Green Terrors - The Ideal Pond Fish?

[notho2000]

What happens when winter comes?

I'll move them inside most likely around the end of September. The water temperature will probably be down around 40-50 F by then and we will already have had some frosts. At this time I'm not quite sure what I will winter them in.

very intresting i'd like to see what kind of "cold" temps GTs can take, here in mexico we get some cold temps but nothing too crazy so who knows maybe i can have a nice pond full of gt

Well apparently the temperature comfort zone for GTs is low to mid 70s. Since I've never has this species outside before, I'm not sure how "cold water hardy" they will be. I've had Uruguayan cichlids (Gymnogeophagus, Australoheros) and exCichlasoma beani outside until the end of October (and even a foot long pleco), and even a few days into November. The air temperature at the time was about 34 F and the water temperature not much warmer. They were in great shape and beautiful when I netted them. Good luck with your 'GT' pond.

Cool pics! I'd love to hear/see more about the pond and how you work it with your cold winters. I've long thought of doing something like that here, and although our winters are much more mild than yours I can't get around the problem of what to do with the fish over winter to avoid having either a massive power bill or a separate set up for winter use.

I only kept my fish outside through the winter once (goldfish only). I covered the pond with 2" thick styrofoam and put in a stock trough heater that would keep the temperature at ~34F.
They all survived but I would never do it again, since in the Spring, I had to empty the pond and clean it up anyway. Better to do this in the Fall and then everything is ready to go in the Spring. Besides any tropical species would have perished, I'm sure, since our Winter temperatures can reach -40F. I will set up some inside tanks and/or 'Little Giant' stock troughs to house them over the Winter.

Very nice. Looking forward to se more.
And thanks again for your help with my project. . Just filled the pool up today... so just need to find the fish for it

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Thanks.I'll keep the updates coming. I'm glad to have helped you with your project. Good luck with it.

Your thread is very interesting. Also, great looking green terror! I do not know how you pulled those photos off but they look great! How big is your male green terror, have you measured him recently?

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Green terrors do seem to be relatively hardy. How many gallons is your pond?

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Thank you for your kind comments. I believe he is about 10-11" TL. The pond is rectangular with dimensions 12'x5'x30" deep and is ~1100G.Here is a picture of it.

 

[David R]

I only kept my fish outside through the winter once (goldfish only). I covered the pond with 2" thick styrofoam and put in a stock trough heater that would keep the temperature at ~34F.
They all survived but I would never do it again, since in the Spring, I had to empty the pond and clean it up anyway. Better to do this in the Fall and then everything is ready to go in the Spring. Besides any tropical species would have perished, I'm sure, since our Winter temperatures can reach -40F. I will set up some inside tanks and/or 'Little Giant' stock troughs to house them over the Winter.

Do you notice much of a difference in the colours when they spend the summer outside in natural sunlight? I've read a bit on tanning arowanas, and looking at the difference between tank-raised stock vs the breeders in the big outdoor ponds in asia there is a huge difference in colour. Same goes for goldfish. I've often wondered what a summer in the sun would do for the colours of certain cichlids, not to mention the extra space.

 

[pigoo]

Awesome looking pond...and a VERY interesting experiment with the lower temp tolerance of green Terrors.

You mentoned that your Green Terrors spawned:

- How many survived?
- What did you do with the "little fellas" that made it?
- If you kept some/all...how big are they now?
- Any problems with the other fish in the pond trying to eat the fry?
- Do you have any problems with birds or other "critters" trying to eat your pond fish?

Looking forward to updates!

 

[notho2000]

Do you notice much of a difference in the colours when they spend the summer outside in natural sunlight? I've read a bit on tanning arowanas, and looking at the difference between tank-raised stock vs the breeders in the big outdoor ponds in asia there is a huge difference in colour. Same goes for goldfish. I've often wondered what a summer in the sun would do for the colours of certain cichlids, not to mention the extra space.

When I see them in the pond, they seem to display pretty vibrant color, partly from sunlight's broad spectrum and because they are in top condition (low stress). When I pull them out in the fall, I'm always amazed at the colors they display. Here's a pic of Longear sunfish that I caught from the pond in late October (the water temperature was ~35F) a couple of years ago.

Awesome looking pond...and a VERY interesting experiment with the lower temp tolerance of green Terrors.

You mentoned that your Green Terrors spawned:

- How many survived?
- What did you do with the "little fellas" that made it?
- If you kept some/all...how big are they now?
- Any problems with the other fish in the pond trying to eat the fry?
- Do you have any problems with birds or other "critters" trying to eat your pond fish?

Looking forward to updates!

I don't think there are any left at this time. There are lots of smaller fish out there (Cichlasoma dimerus, Paraneetroplus breidohri, Sleeper Gobies, Flier sunfish to name a few, so they probably got picked off. At 3 weeks, they were about 1/4".The 'Red Ceibals' are still herding around a month old spawn so I guess it depends in part on the diligence and capability of the parents. The 'Ceibals' are great parents. Last year when I emptied the pond in the Fall, I netted ~150 "Red Ceibal' youngsters (3/4") but there were fewer 'predatory' fish in there (although 8 exCichlasoma beani were present as they are now). I have had raccoons visit the pond in the past but they were never able to get the fish since the pond has vertical walls and the fish could hide out. Birds no, although I found a duck in the pond once (Mallard - not a fish eater.)

 

[fanatic291]

Great looking fish. I have a small pond that I am raising tilapia in. Maybe I will throw a green terror in to mix things up.

 

[reallybigfish]

Beautiful fish. I have kept GTs outdoors and they definitely exhibit different behavior. Their colors are also much more vibrant as well.

 

[notho2000]

Great looking fish. I have a small pond that I am raising tilapia in. Maybe I will throw a green terror in to mix things up.

Could be interesting. He'll probably try to court a Tilapia

Beautiful fish. I have kept GTs outdoors and they definitely exhibit different behavior. Their colors are also much more vibrant as well.

You're right about the colors - they're stunning outside. I find that they are much calmer and cruise about like they haven't a care in the world in the pond. Little if any aggression towards others, too. What have you noticed?

 

[reallybigfish]

Could be interesting. He'll probably try to court a Tilapia



You're right about the colors - they're stunning outside. I find that they are much calmer and cruise about like they haven't a care in the world in the pond. Little if any aggression towards others, too. What have you noticed?

They are definitely more relaxed in such an environment. I had two males and multiple females. The most dominant male will change physically, and (try to) court all the females at the same time. The sub-dominant male will still be just as colorful, but will not exhibit the behavior or physical appearance of the breeding male. But, all still coexisted without any major problems. Much more difficult to reproduce this behavior indoors.