View Full Version : Green Terror breeding
knight66d
04-16-2003, 1:37 PM
Hi. I'm new to this forum. I've been keeping fish for about 5 yrs. I just started keeping cichilds 1 yr ago. I have a 75 gal with the following mix.
1 Oscar - 4-5"
1 Red Devil - 4'5"
2 GT's M+F - 3-3.5"
3 JD's - 3-3.5"
2 Brazilliaras ? - 3"
2 red belly pacu - 4-5"
1 Firemouth - 3"
2 silver dollars - 3" targets
2 Plecos - 3.5"
4 Corys - 1.5" they hide alot
1 Spotted Gar - 6"
I know that's a lot of fish for a 75 , but I'll be moving up to a 100+ soon, hopefully. Given the size of the fish, they all get along fairly well and have picked out their own territories in the tank. There are plenty of rocks, driftwood and silk plants to define turf. Most of them have learned to respect each other and no one gets beat on too much.
Lately the GT's have staked out the right 12 inches of the tank and have chased everyone else out. Including the Oscar and RD. The female has dug a hole, whicfh she hangs over. And the male guards the area above and around her. I don't see anything in the hole yet.
several questions... how will I know if they breed? Do they bury the eggs? Should I take them out now and put them in a 10 gal spare tank? Or should I wait until the eggs hatch (if they do) and move the babies? Or, should i just put a divider in the 75 and give them privacy? If they do have baby GT's, how many can I expect and what do I do with them?
Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated. THX
These fish you have theres way way way way to many in there. They might be ok now but not for long. Red Devils get big and mean they could get around 14" Oscars get big they could get around 14" plecos depending on what kind Im guessing you got commons they could get 18" and poop alot JD I think get around 9-12" can get mean but not as mean as a Green Terror or Red Devil a single Red Belly Pacu would be to big for a 100+ tank they get huge hitting over 2'. Those silver dollars wont be targets they will be lunch sone enough. The corys will eventually be lunch. The firemouth wont stand a chance they only get 6" and dont get very agressive. That brazil fish dont know nothing about those and Gars can get massive dont know about the one you have but some could hit over 4' which is even to big for a 300gal+ tank. I would suggest you getting rid of everthing in your tank and keeping the Green Terrors and maybe one pleco but not 2.
Ok now for your question no dont put a divider. With as many fish that you have keeping fry would be nearly impossible. For breeding they dont burry the eggs they are best left with the parents irst few batches might be eaten by parents but they will learn to take care of them in there own time. Slate should be provided for them to lay there eggs on. Hope This Helps I will be back with additional info you could bet on it. Peace.
Tightdog1
04-16-2003, 4:30 PM
first off welcome to AC!
this may sound like im bashing u but im not trying to just trying to give u some advice.
pretty much is what u need to do is buy like a 300g+ maybe even 500+ tank. especially with those pacus, i got 2 pacus and they grow like all hell, ive had them a little less than a year ans they went from 1" to 8-9". and the pacus get proibably around 24"+ (up to 36") i need to get rid of my pacus because they break everything im suprised they haven't broken the glass on the tank yet!
my advice with the GTs would be to only have the GTs in the 75g alone. and brede like that and leave the fry in the tank and let the GTs raise them, they will not bury their eggs, they will probably breed on a flat rock if u got 1. if u have an extra 10g layin around i start cycling it and when and if babies are hatched put the babies in the 10g alone. when the GTs breed if they can in such a crowded tank (which i doubt) they will probably kill half if not more than half their tank mates. they may not ever be at sexual maturity yet. if they do breed and if u get fry they wont be around very long as they will ALL be eaten within a matter of days
i would also put the RD and the oscar in like a 125g maybe with pleco.
im suprised you havent lost any fish, especialy those cories, they will probably get eatern eventually.
what are your water parameters and how often do u do water changes and what kind of filtration do u have.
anyone else have any suggestions. thank u GER1023 for responding also.
I had almost the same info as you. He would actually need a tank bigger then a 300gal for all those fish though especially if the gar gets to big.
Tightdog1
04-16-2003, 4:34 PM
GER1023 and the pacus they get huge also. i once saw a pacu over 3' and weighed almost 60 lbs.
Yup you would need a big big tank or pond here is a pick of a spotted gar when slightly bigger then yours
http://fishing.about.com/library/graphics/gar2.jpg
Tightdog1
04-16-2003, 4:38 PM
that is a nice gar, too big for any tank unless like 1000g.
GER1023 => how did u become a moderator? PM me
It does trick people Im not a moderator look closely it say moderGator. LOL thats funny stuff man. LOL ROFLOL
Tightdog1
04-16-2003, 4:46 PM
LOL, oh ic it sure fooled me. punk, j/k.
Wasnt sure if it would full anyone but now I know it does
Tightdog1
04-16-2003, 4:52 PM
yea in the last like 20 minutes we put 10 posts on here that mean almost nothing and are not talking about the problem at hand
Oh yeah well uh uh uh you started it. LOL. Got to go be back in about 30-60min got to clean.
Tightdog1
04-16-2003, 5:28 PM
and im ending it right now. sorry
knight66d do you have any other tanks???
Rare Cichlids
04-16-2003, 5:41 PM
I'll try to help you out as much as I can. Starting with the assortment of fish.
1 Oscar - 4-5"
large (14") but not agggressive
1 Red Devil - 4'5"
large (12"), extremely aggressive, cannot be kept with any of these other fish in less than a 200g tank (and thats risky)
2 GT's M+F - 3-3.5"
medium sized (8-10"), moderately aggressive
3 JD's - 3-3.5"
same as Green Terror
2 Brazilliaras ? - 3"
probably Geophagus brasiliensis, large but not to agressive
2 red belly pacu - 4-5"
Extremely large, but not aggressive, you need to take this fish back imediately, will grow to over 24"
1 Firemouth - 3"
medium small (5-6"), not aggresive
2 silver dollars - 3" targets
small (4") good tankmate for most cichlids
2 Plecos - 3.5"
large (18"), good tankmate for most cichlids
4 Corys - 1.5" they hide alot
Dinner, or a death trap (if their spines get caught in the throat of a larger fish, these must go back if any of the others are kept
1 Spotted Gar - 6"
Could be a true gar, like the pic that was posted, or a Characin species. If its a true gar I would expect it to reach atleast 24'
I'm going to suggest that you keep the
1 Oscar
2 Green Terrors (because you already have a pair)
1 Jack Dempsey
1 Brasiliensis
1 Firemouth
1 Pleco
2 Silver dollars
But only if you can get a 180 gallon. If you go larger (250g) you might be able to keep the gar depending on species.
When the GT's spawn they will lay the eggs on a flat rock or driftwood usually. This will be very obvious. There may be over 500 eggs, probably less because they are still young. The eggs will hatch in a few days, and a few days later will be able to swim. They do not bury the eggs, but may move the fry to a safer place. If you want to save the fry you should divide your tank with an egg-crate divider. The Gt's, may become extremely aggressive during breeding.
HTH, I wrote it extremely quick, I have to go,
Yeah I agree with the above post by rare cichlids. For the most part anyways. If you get a 180 then yeah I could and probably would work like the above post. I just dont see why you would want to go through the trouble of getting a bigger tank your going to do what you want but I would personally keep just the GT's and a pleco in the tank that there in now and get rid of the rest.
Tightdog1
04-16-2003, 6:21 PM
yea race cichlids has a good point, but if u dont get a nerw tank jsut stick with the GT pair. wiht maybe a pleco and maybe a silver dollar
dbcb314
04-16-2003, 7:12 PM
if he doesnt get rid of some of the fish (especially the red devil) all thats goin to be left is the red devil and the pleco.
dude, you really need to get rid of the fish. pick out your favorites,a nd leave them. you MUST get rid of the red devil and the pacus. red devil is too mean, pacus are too big
breeding the GT's might be cool, so you could just leave them in there. you probably have to get rid of the firemouth, as it is just too nice.
if your favorite is the gt, get rid of almost everything else especially if you are breeding them. if your favorite is the red devil, get rid of everthing else. if your favorite is the firemouth, you could probably keep the dempseys and maybe the oscar (for a while at least) i know nothing of gars. if your thinking of keeping the oscars or pacus, get a bigger tank
Actual Gars get big they had one at Sea World as big as me and im 2" shy from being 6'. You probably got the hint allready that for the current tank just to keep the GT's since they are a pair and a pleco to keep tank clean. If you got to a bigger tank more can be kept but unless its by itself the Red Devil gots to go this is a must.
knight66d
04-17-2003, 10:05 AM
wow... This is a good site for getting lots of info. okay...i'm going to get a bigger tank (120) and divide the fish between the two tanks. The 75 currently has a fluval 400 running and I do water test weekly and chages every 2-3 weeks. I keep the PH neutral.
So far the Oscar seems to be the boss. The RD is a close 2nd, but he gives the Oscar lots of respect. NOBODY messes with the gar, but he's got a live and let live tude. the GT's laid 50-100 eggs on the side of a rock. I think they've been there for 2-3 days. How long before they hatch?
I live by the largest lake in NC. There are gars in there naturaly. My plan was to free the gar when he got too big. The others I was going to sell back to the lfs when they get too big.
I didn't think the RD would be a problem. Right now everyone else seems to hold their own with him. He seems content to hang out in his own turf or follow the oscar around.
Thanks for all the good advice. These fish are all really healthy and beautiful. I'd rather buy more tanks and split them up than get rid of 'em.
GEV83
04-17-2003, 12:21 PM
Ok a 120gal would not be big enough for the even splitting them up. Also you need to do at the very least a water change every week especially with all those fish. Also with the Gar never release aquarium fish into the wild you can contaminate the wild species with diseases that they would not be able to fight off. I would take the Gar back from were you got it unless you fished for it and tossed it in your tank then Ide wait til hes of size and then eat it. Ummm Ummm Good. But yeah never ever release aquarium fish with the wild population even if there native there. Also if your caught doing this you get hit with a big fine.
knight66d
04-17-2003, 12:50 PM
I bought the gar at a lfs. I don't know if they'd take him back. Won't the tank restrict his growth? I thought fish didn't get any bigger than their environment allowed?
After reading what everyone has written, I think all cichilds can have VERY individual personalities. My RD is tough, but he doesn't act like the killer I keep hearing about. The firemouth is more aggresive and likely to pick a fight.
Also, the corys hide a lot, but i like them for clean up. They eat all the stuff on the bottom. All of the other fish leave them alone. They only started hiding when I put the Gar in there. Are they really dangerous to the other fish?
The cory's will get eaten or kill your fish it there spines get stuck in there trought they will die. The Gar has to go before it gets to big. The Red Devil is still small and house with alot of fish as soon as it gets big enough it will kill almost every fish in there. Firemouths get somewhat mean but not big at all when it gets 6" and the RD and Oscar keep growing it will be killed. Oscars get big but not mean and will be Killed by the RD. I would get rid of these fish I know you want to keep all of them but you will have just one big disaster if you keep them all. I highly recommend you taking the Gar, Red Devil and cories back for starters. Yes fish grow to there inviroment but there growth is stunted while the outside appearance stays the same size there insides keep growing which get cramped deform your fish and eventually killing it slowly but surely and why make a fish sufer that fate.
dbcb314
04-17-2003, 4:37 PM
your right, every cichlid has there own personality. but the differ slightly. a red devil will not go from one of the meanest fish to being less aggressive than a firemouth. just wait to it get close to the size of the others and you wont have any fish left.
yes, they wont grow out of there habitat, but that will stunt there growth and youll have a less healthy fish. it will be stressed all the time and eventually die an early death. why not take it back and get something out of it?
your cories will be killed. guarenteed. they will be eaten or try to be eaten and will kill the fish eatin it. they are not aggressive at all. there best kept with nicer cichlids and tetras and stuff. not some of the meanest cichlids alive.
it seems that you asked a question, and your not following the advice. why did you ask in the first place? do what you want, but your tank is a death trap.
Straight up man. Why you ask for advice if you dont want to use it. It pointless to take time ask question when someone gives you a answer you dont want to here you think you could get away with it. Most of the fish will die. Even the Red Devil could die before any of the others by eating those corys and getting it stuck in its mouth. I never really thought about it but why do people say hey lets bye half the fish store then ask question when we here something we dont like lets come up with an excuse. Yeah your going to do what your going to do but what you have going in your tank is messed up. Do the research before you bye your next fish bro. Lates im doon with this thread till you start singing a better toon. Im out.
I would agree about the corys....my oscar tried to eat one in his tank, he spit it out since he couldn't swallow it. More than likely, they will kill them, try to eat them, but spit them out when they realize they can't swallow them. Cuz, two other oscars tried to eat it too, and they just spit it out and left it there.
knight66d
04-18-2003, 10:11 AM
I asked the questions I asked because I didn't know about this stuff. The guy at the lfs seemed to know his stuff, but he was probably more interested in making money than healthy fish.
Like I said I only started keeping these types of fish in the last year. Know that I know about these guys I'll be getting rid of the corys, gar and pacu. The jacks will go as they get bigger. I'll be keeping the Rd in a separate 75 by himself. I like him. The rest will get split up into bigger tanks soon. It takes a little time to find a 120 tank without paying a fortune.
I came to this site to learn more about the fish I have. I'm not interested in killing fish. I AM interested in learning more about them to keep them healthy and enjoy the hobby. Thanks for helping me learn.
knight66d
04-18-2003, 11:01 AM
By the way, The GT's ate the eggs. I guess they're still too young to breed. :(
Maybe I'll have better luck when they're in a tank by themselves.
GEV83
04-18-2003, 11:24 AM
So a 75gal for the Red Devil Thats good.
Also a 120 Gal for the
1 Oscar - 4-5"
2 GT's M+F - 3-3.5"
3 JD's - 3-3.5" Until they get bigger
2 Brazilliaras ? - 3"
1 Firemouth - 3"
2 silver dollars - 3" targets
2 Plecos - 3.5"
Big improvement you will be doing there but may I suggest one more change and get rid of one pleco. After that I will agree it should be workable. I would still look out for the firemouth for they dont get big and that should be it I think.
Hey who knows how big the brazilliaras get??? Also size one Silver Dollars when full grown please.
Tightdog1
04-18-2003, 2:04 PM
the silvert dollars will get about 6" long and about 6" high.
you huys see to be forgetting about the pacus, if u plan to keep them you will need a huge tank, like 200+ if its just them and probably 300+ after they get 12", by the way how often do your pacus jump outta the tank cause mine seem to do it about once a week.
He posted hes getting rid of the Gar Pacu's and coryies.
Tightdog1
04-18-2003, 2:35 PM
yea i saw i posted b4 i read all the post. just hope he can take the pacus back cause where i am no one will even take the pacus for free. :( so im stuck in a pickle.
Tightdog1
04-18-2003, 4:06 PM
the blue acaras are about 3-5" 3m 2f, i have about 20 babies that are about 1-1.5"
are they mean or nice fish never had one before???
Tightdog1
04-20-2003, 1:59 AM
for the most part they are nice but they can be aggressive at times, they kinda moody i guess, especially aggressive during breeding they just laid eggs day b4 yesterday, i'll have to take some pics.