Hey guys, I'm about to get my first festae, woohoo. I was wondering if a green terror would be ok with it? It's going into a 40 breeder. The festae is about 1.5" and the green terror, gold saum, is about 1.75"-2". Is there any other more appropriate tankmates that I can try. Thanks for the help.
First Festae questions
- Thread starter Brazzen1
- Start date
We housed a small Rivulatus with our female in my avatar in the 300 and the Rivulatus had to be removed believe it or not. Community setting but the riv was way too aggressive.
If I tried that now it would be completely different I'm sure.... now that the Festae is 10-11" ....but when small Festae can get pushed around.
Really depends on individual temperament but if they are the only 2 fish in the tank, one will try to dominate the other, especially in a 36" tank.
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If I tried that now it would be completely different I'm sure.... now that the Festae is 10-11" ....but when small Festae can get pushed around.
Really depends on individual temperament but if they are the only 2 fish in the tank, one will try to dominate the other, especially in a 36" tank.
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Really depends on how long before you upgrade the tank. 40b will only last a while for a group of cichlids before space (territory) becomes an issue.
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I already have larger tanks, I was looking to grow them out before adding them to my others.
Are the really that inoffensive at a small size, if so then maybe I shoud just put them in my community tank for the time being.
Are the really that inoffensive at a small size, if so then maybe I shoud just put them in my community tank for the time being.Gonna be hit or miss depending on genders and personalities. A male rivulatus and a female festae might work if personalities allow. They will end up close in size with male rivulatus reaching about 10" & female festae reaching about 12". Unfortunately other gender combinations probably won't work because of steep size differences in combination with the general aggression levels of a festae. Female rivulatus reach 6-8" and male festae reach 14-16".
But if course with enough tank space, stranger things have happened.
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But if course with enough tank space, stranger things have happened.
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Thanks guys for the help. My only problem is that I think it's going to be impossible to sex them at this size. If you guys have any pointers I'm all ears. I did notice that the saum had a wider seam on it's tail and was slightly larger than the rest. I did go by the same larger/more color thing with my JD (turned out to be a female).
dont put two cichlids. Put multiple or single or one fish is gonna be the only target and will be seen 24/7
Male rivulatus have wider trim on their caudal fins than females, have color patterns on all their fins while females don't, grow faster than females (so generally larger members of the same spawn should be male, which is more noticeable after 2-3"), and have less bearding (facial markings) than females. All of these characteristics become more noticeable as the fish get larger.
Festae are most accurately sexed at 4" or larger. People who have bred and raised festae fry (like JC119) can usually tell at slightly smaller sizes (3"+).
Housing just two cichlids together can be dangerous for one of them as mentioned above. It's best to let several small cichlids grow up together so they are use to one another, then you can pick your favorite ones of the bunch to keep. If you can't do that, make sure to provide plenty of sight breaks and hiding spots for the less dominant to hide out in if it's needs to get away. The rivulatus will grow faster than the festae, so your initial aggression (if any) will likely stem from it. But once the festae grows to within 1-2" of the rivulatus, it will probably take over dominance and could be quite aggressive to the rivulatus. Again, plenty of tank space will go a long way to making these tankmates tolerate one another, but personality could still trump that card.
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