SEAN'S CICHLID PAGE
Welcome to my page. Here you can find some pictures and get a little info on some types of Central and South American Cichlids. I have a breeding pair of Green Terrors, and a couple of Firemouths. My (Green Terror's)GT's breed like crazy!!! Here's a little bit on me: I used to not like fish. I used to think they were a waste of time and money but soon discovered that I was wrong. I learned how to successfully run an aquarium and now I enjoy having fish. I also have a smaller tank with some other community fish as well. Don't go by just my opinions when it comes to information on these fish. I think that a lot of information on fish is opinionated. My experience with my cichlids may be different than yours, so be open to others opinions as well. Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoy!!!
Green Terrors are beautiful, graceful fish, if cared for properly. You should NOT keep these guys with bigger cichlids such as Jack Dempseys, Wolf cichlids, Jaguar or Texas cichlids, because they may try to bully GT's. A Jack Dempsey almost killed my male when he was smaller. Don't keep these with fish small enough to fit in their mouths either because GT's will eat just about anything that will fit in their mouths and moves.
COMMON NAME: Green Terror
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Aequidens rivulatus
PH: 6.5 - 7.0
TEMP: 74.F - 78.F (This fish doesn't do well in cold or cool water.)
FEEDING: Eats a variety of foods. Tetra Color Bits, other types of pellets, flakes, frozen brine shrimp, beef heart.(Anything it can get in its mouth.) I've even heard of them eating peas.
SIZE: In aquaria 6 - 7 inches, but larger in the wild. You should at least have a 40 gal. long, or larger.
SEXING: Males have more colorful fins, as well as developing a bump on their heads when mature. Females tend to be darker, especially when ready to breed.
BREEDING: This fish is rather difficult to breed. They need to be about 2 1/2 - 3 inches to breed. You need to get several (6-8) fish, throw'em in a tank and they should eventually pair off. I got lucky with mine. I got them young at a pet shop I worked at when they were young. I caught the female, then the male came out of hiding and I then netted him. After they breed once they will like crazy and their families are nuclear(meaning they have hundreds of babies).
COMMENTS: Beautiful, has a tendency to recognize its owner. They are very curious as well. As soon as mine see me, they are up at the glass either to be fed, or just see what I'm doing. During breeding, it will vigorously attack your hand if its in the water. I've heard that Severums are great tankmates for them. Salvini cichlids are also ok, but make sure your GT is slighty larger. Powerful filtration is a must for this fish. Weekly, slight, water changes should be made to keep this fish in top form.
More Green Terror pictures
Firemouths are really pretty too. I have 2 of these fish in my tank as well. One is definitely a male and the other I'm not sure about. At times it looks like a female, and at other times it looks like a male. Just as GT's, you don't want to put these with Jacks, Wolves, and other large aggressive cichlids. The same Jack Dempsey that almost killed my male GT did kill another really pretty Firemouth that I had, not to mention he ate 1/2 of'em. Yuk!! Firemouths need to be with smaller cichlids, such as Convicts, Festivums, and a few other smaller ones. If you keep your Firemouths with Convicts, watch them, the Convicts are scrappy little guys and may bully smaller Firemouths. Firemouths are also not too finicky about water, as long as you have powerful filtration.
COMMON NAME: Firemouth
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Thorichthys meeki
PH: 6.5 - 7.0
TEMP: 72.F - 78.F
FEEDING: Eats a variety of foods. Tetra Color Bits, cichlid pellets, flakes, frozen brine shrimp. Experiment with these fish because they are not picky about foods.
SIZE: In aquaria 5 - 6 inches. In the wild they grow just a little bit larger.
SEXING: Males have a very red-orange color patch on their belly that will intensify when they want to breed. Females red-orange colors are dull compared to the male. Someone told me that females have more iridescent bluish-gray color to them.
BREEDING: Pairs very easily in a group of (6-8) fish. After 2 of them pair off, remove the others. They need to be at least 2 1/2 inches to breed. I have never tried to breed them, so I don't know the difficulty off it. After breeding, this fish becomes belligerent, taunting other fish with its gills covers.
COMMENTS: These fish are very shy and nervous. Because of this, some seem to be highly aggressive, and others seem to be peaceful. I guess it comes down to the fish’s personality. YES.... CICHLIDS ARE KNOWN TO HAVE PERSONALITIES, even though their "just fish" they have things they do and do not like. The one in the picture is kind of scrappy.
More Firemouths and some pictures of my Community Tank