Spilo's Cohab Diary



## FishermanCanada

My new shoal of ruby red spilo's. There are 5 in the tank.






Updated videos below!


----------



## Dolphinswin

cool. How long will this last I wonder...


----------



## ICEE

Lounge







Nice P's tho


----------



## CuzIsaidSo

ICEE said:


> Lounge
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nice P's tho


x2


----------



## e46markus

Dood, we made a thread in the pics/vids section haha...


----------



## Dolphinswin

Am i seeing this right? Those are ruby red spilos correct? If so I hope you have a back up plan. Must have money to risk.


----------



## shaneb

The Op had a amazing Mac shoal in that tank before if I am not mistaken. I wish him the best of luck and I think its great he has the courage to try this...


----------



## CLUSTER ONE

cool to see somebody trying to shoal these. Best of luck and keep us updated on how this all turns out.


----------



## Piranha-Freak101

Dolphinswin said:


> Am i seeing this right? Those are ruby red spilos correct? If so I hope you have a back up plan. Must have money to risk.


X3394963274932

he must have alought to purchase five let alone put em in the same tank !


----------



## notoriouslyKEN

That's awesome. How big is the tank? Good luck. I am sure you are going to need it.


----------



## bricklr

FishermanCanada said:


> My new shoal of ruby red spilo's. There are 5 in the tank.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> maybe a mod will move this video to the right section.


Fuckin aaa! I love it.







Spilos and Macs are pretty much the same. I bet he'll have better success than that dude tryin the Sanchezi's.


----------



## FishermanCanada

Day 3 and still no problems, they seem to enjoy nibbling on the cichlids. Sorry for the crappy video quality. Cell phone videos seem crap.


----------



## Piranha_man

Good lookin' fish and a uniquely interesting setup!

Thanks for sharing!
Gonna be following this cohab to see how it goes, please keep us posted!


----------



## I Can Mate

they are very interesting is those cichlids lol


----------



## scrofano1

thats awesome man, Hopefully everything works out for you. If this does work out Would this be a first with RRS cohabing together?


----------



## THE BLACK PIRANHA

Very cool to see some one trying this and keep us posted and best of luck to you.


----------



## thundergolf

That is awesome!! Good Luck!!


----------



## Da' Manster!

good luck, man!...Excellent video and shoal of Ruby Red's you got there!....they rock like a DOKKEN concert!!...


----------



## FishermanCanada

I am slowing teaching them to eat other food besides live. Later in the week i will try pellets , but for now shrimp. I used a bobber and leeder to simulate a moving meal.






Again sorry for the crappy video.

Thanks for all the support and compliments.


----------



## Johnny_Zanni

Looks great. Good luck.


----------



## Xenon

Can I post these in the video section?

or better yet .... you could?


----------



## FishermanCanada

I believe they were moved by a mod already. But thanks anyways.


----------



## CLUSTER ONE

scrofano1 said:


> If this does work out Would this be a first with RRS cohabing together?


I beleive it would be. Its only been mayby within the last year that RRS have even become available at a reasonable price.


----------



## Lifer374

I've been waiting a while to see someone attempt this.

Good luck to you, I hope it works out.


----------



## Xenon

FishermanCanada said:


> I believe they were moved by a mod already. But thanks anyways.


Sorry I meant in our new video section -- ^^ there where it says Video. I can do it for you if you give me permission.


----------



## FishermanCanada

Xenon said:


> I believe they were moved by a mod already. But thanks anyways.


Sorry I meant in our new video section -- ^^ there where it says Video. I can do it for you if you give me permission.
[/quote]

for sure, thank you


----------



## Inflade

nice videos!


----------



## maknwar

very nice. Even better than the mac shoal. I hope they breed.


----------



## JoeDizzleMPLS

Great tank, way to take the jump


----------



## FishermanCanada

they seem fine so far" crossed fingers" i even got them to eat some shrimp.


----------



## enzoita

good job man! i like this initiatives

size tank?


----------



## primetime3wise

good luck with this, i was recently thinking someone should try it.


----------



## Piranha_man

Xenon said:


> I believe they were moved by a mod already. But thanks anyways.


Sorry I meant in our new video section -- ^^ there where it says Video. I can do it for you if you give me permission.
[/quote]

The Founder/Owner of the site is the most polite mod of all!


----------



## FEEFA

Good stuff Buzz, I'm glad they made the trip in great shape.

I def must come by and check these out sometime






























Did you set up another tank for your Brandti?


----------



## Smoke

Nice to see someone's finally doing this... prices are damn good these days for it. Keep us posted please.


----------



## roidrage03

awesome.


----------



## FishermanCanada

day 4 .... the aggression is picking up these little terrors are really active. The fin nipping is still at a minimum but i wanted to clear the tank of all decorations to minimize the aggression. The temp is 72 degrees. They were starting to get territorial. These are not your nice spilo types.


----------



## BRUNER247

Best of luck


----------



## Smoke

Yeah it looks like things are starting to get a little tense in there. Hopefully they channel it on those cichlids in there


----------



## FishermanCanada

ok here's my question! should i keep it bare or should i go nuts with the plants and rocks etc, so they can have their own territories. The schooling isn't going to work with out losses. I now just want to see if i can cohab them with out any problems in a fully stocked tanks.(plants, rocks). They really don't seem to swim side by side like macs, but they don't really do damage when they chase or attach each other either. They are just naturally territorial. Plus they don't really seem to concerned with the convicts or fire devils.

What is your opinion?


----------



## BRUNER247

I can't see video but you could try tons of decor. I don't know size of fish or ft print of tank but it might work out if you have the right combo. Keep a eye on them, throw more Cichlids in? You know if the decor is going to work or not. They might like HEAVY planted or maybe 1/2 planted 1/2 open. Or plants front to back in several spots to make multiple/individual open spots. Lots of current might help ya some. I would be running a bare tank myself. But its hard to say not watching them in person. But what the hell do I know.


----------



## jp80911

i would add a lot of decors, plants, woods, rocks, etc. so they can get out of sight of each other within the limited tank space.


----------



## FishermanCanada

jp80911 said:


> i would add a lot of decors, plants, woods, rocks, etc. so they can get out of sight of each other within the limited tank space.


thats exactly what i did. thanks guys


----------



## FishermanCanada

Added lots of hiding spots to help cut down on the aggression. Temp is 72 degrees


----------



## bricklr

I like the "Easter Island" look of your tank.







You got a back up plan? Dividers,extra tanks ect...just curious.


----------



## FishermanCanada

bricklr said:


> I like the "Easter Island" look of your tank.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You got a back up plan? Dividers,extra tanks ect...just curious.


thanks i do have a bit of a backup plan , i can divide 3-4 right now if needed . but the aggression has stemmed down with all the substrate that i added. They are basically out of site of each other when hiding. They all come out of their spots to eat together (like soap on a rope i put a shrimp on a bobber) it helps teach them to eat non-live. If it gets too bad in there i can sell them really easy.


----------



## wally43

Man those are some beautiful fish you have there. My next addition will be a ruby red I love the color on em

keep up the good work I'll be watching this thread


----------



## FishermanCanada

Well it was too good to be true. Today i removed 2 ruby reds spilo's out of desperation. These are the meanest little dudes around. I bought 2 2 inch rhoms from big als for 20 bucks( how could i say know). I thought maybe the 2 little terrors (the ones i removed) might chases them around or at least be put in their place. But i was wrong these ruby reds put the rhoms in their place. The rhoms move away every time any of the 5 ruby reds swims by. I added the rhom 2 days ago cause the spilo's weren't really paying much attention to the cichlids, they were more interested in each other. One or two of the spilo's were starting to miss fins and hide. I was getting worried about cannibalism considering the price of these little guys and the aggression of the two currently in isolation. The other 3 get along fine with each other. All the fish including the cichlids are swimming around the whole tank now.. The rhoms were 10.00 each. The rhoms get along fine so far considering the ruby reds run the tank.

I will over time remove the rhoms from the group but for now they are on the low end of the food change. These spilo's are little terrors. Over time i am thinking maybe i will introduce the spilo's back to the group when they are a little bigger and remove the rhoms or i may sell them. With the 2 ruby red removed the fish seem alot calmer. I guess its not the species of fish that makes them aggresive but their attitude.

Thats one week.


----------



## Piranha-Freak101

did the aggression get worst when you put hiding spots back in ?


----------



## FishermanCanada

ok i just got up and i went straight to check my tanks out and i caught the ruby reds sleeping together with, you guessed it the rhoms. They were all sitting in the center of the tank. Now they are all just swimming around like old friends. These rhoms aren't even half as mean as those spilos.

Its a mister rogers neighborhood in there.











piranha-freak101 said:


> did the aggression get worst when you put hiding spots back in ?


it did calm down a bit from the bare tank , but they were just hiding from those 2 spilo terrors. Now they are all swimming freely around the tank. Remove the rotten out of the apple and the rest is good. With juvies you definitely need hiding spots.


----------



## FishermanCanada

If i need to move the rhoms quick i can send them to John Zanny. He's like mikey he will take anything.


----------



## Smoke

Thanks for the update...


----------



## Johnny_Zanni

FishermanCanada said:


> If i need to move the rhoms quick i can send them to John Zanny. He's like mikey he will take anything.


hahahahaha. Let me know if you do. Looks like everything is going quite smooth now. Also noticed you got the one interested in your fingers, a very good sign.

Look forward to more updates.


----------



## FishermanCanada

Johnny_Zanni said:


> If i need to move the rhoms quick i can send them to John Zanny. He's like mikey he will take anything.


hahahahaha. Let me know if you do. Looks like everything is going quite smooth now. Also noticed you got the one interested in your fingers, a very good sign.

Look forward to more updates.
[/quote]

thanks JZ i am not even 100% sure these are rhoms. But if i get rid of them i will inquire about shipping for you.


----------



## Trigga

Sweet setup if you ever wanna sell a spilo let me know


----------



## FishermanCanada

video is fixed.

Week 2.... so far it's getting better the 3 rrs i left in the tank together are getting along barely. I removed the rhoms cause all they do is sit in a corner and hide plus the rrs were beating them up. So i was lost as too what to do , if i leave the 3 rrs in the tank without distractions they might turn on each other again (become territorial). So i thought it over and i wanted them to shoal together but it didn't seem to be happening. Even after moving the substrate and decor around constantly. They still chased each other but they never made contact. So while i was at the local fish store to buy some danios i came up these red bellies that were just a fraction bigger than my rrs and they looked similar except for the body shape. I bought 3 and threw them in the tank with the 3 rrs and after 3 days they started to all swim together. The aggression is completely gone. It seemed in the beginning when i put the red bellies in the rrs didn't know how to handle them. The rrs aggression tactics didn't work and the red bellies swam exactly where they pleased. This eliminated all the rrs's territories. Now they feed and swim together like a regular natteri shoal.

I plan on re adding the isolated rrs very soon to the big tank if the peace continues and slowly remove the red breasts.


----------



## Briaan

THATS SICK! a few rbp's did the trick? damn man, and youve got beautiful fish


----------



## Ja'eh

If the natts are helping with the co-hab than maybe you should keep them in there and upgrade the tank size....that would be killer!!!!


----------



## THE BLACK PIRANHA

Sounds like its going well and its cool the reds calm them down. I got a couple of the Argentina Mac babies and I tried adding a few reds to lower aggression the other week and I woke up to 2 dead reds and the other day I came home from work and the largest Mac took out the next largest mac that was only .25" smaller than him. So I split the rest up and everyone has there own tank now. Look forward to more updates and pics.


----------



## FishermanCanada

Briaan said:


> If the natts are helping with the co-hab than maybe you should keep them in there and upgrade the tank size....that would be killer!!!!


Ya i might just do that , they seem a lot calmer now.


----------



## FishermanCanada

Just a quick feeding video. They are learning to eat together and non live. The lights were just put on too. They usually hit the food quicker when the lights have been on for a few hours.


----------



## Smoke

Very cool!


----------



## FishermanCanada

thanks smoke, it still seems fine so far


----------



## jp80911

are you still keeping the temperature low or you bumped it up?


----------



## FishermanCanada

jp80911 said:


> are you still keeping the temperature low or you bumped it up?


I still keep it low 72 degrees. Just enough to keep them active and eating.


----------



## FishermanCanada

I added a fourth rrs back to the shoal with no real consequences. He tried the bullying on a claimed piece of territory but the red breasted put the run to him. Now he swims normal with the rest of the fish. Those nats really changed the flow of these fish.


----------



## Smoke

So you planning to keep the last guy Solo? Or maybe add him back in time?


----------



## scrofano1

pretty sure i hear u queef between 14-16 seconds into the vid! lmfao


----------



## Co. Caines

what size is this tank?


----------



## FishermanCanada

its a 75 gallon. But the spilos are just too aggressive. I am thinning the shoal , so i am selling a few on Kijiji. Oh well better luck next time. RRS can not be shoaled together.

Close thread please.


----------



## Co. Caines

oh i think i saw your kijiji post today @150 each. i was lookin to try a mix species cohab... mixing spilos or macs with my reds in my 180g. did the spilos kill of your reds.


----------



## FishermanCanada

nope their was very minimal aggression towards the reds. But when the spilos are alone its all hell breaking out. I am afraid to wake up and find one missing. So i am thinning and selling a few. These were way to expensive to use as feeders.


----------



## Co. Caines

i heard you had a successful Mac shoal, how many did you have in your 75G. and for how long? and which big als in toronto did you find $10 rhoms? sorry for all the random questions..


----------



## FishermanCanada

i had 10 macs together with no issues. They got along really well. I had them 6-7 months until i got bored and tired of the maintenance. I got the rhom from big als in miss. They dont have any more. The rhoms died, i think they were just too stressed. The spilos would chase them around until i separated them , but it was a bit too late. The rhoms were beat up fairly good.


----------



## Co. Caines

where did you get your macs. i am looking around like crazy for them? checking out stores around the gta weekly.


----------



## FishermanCanada

I got lucky, i got them from a fellow member. He had them for 6 months also, they came from a breeding pair of macs. I have not seen any macs or gold spilos in Canada in a long time. Good luck in your search.


----------



## Co. Caines

sorry to see your cohab didnt work, i guess i will skip the spilo attempt based off your experiment and stick to macs or golds.


----------



## FishermanCanada

ya i would, but stay away from gold spilos, macs seems easier to cohab. Good luck


----------



## ChilDawg

Closed per request of the OP.


----------

