I've kept them both, Miguel. I have found that they both are great cichlids to keep with individual appeal. I have seen some very beautiful Mayans that would surprise many people. My Mayans were certainly more outgoing. The coloration and form of a prime adult Festae is really hard to beat though. They both deserve to be enjoyed in this hobby.
festae questions
- Thread starter Fishbrains
- Start date
Tank upgrade will not be a problem. They are not being sold as red terrors. They are being sold as festae. The pictures people have posted have been very helpful as they appear to be correctly listed as festae. However they are not showing near as much color. I may have to pass, I'm beginning to wonder if they are truly f1 or not. Eh. We'll have to see. On another note I suffered another vicious flowerhorn/Midevil attack again today....
Yeah, a 56g won't do them for life, they grow too big for that, as in if it's a standard 56g (4'x18"x15" I think) then they'd have barely enough room to even turn around.
Here's mine at about 1.5 inches. Ish.
I don't want to sound like a know it all but i think that's a mayan still cool fish the way to tell is the y or 4 band and If the dot is big Mayan if small festae
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Yeah that was the question I asked on the forum when I got that, because I saw that the dot extended down, which was odd. People told me to let it grow a bit more to see what you mentioned, and now that it has grown a bit more tho, the dot is clearly in the upper area and the Y appeared, so I'm 99% sure it's a Festae.
I posted the pics from before it was apparent as a Festae tho, so that OP can get a good idea as to what they're like when they're THAT small. Also because I'm lazy and can't be bothered taking a pic of my Festae now. XD@Mayan vs. Festae stuff: Firstly, Red Terror refers to Festaes. Mayans are called Red Terrors, but it is because they're mistaken for Red Terrors/Festaes. It's like calling a wolf a dog, and then finding out later that it's actually a wolf. Doesn't mean 'dog' now refers to wolves as well, just that it was a mistake.
Also I agree, there are plenty of nice Mayans out there. Imo it's all about personal preference really, like Texas vs. Green Texas. Some people like one or the other. Some like both. I dislike Texas for example, they look ugly imo, but plenty of people out there like them. XD
So to say that Mayans are lower quality than Festaes is laughable. Neither of them is higher or lower quality than the other. They're just different fish.
Red Terror is not a name that automatically refers to Festae. It is a common name that both Festae and Mayans share. That's where the confusion begins. It is more prevalent in some areas than others. It may be different in your location though. Here in Florida and other areas, Mayans have been sold as Red Terrors for years. So it's not always a name given by mistake. Both of these fish really share a common name. I have met several older cichlid keepers that have kept cichlids before I was even born that have never seen, heard of, or kept Festae but have kept Mayans and refer to them as Red Terrors. That's the problem with trying to source fish under vague or common names. A search of "Red Terror" or "Red Terror Cichlid" on older threads as well as a quick Google search will show you what I mean. There are other fish that are sold under common names that yield similar confusion. That's why most members on this site, especially those that keep and breed the species, will encourage people in search of Festae to ask specifically for Festae and not Red Terror. But there are people that know the difference but will still deceitfully sell Mayans as Festae to make money off people unfamiliar with the difference. But your Dog vs Wolf statement isn't an equal comparison to this subject. Both fish are rightfully sold under the same name and not always because of mistaken identity.Yeah that was the question I asked on the forum when I got that, because I saw that the dot extended down, which was odd. People told me to let it grow a bit more to see what you mentioned, and now that it has grown a bit more tho, the dot is clearly in the upper area and the Y appeared, so I'm 99% sure it's a Festae.
@Mayan vs. Festae stuff: Firstly, Red Terror refers to Festaes. Mayans are called Red Terrors, but it is because they're mistaken for Red Terrors/Festaes. It's like calling a wolf a dog, and then finding out later that it's actually a wolf. Doesn't mean 'dog' now refers to wolves as well, just that it was a mistake.
Also I agree, there are plenty of nice Mayans out there. Imo it's all about personal preference really, like Texas vs. Green Texas. Some people like one or the other. Some like both. I dislike Texas for example, they look ugly imo, but plenty of people out there like them. XD
So to say that Mayans are lower quality than Festaes is laughable. Neither of them is higher or lower quality than the other. They're just different fish.
Really? That's odd. Where I am from Red Terror refers solely to Festae, and that's what I've always known. Never knew that there were places where Mayans are intentionally called Red Terrors, by many people including the old fish keepers. :O Oh wells, one learns something new everyday.
The upgrade is good. Festaes don't show great color for a looong time aas they are such slow growers especially in smaller tanks. A slow upgrade route will take much longer to grow and color up. Mine didn't colour up fully until 4" and that took about 10 months from .25" fry. And you can't prove f1 origin just by looking at it all you can do with that is trust the person. Also not good to derail your own thread.
I need to spark up my fish life
those shown are Mayans. Where I live, Mayans are always sold as Mayans or as Uropthalmus. We never refer to Red Terros ( solely applies to Festae ).
Al is right. A fully grown Festae is out of thsi world, but you have to get it there and I find no joy in that path ( they are shy, they are timid , and so on)
A Mayan is a true glass banger, imho, and a big male bull is an impresive monster anywhere in the world. And the path to bull is so much more straightforward.
I find also, to help in the differentiation, that one cannot go wrong with the eyes. Mayans tend to have gogle eyes, much more salient and "dopey" looking.
Al is right. A fully grown Festae is out of thsi world, but you have to get it there and I find no joy in that path ( they are shy, they are timid , and so on)
A Mayan is a true glass banger, imho, and a big male bull is an impresive monster anywhere in the world. And the path to bull is so much more straightforward.
I find also, to help in the differentiation, that one cannot go wrong with the eyes. Mayans tend to have gogle eyes, much more salient and "dopey" looking.
As Al stated, "Red Terror" is a common or trade name, created by vendors to add sex appeal to a fish. The same as many of the other trade names used in the hobby, such as "Red Devil". Unfortunately in this case, here in North America the trade name Red Terror is used to describe both festae and urophthalmus. What most likely began as a case of mistaken identity, has over the years become firmly entrenched within the hobby. The name Red Terror sounds a lot cooler, and sells fish a lot faster, than urophthalmus. 
