terror growth

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preston5321

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Jan 14, 2010
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hey, i just picked up a true red terror. I'm curious to know how fast do these grow I know there are lots of variables somewhat of an average would be nice I searched for like half hour with no luck:wall:. Another question i have is at what size should I be able to sex it? i read about 5-6 inches. Any extra information from anyones personal experiences would be much appreciated.
 
A true red terror? Are you referring to exCichlasoma Festae? In that case, i'm curious, what is a false festae?
 
HrHagel;3877455; said:
A true red terror? Are you referring to exCichlasoma Festae? In that case, i'm curious, what is a false festae?
Its not so much a false festae but a false red terror its the mayan cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus)
 
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preston5321;3877470; said:
Its not so much a false festae but a false red terror its the mayan cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus)
Ah, i see.

Are the mayan's being labled as red terror's in your country? And is your festae's also being labled red terror's instead of festae?

Sometimes i'm glad i live in a small country where fish go by theire proper names.

Anywho, i have a breeding pair of festae's (true red terrors :P) and the female seems to have stopped growing completely after her first spawn, but the male is still putting on size. Mine are approximately 1 year old with the male being 6" and the female 5".
Slow growers it seems, however, i don't actually know if this is other people's experience aswell.
 
HrHagel;3877503; said:
Ah, i see.

Are the mayan's being labled as red terror's in your country? And is your festae's also being labled red terror's instead of festae?

Sometimes i'm glad i live in a small country where fish go by theire proper names.

Anywho, i have a breeding pair of festae's (true red terrors :P) and the female seems to have stopped growing completely after her first spawn, but the male is still putting on size. Mine are approximately 1 year old with the male being 6" and the female 5".
Slow growers it seems, however, i don't actually know if this is other people's experience aswell.

lol where I live theres only one shop that sells cichlids other then oscars. It was how ever sold under festae I was just using the common name. Thanks for the info though much appreciated.
 
Depending on tank size, water quality, food quality, and over-all health Males grow to approx 8-9" in the 1st year and females 6-7". Then they slow down dramatically - maybe 1 inch per year, as they get older not even. In larger tanks Males can hit the 12" mark within 3 years of age.
 
My male that got killed was 260mm after 2 years and I got him at 35mm.

My surviving female is 210mm and doesn't seem to grow....well maybe a tiny bit.

J
 
preston5321;3877259; said:
hey, i just picked up a true red terror. I'm curious to know how fast do these grow I know there are lots of variables somewhat of an average would be nice I searched for like half hour with no luck:wall:. Another question i have is at what size should I be able to sex it? i read about 5-6 inches. Any extra information from anyones personal experiences would be much appreciated.

Mine grew really slowly. I think 3-4 inches should be enough to tell male/female.
 
yeah pretty much like everyone has said, it has taken me 4 months to grow fry from .5in to 2in!! so yes they are slow growers, though i will say that since i have moved my last standing fry (he killed all siblings :() into my 120g from the 20gL i was growing them out in he has definitely started growing ALOT faster (.5in and doubled body height in 2-3 weeks) though that probably has something to do with diet as well because when he was small he was on hikari first bites for the longest time and this probably doesnt have that much nutrition, once he was big enough to eat the tiny pellets i have was also when he started growing faster, and HrHagel, yes here in the states they both have the common name of red terror with festae being the "true" and mayans being the "false" but yes you are lucky they use actual names where you are, i dont see what is so hard about just labeling them as festae and uro or at the very least reserving RT for festae and mayan for Uros since the lfs love their catchy common names so much
 
Expect around 1/2" per month out of smaller festae. My pair is about 3 years old with the male being around 12" and the female around 9"
 
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