The beauty of keeping an aquarium is that your fishes will give you some surprises from time to time like this one which I captured with my camera.
The three fishes are a big and a small parrot fish and a red devil. I usually switch off the light after feeding them, so when I switched on the lights, I saw that these three fishes were sleeping together. So, is three a crowd? For these fishes, I don’t think so 
A Convict Red Devil Cichlid which I bought from Mathsya Mela 2011.
Red Devil Cichlids, which has a scientific name of Amphilophus labiatus, come from Central America. They grow up to 10-12 inches and are typically an aggressive fish. Male Red Devil fish are larger than the females and they develop a hump on their forehead, with sharper, more pointed anal and pelvic fins
Since Red Devil fish are known for aggressive behavior, it is advisable to keep it alone in the tank, or choose an appropriate tank mates. They are territorial so a big tank like 55-gallon aquarium should be enough for one Red Devil fish, and bigger tank if keeping more than one. It is important to put hiding spots like plants and driftwood. Red Devil fish tend to jump, so put a cover on the tank. They are hardy fish but a water pH of 7.08.0 and temperature of 76-82°F would be suitable for them.
Red Devil fish would eat pellets, flakes, live food such as bloodworms, shrimp, brine shrimp, insects, and earthworms.
Breeding Red Devil fish is difficult. They are monogamous, that means a male Red Devil fish would only take one female Red Devil fish as his partner. The female lays eggs on a flat surface such as rocks, logs, or breeding dish. The male will then fertilize the eggs and protect them. Red Devil fish protect their eggs and young fries so do not separate them.
I had two Red Devil fish but one jump out of the tank when I forgot to put the cover. My lone Red Devil which I have been keeping for several months had already killed two African Cichlid and injured a Severum and a Parrot fish. However, my Red Devil didn’t harm my other two Parrot fish and three Gouramis when he was sharing the tank with them since I bought him until a month ago. I decided to remove him from the tank where the Parrot fish and Gouramis are so that I can put back the other Parrot fish which he attacked. Right now, my Red Devil fish is living with several African Cichlids.
My newly made aquarium tank
What has prompt me to make my own aquarium? I will give you three reasons why I made my own and why you also have to make your own aquarium tank.
First is the cost of the commercially sold tanks. To buy my first small tank, I have to canvass from several aquarium shops how much the cost of the tanks is, and compare their prices. I noticed that there are shops that the price of the tanks is sky-high while others promise an invisible tank at low price and you have to wait forever before you could hold on to your tank. When I made my tank, I was able to save a lot and was able to put the savings into a better quality glass instead.
Secondly, the size of the tank does not fit onto your table, or door, or your tinnie-weenie place. One of the advantages of making your own aquarium tank is that you can customized the width, the length, and the height of your tank according to the place where you plan to put it. When I bought my second aquarium, I had to search in many places just to get a table that is big enough to fit on it, and strong enough to hold it specially where I put water in it. Making your own aquarium tank will give you the opportunity to calculate what size of tank you have to make as per your table capacity. It is important that the table is strong enough to hold the glass tank and the water, if not, it will end up a disaster.
And lastly, the “I made it” title award. You may laugh at me when I said this, but it’s true, you have the right to boast to your father and mother, and to your friends and to whoever see your aquarium. It is an accomplishment! When I made my first tank, it wasn’t big but there was that sense of accomplishment, and I immediately phoned my parents and told them that I made an aquarium tank hahaha… After that, I aimed for the bigger tank, and just few days ago, I made that. Now, that tank is the house of two blood parrot fish, two red devil fish, and three blue gourami.
On my next post, I will show how I made my second aquarium. Watch out for it! Till then…
Welcome to Aqua World! I will write about my experiences, tips, and advice on aquarium fish keeping. Enjoy your stay! :)
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