Just gotten a red terror...any info

[Tigriuns™]

1st time keeping it..any info? eg how big do they grow & mature. sexing thank you

 

[GTS]

1st time keeping it..any info? eg how big do they grow & mature. sexing thank you

I am not sure about your situation over there, but in america most all fish sold is fish stores as red terrors turn out to be mayan cichlids. You first need to make sure you have C. Festae.

If you have a true festae then you need to figure out if you have male or female. Look for the blotch on the dorsal fin to determine sex, only females have the blotch on the dorsal. Also male festae will began to lose their stripes at around 4".

Females will be more aggresive than males when younger, but males can become very aggressive when they pass 8". Festae grow relatively slowly but females can reach 12-13" and males can grow to over 14". I consider them to be on par with trimacs in terms of aggression and overall physical capability. They can be very deceptive fish. One day they could be living peacefully with semi-aggresive fish like dempseys and green terrors and the next day they can flip out and go on rampages.

 

[Tigriuns™]

I am not sure about your situation over there, but in america most all fish sold is fish stores as red terrors turn out to be mayan cichlids. You first need to make sure you have C. Festae.

If you have a true festae then you need to figure out if you have male or female. Look for the blotch on the dorsal fin to determine sex, only females have the blotch on the dorsal. Also male festae will began to lose their stripes at around 4".

Females will be more aggresive than males when younger, but males can become very aggressive when they pass 8". Festae grow relatively slowly but females can reach 12-13" and males can grow to over 14". I consider them to be on par with trimacs in terms of aggression and overall physical capability. They can be very deceptive fish. One day they could be living peacefully with semi-aggresive fish like dempseys and green terrors and the next day they can flip out and go on rampages.

Thanks it is sold as "The True Red Terror" Amphilophus Festae
I do believe my LFS anyway it too small to ID I think it is only 2"+
1st time come across it... since I am looking for a fish to put into a tank of birchir I think it might be great. Do you think it can be comm together??
With the 2" size picture help do you think you are able to help ID it???
Lot of thanks

Normally I am more to odd ball and catfish. But this seem rare....
After checking online really like it and thinking to get the last one if it still there.

 

[VRWC]

If you post a picture we can tell you if it s festae or uropthalumus easily. Sexing it will be a bit of a challenge until its about 4-6 inches.

While what GTS said is accurate, the only thing Id say differently is that males DO have black in the fins as well as females sometimes and that that isnt a 100% accurate way to tell the difference between m&f.

My fave pic of a pair. NOT my picture. I found it via Google.

 

[Tigriuns™]

If you post a picture we can tell you if it s festae or uropthalumus easily. Sexing it will be a bit of a challenge until its about 4-6 inches.

While what GTS said is accurate, the only thing Id say differently is that males DO have black in the fins as well as females sometimes and that that isnt a 100% accurate way to tell the difference between m&f.

My fave pic of a pair. NOT my picture. I found it via Google.

Very nice colour...above is a pair?? so the bigger one is a male?
I saw some picture too but the male is not so nice as shown above

 

[flowerpower]

Those stripes fade while spawning I think.

 

[GTS]

If you post a picture we can tell you if it s festae or uropthalumus easily. Sexing it will be a bit of a challenge until its about 4-6 inches.

While what GTS said is accurate, the only thing Id say differently is that males DO have black in the fins as well as females sometimes and that that isnt a 100% accurate way to tell the difference between m&f.

My fave pic of a pair. NOT my picture. I found it via Google.

I guess I should have said that I have never had a male with black coloring in the fins, and I have owned many male festae from both ecuador and colombia.

That picture is very interesting. Male festae of that size usually lose their stripes and never regain them even when spawning.

 

[Tigriuns™]

so it like male got spot & female dun have..comm with birchir possible right. Thanks
Beautiful pair

 

[VRWC]

above is a pair?? so the bigger one is a male?

Yes, thats correct.

Those stripes fade while spawning I think.

They do for the most part. I remember Balton had a pair striped while spawning I believe. This is his fish in the video.

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I guess I should have said that I have never had a male with black coloring in the fins, and I have owned many male festae from both ecuador and colombia.

That picture is very interesting. Male festae of that size usually lose their stripes and never regain them even when spawning.

I thought the exact same and of all the festae Ive had, no males ever had black in the dorsal either. It wasnt until someone did a thread about this very topic that I started seeing males with black as well.

so it like male got spot & female dun have..comm with birchir possible right. Thanks
Beautiful pair

I think once they reach a certain size, the blue spangling is a pretty accurate way to tell as well...maybe not 100%, but what, besides venting, is?

Heres my old pair, with the lack of bars on the male. He didnt like her and she died eventually. I still have this male and he is paired up with a 6 inch female as we speak. Hopefully they will give me some fry:

 

[GTS]

so it like male got spot & female dun have..comm with birchir possible right. Thanks
Beautiful pair

The festae will likely ignore the bichir. It will be more important to monitor how they treat one another.