Green Terror Breeding
Green Terror Cichlids Trying to Breed 11/17/11
Hello, Great site!
< Thank you.>
I have a question about the breeding rituals of Green Terrors. I have a male (5 inches) and female (3 ½ inches) in a 75 gal tank. I have had them for about three weeks. I run a 1500ltr/hr. canister filter which is well maintained and does a great job. I do a 25% water change(through vacuuming the gravel) twice
weekly. My water tests show a ph. of 6.7, ammonia and nitrites of 0 and nitrates under 5. I run the temp around 78F. I feed them a small amount of food twice a day. Their diet consists of cichlid pellets and blood worms (as a treat). They also get the occasional cricket or other live insect I catch in the garden. My female and male have been doing the breeding ritual for about two weeks.
Shaking, nipping (no damage) with the male following the female around constantly. I made her a cave to hide in and she recently laid her first batch of eggs.
Unfortunately I missed it and didn't see if the male managed to fertilize them or not. The female is now extremely aggressive towards the male, not letting him anywhere near the eggs. With this behaviour is it likely that they are not a pair after all, or is this normal? Whilst my male is normal extremely aggressive, and quite a bit larger than the female, I'm also worried she may injure or even kill him if this behaviour continues. What are your thoughts? Regards, Matt
< Young cichlid pairs sometimes take a few tries to get it right. She now has a clutch of eggs and is not to sure what to do. Watch the tank closely and see if the eggs hatch in a few days. If the male is in danger he may need to be removed.. When the fry become free swimming they can be siphoned into another tank and fed baby brine and finely crushed flake food.-Chuck>

Green terror juveniles growing out in a 55 gallon - 8/1/10
Green Terror Cichlid Growth Rate
Hi Crew I have 7 Green Terror juveniles growing out in a 55 gallon tank.
They are approx 4cm long at the moment. I plan to pick out a single male from the group. How long do you think I have before I will have problems with aggression and need to decide which one to keep? Cheers Tim
< Many variables will determine how fast your cichlids will grow. First is temperature. The higher the water temp, the quicker they will grow. Second is food. The higher the protein in the food the quicker they will grow.
Third is nitrogenous wastes in the water. The cleaner the water the quicker they will grow. So at 82 F with a high quality food with 40% protein and keeping the nitrates under 20 ppm, I would assume you should see six to
eight inch fish in six months. Keep in mind that the larger they get the more food they will need and more waste they will produce. As they grow the water may need to be changed more often and maybe in larger amounts.-Chuck>

Green Terror Questions Green Terror Growth Rate 5/18/10 Hello, First of all, this site is outstanding! You guys do a terrific job. < Thank you for your kind words.> I have a few questions about my green terror (gold saum I believe) and have had it for about 10 months. In that time it has grown from about 2 inches to about 3 inches. It just recently got moved from a 29 gallon to a 55 gallon. And it has always been by itself since I got it. I assume that this is a fairly slow for a growth rate, so I am curious what (if anything) should be done...or is this a normal rate of growth? < Your green terror is way behind a normal growth curve.> I have always done 25% water changes weekly, and have gradually moved up to about 50% water changes. I feed it Hikari Gold Cichlid Pellets, and water have been 74 degrees. Ammonia and nitrites have been 0 and nitrates have been less than .20. < Jack the water temp up to 80 to 82 F. The protein in the food should be over 35% and could be up to 50% if done correctly.> Also, I was wondering, would any tankmates be possible? < Not in a 55 gal.> I am assuming not, but thought I would ask. The fish come out and swims around, but is still pretty wary of me being around...sometimes when I walk by, its little gills flare out and it charges the glass, but most of the time it stays put or hides, but then comes back out. It is not that shy at feeding time though. Is this behavior normal for a fish this size/age? < Adding some dither fish will encourage him to come out more.> Perhaps I am just used to Mr. Orange (my red devil cichlid...it his own tank of course) but it seems kind of timid. Also I have attached a picture, is it possible to tell if it is a male or female? It has been 10 months and it still does not have a name! If there is any other info that may be helpful, please let me know. Thank you for your time, Kelly < Looks like it could be a little boy by the elongated unpaired fins.-Chuck>

Re: Green Terror Questions Dither Fish For a Green Terror 5/19/10 Thank you very much for the information, Chuck. I originally thought it was a female, because the fins were not that long, but I do see what you are talking about and perhaps it will get more obvious as he gets bigger. I will gradually work the heat up to the 82-84 range for a while and see if he bulks up. Could you please recommend any good dither fish that are native (or close) to the Ecuador/Peru area? <Go for a group of six silver dollars. they are fast and flashy.> If not, would a few rosy barbs be good? < Rosy barbs would be ok if they were the same size. The silver dollars get big and will grow with your green terror.> What are my options (if any) for a catfish, like the Raphael catfish or something other than a Pleco? <Once again these would be OK if they were the same size. As the green terror gets bigger it will probably bully the smaller fish.> I do understand that this is an aggressive fish and may be a single fish in the tank...I definitely am not trying to throw too much fish in the tank and most important is the health of my green terror. I am good with single specimen tanks, just curious about any possible options. Again, thank you very much for your time. Kelly < It is called a Green Terror for a reason, so there are limits the possibilities of potential tankmates. _Chuck>

Re: Green Terror Questions
Green Terror Tank Size 5/23/10
Thanks again! I don't mean to be a bother or anything, I just want to make sure I understand. Could you please let me know if I am correct in understanding that the 55 is too small for the green terror to have anything else in there with him, but if I wanted to add some dithers or a carefully selected catfish, I would eventually need more than 55
gallons once they reach full size?
< A green terror male can easily reach 12 inches. Not much room for anything else.>
I would rather keep him as a solo fish in the 55 than need to upgrade, due to finances and not wanting to take the attention from the green terror. It really is a beautiful fish.
Thanks, Kelly
< A beautiful fish that gets big and can very aggressive towards other tankmates. I think your best bet is to keep him by himself.-Chuck>

Re: Green Terror Questions
Green Terror Growth Results -- 06/09/10
I just wanted to give you an update and had a question about food for my green terror. I gradually cranked the heat to 82 like you said and have continued on with 50% water changes once weekly, daily feedings of either Hikari Gold (The large size pellet with 40% min crude protein) or occasionally frozen wet brine shrimp. So far in the three
weeks since doing this, he appears to have grown almost another inch!
Also yesterday I just started adding Sera Fishtamin to his food once weekly per the instructions. I am thinking about gradually adding some bloodworms, krill or Spirulina pellets to his diet to help with color and such. I really appreciate all the great advise, and I am sure my green terror (Oscar the Grouch) does too. Thanks again!
Kelly
< Glad to hear that you green terror is starting to grow. I would not try the bloodworms. Some say they absorb toxins from the mud they live in. -Chuck>