Are Red Terrors that bad?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
K

Kribensis4me

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 3, 2012
248
0
0
Arizona
Basic question:

Are Red Terrors as bad as I have read on reviews on the bread? What tank mates can I have with them?

I have 2 125 gallon aquariums. Right now my focus is keeping everyone at the same size. So Most of the fish I have came from ppl that bread them. So in one of the 125 gallon tanks I have:

3 x banded Convict Cichlids = Hobby Breeder
3 x Pink Convict Cichlids = Hobby Breeder
2 x Jack Dempsy Cichlids = Petsmart
4 x Salvaini Cichlids = Hobby breeder
? x Red Terror Cichlid (F1) = Hobby Breeder

The ppl I got the Salvaini's from said they hatched early September and the guys I got the Convicts from said something about September also. SO they are all real young and as for the Red Terrors they are still eating shrimp. So they are still real small but the guy said its ok for them to go.

But before I get too carried away. All my fish are small. ANd now that I have gotten more fish I may need to rehome some of the convicts. After cutting down on the convicts.

What direction can I go with everyone as they grow? Is the Red Terror that bad of a dude or is that just a stereotype?

I love all the fish. And I tend to be into the whole breeding thing. But I know I may need a 125 gallon for each fish if I were to breed them. But who can live together in a 125 gallon aquarium? And down the road are the Red Terrors going to get there own 125g tank? LOL I have heard forums talk about the male and f email killing each-other after breeding. Anyone out there with any experience?
 
red terror could mean two things. Festae or Mayan I believe. do you know which it is? That could help people answer your question better.
 
Sorry Im still new to the hobby but I already did the research and read the difference. and he is a F1 Festae parents were from our local fish club in AZ. I try to make sure I/we can give them the best life. So I have already learned how names change. I find it easyer right now for me to use the common names. at least tit I can retain all the cichlids. They are Festae babys

Ill look for a pic he sent me
 
Mom and dad look nice! Good luck getting an answer on temperament. I don't have any personal experience with them, however I don't think they are as bad as the name implies. I know they can be quite nasty when they are breeding though.
 
Ya, Thanks for the reply. im at a cross roads. I just did some research and found the fish gets real big. At this time all I have are 2 125g tanks. And as I do want to look into building a 300g plywood tank. I still have not learned how long a plywood would last over the typical $1300 for a glass 300g tank. We dont look as fish as "I had one of them before" We are the type. of ppl "Ya he was born on September 1 2012 and is now 8 years old. So. It this time of night/morning. One part of me wants to dedicate, learn, educate and breed this fish for our other water pet fans. But 20" is alot and if anything Id have to build that plywood tank after finding how long the tanks can or do last over glass. And I would not enjoy seeing 2 breeding pair in my 125g tank.

I know the fry are still eating shrimp the guy told me. But he said they can be shipped at this age. SO I dont know how long I will have before I have to upgrade his cage. But they are real pretty fish and my wife even likes them. ARGGGGGG! I dont know. As it is. I wil be rehoming some of the pink and 1 of the banded convicts. I got them because the tank was empty/cycled and another hobbyist had them for listed for like $1 or $1.25 each.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY.
 
Kribensis4me said:
Ya, Thanks for the reply. im at a cross roads. I just did some research and found the fish gets real big. At this time all I have are 2 125g tanks. And as I do want to look into building a 300g plywood tank. I still have not learned how long a plywood would last over the typical $1300 for a glass 300g tank. We dont look as fish as "I had one of them before" We are the type. of ppl "Ya he was born on September 1 2012 and is now 8 years old. So. It this time of night/morning. One part of me wants to dedicate, learn, educate and breed this fish for our other water pet fans. But 20" is alot and if anything Id have to build that plywood tank after finding how long the tanks can or do last over glass. And I would not enjoy seeing 2 breeding pair in my 125g tank.

I know the fry are still eating shrimp the guy told me. But he said they can be shipped at this age. SO I dont know how long I will have before I have to upgrade his cage. But they are real pretty fish and my wife even likes them. ARGGGGGG! I dont know. As it is. I wil be rehoming some of the pink and 1 of the banded convicts. I got them because the tank was empty/cycled and another hobbyist had them for listed for like $1 or $1.25 each.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY.
Click to expand...

again my experience with festae is minimal but to put your mind at ease a little, I have never heard of a festae reaching 20" I think more likely in the 12" range for a large male. That may even be high, not sure. A 125 is definitely an adequate home for life provided you were careful when selecting tank mates. you could even manage a breeding pair in that tank with carefully selected tank mates.
 
My suggestion (unqualified opinion) would be to get five of the festae babies put them in a 125 alone. Wait for a pair to form. Move the other ones off to friends or sell Them. Leave the pair in the 125 for life and enjoy breeding and selling them. Or whatever you desire to do with them. Use the other 125 to do more of a community tank. I'm not certain but you may be able to get away with a pair of convicts in there with them too! They know how to handle themselves. If you do a breeding pair of festae keep a divider handy as I have read the male can be quite hard on the female if she is not ready to breed. I did a little more research and edited this post. A 120 gallon is recommended for a breeding pair as a minimum and tank mates may not survive the occasion. So they may be best left alone in the tank. It also lists the max size as 16" but that may be in the wild. It doesn't specify. In any case I am relatively certain that a 125 would be great for a pair.
 
I'm not a festae expert by any measure. I do have a rather large pair I've been working with for a bit and know a few guys that have worked with them more extensively.
For a breeding pair, you might be one of those lucky guys that gets a really compatible pair and never has to worry about them. Most of the time, it seems like sooner or later the male starts beating on the female. Most of the guys I know that have long term success with them are either vigilant divider users or house them in a very large tank with other large fish. I also have a friend that sometimes cycles out medium sized target fish like sub adult Midas with his pairs and that works well for him.
The largest male I've seen in person is Mel O's and his are probably around 14-16"? I have a 12" male.
Be careful where you get them from, there seems to be a lot of deformities out there. I don't know if I'd recommend them to someone new to large cichlids, they're really kind of a specialty fish in some regards and tend to not be as outgoing as a lot of other large cichlids.
Then again, if you just want to give them a shot and aren't too worried about it, you will probably end up with some nice grow outs you could consider keeping them or selling them for a bit of coin.

Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom