Green Terror Cichlid 5"-6"

Common name: Green Terror

Family: Cichlidae

Order: Perciformes

Class: Actinopterygii Maximum

Size:  Males grow around 10 to 12 inches when fully mature. Females grow up to 7-9inches.

Life Span: 10 Years

Origin: South America Peru, Ecuador

Temperament: Aggressive

Tank Mates: Must be kept with fish of the same size, best kept with other cichlids of the same temperament. Tank mates would include jack dempsey's, convicts, oscars and other cichlids of similar size that aren't too aggressive. Unless of course the tank is extremely large.  

Water parameters: Temperature 72 to 82 degrees; pH 6.5 – 8.0

Aquarium setup: The Green Terror Needs a big aquarium. The aquarium should be decorated with rocks and roots. They like to dig so any rocks should be placed directly on the bottom of the aquarium to avoid damage by digging to the aquarium. 

Feeding: Aequidens rivulatus (Green Terror) accepts all types of food.  

Sexing: Males are generally larger and develop a nuchal hump with age.  They have more flowing fins and a pointed dorsal fin. Females have less contrast in color and are more round in shape with a rounded dorsal fin.  

Breeding: The best way to breed Green Terrors is to get a young group of 6 juveniles and let them pair off naturaly. Once they pair off there should be a piece of slate or flowerpot or any type of cave in the aquarium for them to spawn. A ripe female will have large spawns usually 200 to 400 eggs. The female will lay rows of eggs usually 10 to 20 eggs at a time while the male follows her behind fertilizing the eggs.  This process can take up to 2 hours. Once the spawn is over the female then begins to fan the eggs to oxygenate them while the male sits above the perimeter on watch for predators. The pair will signal shift change by a vertical display and gill flaring. The young hatch in 4-8 days. The young feed on their yolk sacs for about 5-7 days where they then become free swimmers in search of food. The young can be culled after 5-6 weeks. Removing them too soon would result in the male trying to spawn again with the female before she's physically able, and could result in damage to the female and even death.