Terror Start !

[Banstead175]

Hi, I am new to the world of cichlids, and started with a brand new and empty tank. Went to my local aquarist and he basically told me that all cichlids can happily live together. So I started with two fish, a green terror and a firemouth.
Within one day the green terror started to terrorise the firemouth, and now the firemouth is an ex-fish !
So the Green terror happily occupies the tank by himself. I am now in a fix as to what to do next. I am obvioulsy worried that whatever fish I now add will see the same fate as the firemouth, and at £15-20 a fish this is something I can ill afford ! - Is it just a case of getting shot of the green terror and starting again ?
Any help will be gratefully accepted - thanks

 

[-=Joel=-]

You shouldn't need to be paying that much for either firemouth or green terrors Lol. Under a fiver is the going rate for fish under 3inches.

As for fish to recommend ... please tell us about how big the tank is ... size in gallons and dimensions

Green terrors can be pretty dominate fish especially if the fish its after wont stand up for himself.

How big is the green terror ?

Joel

 

[Ferris]

How big is the tank? GT's generally won't tolerate other cichlids unless there s plenty of room for territories etc. I had to seperate mine despite being in a 125 gal.

 

[-=Joel=-]

They are fine as a fish, just need to know how to handle them.

To keep them quiet you need a Jag or similar to show them whos boss. This however requires a big tank, which not everyone has.

Joel

 

[kev_kb]

Regardless of the route you choose to take with stocking I would take the fish back to the LFS and demand a refund for their bad advice, then take my business eslewhere.

 

[kubora666]

texas or red devil wont take any from a green terror, my big male ( DP ) is scared of a large male bloodparrot....

 

[Banstead175]

Thanks for the replies so far guys. Not sure about gallons, but the tank is about 24" x 12" x 12" - The Green terror is about 4" and paid £16 for him from the local garden centre. I know the tank is quite small, but as I was only going to start with about 5-6 fish I thought the tank would be ok size-wise to start with, with a small number of fish in it. I am not adverse to buying a bigger tank if thats what it takes. Keep the advice coming please - as you can tell I am as green as my green terror, but less aggressive !!

 

[jayjay]

You need a 48"x18"x18" for a GT alone in my opinion.

 

[SamUK]

Thanks for the replies so far guys. Not sure about gallons, but the tank is about 24" x 12" x 12" - The Green terror is about 4" and paid £16 for him from the local garden centre. I know the tank is quite small, but as I was only going to start with about 5-6 fish I thought the tank would be ok size-wise to start with, with a small number of fish in it. I am not adverse to buying a bigger tank if thats what it takes. Keep the advice coming please - as you can tell I am as green as my green terror, but less aggressive !!

yea thats ok for 6 fish about 2"-3" long but GTs get up to 8" i think and as jayjay says need a bigger tank.


best bet is to take him back and have a read on here to find something more suitable.