# green terror



## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

i got a tank today from a friend, its a 30g and it had a green terror in it. He hadnt been home for about 1-2 months becasue of family issues. im almost positive that it wasnt cleaned at all while he was gone and i wasnt even sure if it was feed. He has had the fish for a while now and he said that the tank has only been cleaned once or twice since hes had it. The thermometer on the tank said that it was 65 degrees and the water was very murky. the fish was laying on the bottom so i decided that i should rush it home and put it in my tank so it would have a chance to live becasue it didn't look to be doing so hot. the tank that i put it in was a 45g with one Midas cichlid roughly 8 or 9 inches, 2 pictus cats about 7.5 inches, a ruberlip pleco about 7.5 inches, and one fire mouth about 2 inches (added earlier this after noon). i brought the green terror home around 5:30 and in a 4 hour time span it has not moved once, its gills are still moving so i know its still alive. Do you think its doing what its doing becasue of the new environment or do you think it might have developed some kinda of sickness being in poor quality water for so long? I know my tank is overstocked, im looking for a reasonably price 75g for the Midas, i plan on moving the firemouth to the 30g when its done cycling, and i will probably leave the green terror in the 45g if it makes it, so please don't hound me for it. I am worried about the green terror so please help, it is a truly beautiful fish and i would hate to see him die.


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## klumsyninja (Aug 14, 2008)

Personally I would get him into his own tank with a Sponge filter on it and keep him in quarantine for a few weeks while you slowly restore him to health. You don't want him making your entire tank sick and you don't want to shock him to death either.

Even just a 10 or 20G with a sponge filter and heater. Feed him only tiny tiny amounts till you see him taking food and vacuum up what he doesn't eat...

Hopefully he turns around. Good on you for taking him over and good luck reviving him.


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

I'd clean out that 30g and put him back in bare bottom style for awhile until he's no longer lethargic.


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

i went ahead and set up my 10g, i dont have a sponge filter so i just set up my whisper 20 with the some floss and a sponge and i put an air stone in the tank until i can get a sponge filter. Is it ok that tank is not cycled? will that have any negative effects on him? since i have put him in the smaller tank i have noticed that his fins look to be tore up pretty badly, i also noticed that his left eye is clouded over a little bit, could this be anything serious?

the 30g has already been tore down


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

Don't overfeed and maybe do water changes every 2 or 3 days (on a 10g tank that isn't a lot of work). Because the tan isn't cycled it could allow waste to build up... Do you have any ornaments, rocks, or wood that you could take from your main tank and place in the 10g tank temporarily? If it's been the main tank for awhile it will prbably have bacteria on it - the good kind...


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

if i were to just take about a cup of sand out of the 45g do you think that would help? And what about his cloudy eye, is that something i should be worried about?


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## Malawidolphin (Dec 15, 2006)

I would take a liitle filter media (a few rings or floss) and put it in the whisper filter behind your cartridge. I find when I have a fish with a cloudy eye (usually from bumping or scratching it) I just do extra water changes and it clears up. If it doesn't improve in a couple of days try melafix which will also help heal torn fins.


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## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

the cloudy eye could be pop eye and his fins being torn up and stuff could be fin rot but *** never had to deal with any of those sicknesses so do some research on fish diseases and symptoms


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Try slowly adding aquarium salt to "full" dosage to help with respiration and healing torn fins.

Hope he makes it.

-Ryan


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

well he is alot better today, couldn't find a sponge filter at petsmart, so i guess i will just go with out it. i took a rock out of my tank in hopes of building some good bacteria. his cloudy eye has cleared up and hes alot more active. i added some aquarium salt to help out fins fish, i added half of the dose now and i will add the other half later. i have a few more question. should i add some sand to the bottom of the tank to make it feel more "homey" or should i just leave it bare? also should i be using a light? thanks everyone for all of your help, i have a really good feeling that he is going to live.


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Great news! 

Substrate isn't totally necessary, nor is a light. No light might be best, as darkness is a bit more comfortable. Keep an eye on the ammonia levels. Quarantine tanks can be tough to get cycled. Using a product like Amquel is a handy way to keep the ammonia/nitrite in check (though you will still measure the ammonia with a test kit).

Keep up with the water changes.

-Ryan


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

how long do you think he should stay in the quarantine tank?


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## klumsyninja (Aug 14, 2008)

If it were me I would keep him in there for 3 weeks, I'd change the water every other day, I'd watch him closely to see how he's healing and eating and when, if before three weeks he's doing awesome, then I'd introduce him... Stress of moves, conditions etc can do funny things to fish so it's better to keep on the safer side..


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

same here so i guess the longer i wait the better. i have never had a green terror so i don't really know what they like. Are there any specific things they like, like what substrate is best, plants or no plants, how to set up the aquarium for the optimum living conditions, what other fish should i have in the tank with him, and most importantly, is the 45g going to be big enough for him? sorry for all of the questions, i just feel so bad for him and i want the rest of is life to be the best it can be.


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

anybody?


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Check the profiles section. They'll like softer water, middle pH, in the 78-80*F. A tank raised fish should be fine in normal tap water as long as the parameters aren't too far "out there".

No experience with these guys, but they are supposed to be somewhat aggressive. Bigger is definitely better in the tank department. They can get around 10", so a 55g or larger would be appreciated.

-Ryan


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

UPDATE: the salt is really helping out , the tears on his fins are almost completely gone. he still only sits buy the heater. every once i a while he will come up to the front of the tank by the air stone and just look at it. And he still hasn't eaten any food, do you think it is unhealthy that he hasnt eaten food since i have had him, or is it just because he it in a new environment.


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## klumsyninja (Aug 14, 2008)

Give him time and make sure you clean out any food.. Try different foods or live foods like black worms or something. I heard something about garlic enticing appetites in fish but not sure how exactly to use it, Im sure a quick google search would answer that though. My guess would be to use a small bit of minced right before or as you feed but that's just a wild guess.


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

well today he is actually starting to move around the tank a little bit more, instead of being in the back by the heater, he is in the front swimming up and down by the glass.


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

You deserve a pat on the back! =D>

Great news!

-Ryan


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

thank you!!
but so do you (everyone that helped) becasue without your help he might of not even made it this far.


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## leavitt14 (May 13, 2009)

45g will be fine for him.. dont put to much else in tho, it might fit a pair... they say a 55g but thats close with a really good filter


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## leavitt14 (May 13, 2009)

45g will fit him, and maybe a mate with a really good filter


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

leavitt14 said:


> 45g will fit him, and maybe a mate with a really good filter


Tight fit for two adult GT's.


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

UPDATE: the green terror is doing very well, right now he is in my 75G helping with the cycling process. Dont worry i transferred alot of sand from a previously cycled tank along with some filter media, so the process is moving right along. He is very skittish, the tank he is in is in the living room and when every some body moves by him he goes and hides. He only swims around in the tank after 6, before that he is always in his cave. Once this tank is done cycling i am going to move him to the 45 and my midas to the 75, but if he doesnt change his ways i might consider taking him to the LFS. i have a picture of him, but it really doesn't do him any justice, he is truly a beautiful fish. it took about an hour to get a good picture because he doesnt like to stay in one spot for very long and i was messing around with the settings on the camera to get the best picture.


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## bachelor (May 16, 2009)

good work, he will come out of his shyness, and if not remove the cave, green terrors in my experience like to move around a lot, and don't necessarily need a hiding spot. I would be very cautious if introducing other fish as the name has it's reasoning. Though I find they are much more troublesome in pairs. They would take a nip at my Oscar once in a while when I had them, and once bit him so hard that he tried killing every fish in the tank until I took him out. I love them though, and am considering getting a pair again. Very pretty/cool looking fish, one of my favorite American Cichlids in fact.

As long as your other fish are similar size you will be fine, but you may want to put him back in another tank for a couple days, and then throw him with all the others in the large tank again at the same time, this way the territory will be divided more evenly, rather than Mr Terror telling the other cichlids it is his tank, and forcing them all into a corner. How big is he?


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

i have a juvie firemouth already in the 45 so when i put the GT in there i hope nothing bad happens. right now he is about 7 inches. GT are pretty neat looking fish. i have noticed that his body is different compared to say a midas. GT have more of a tear drop shape which is pretty odd looking.


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

Johnson14 said:


> i have a juvie firemouth already in the 45 so when i put the GT in there i hope nothing bad happens. right now he is about 7 inches. GT are pretty neat looking fish. i have noticed that his body is different compared to say a midas. *GT have more of a tear drop shape which is pretty odd looking.*


Not if your an acara :lol: . That's a very nice GT you have there :thumb: , although if the tank isn't fully cycled you may have some problems.

Here's something else to consider, he's getting close to the point in a GTs life where they generally get more aggressive . That 45 may not be big enough fot the both of them before too long. He could very well decide the entire tank belongs to him , so hopefully you've got a plan b just in case for the firemouth. :wink:


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

I hope plan B is that the firemouth keeps the 45g and the GT gets his own 75g.


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## bachelor (May 16, 2009)

Johnson14 said:


> i have a juvie firemouth


 How big is the firemouth?

I only kept firemouths once, I remember they were pretty good at holding their own in my fairly populated 55 gallon tank, but I think mine were about 3 or 4 inches each. Green Terrors just have so much more bulk though, and larger mouths to boot. It's kind my solution to everything, but maybe throw a single convict in the mix, it will probably take some of the beating, and hold it's own pretty well. Pretty much a small convict can hold it's own with any South American regardless of size. If you are going to put a green terror in a 45 gallon though I would suggest at least 4 sudo aggressive agile companions, (firemouth, convict, midas (he may play ref because of his size) and maybe something fast outside of the cichlid group, those crazy black and white striped torpedos that skip my memory, though maybe the tank is too small since they like to dart after their food. A bala shark maybe. Others may have better suggestions, it's 3am and I shouldn't be thinking this late :drooling:


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

if anything goes wrong i could put the firemouth in my 30G but ill just see what happens, i might try the idea of putting a convict in there too. right now the firemouth is about 2 inches. and since we are talking about the firemouth i want to go off topic really quick. my firemouth has no red on him what so ever, he was like that when i got him from the pet store, but i figured it was becasue he was stressed, but that was a couple of weeks ago so i figured his color would have come back by now. Do you guys know any ways to bring out his red?


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## bachelor (May 16, 2009)

can you post a pic of maybe all of your other fish, or at least the firemouth? It could be a mutation(not always bad). I have never really seen one without the color, but that doesn't mean others haven't. could be an albino, but usually they keep the most prominent color spots. Or it could just be a delayed formation of the spot, since it is fairly young. I would use some color enchancing forumla, chichlid god in the red bag is a reasonably priced sollution since you don't have to many fish, but for even less you can make a high beta carotien (spell check) diet. Beta carotien is a big natural color enhancer, and you can get it from veggies like carrots, and brocoli if memory serves me. Brocoli is super easy and most cichlids love it, I recomend just using the florets (little crumbly green pieces on top) because when I used to chop up the stem I found my power heads and over the top filters motors clogged with the fibers fairly often. There are other color enhancers which I can't remember at the moment, but they all have long names, but can be found in many veggies, carrogen seems to be bouncing in my head. FYI, I used to be a cichlid nerd, went away from it for awhile, so sorry if my info seems half assed. I want to emphasize on the convict, just get one! If you get two they will breed, and you will have everyone else hiding in the corner scared of getting nipped.


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## trackhazard (Mar 21, 2007)

My firemouths took more than a month after i took them home before they colored up.

Also, having females and males will help bring out their breeding colors.

Charlie


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## Johnson14 (Mar 29, 2009)

here is a picture of him








you said that i should feed him cichlid gold, that is all i feed my fish :lol: 
it does wonders on my midas and the green terror, but it doesn't do anything for the firemouth

i will give the broccoli a try, today i fed all of my fish some ghost shrimp, i figured the variety would help bring out there color, but it didn't


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## bachelor (May 16, 2009)

I saw a recipe in the library on this site for making gel bricks(like frozen food) with veggies and a little shrimp. It involved gelatin too, but I am sure it would be good for their color if you added the goods. Shrimp are good, and I think just the shells alone contain a lot of color enhancers, but I am not sure how much shell is too much. You may want to ask around though. You could buy some jumbo prawns, shell them, eat them (I recommend 1 tbsp virgin olive oil, 1 clove garlic, and a half tsp real butter) :thumb: ,,,, and then grind up the shells with some veggies, and maybe one shrimp you saved because you really didn't need to eat all of those did you?  Mix it with gelatin, and wahla.... but again I am half guessin again. All that being said his color will come around with the cichlid gold, but it's fun to experiment. Mine were only really bright red during mating, but I traded them pretty young, so am not sure if the super bright red comes with maturity or not. Others I am sure could chime in with the correct answer, and probably give their best recipe for jumbo prawns. I like simplicty, but again, it's fun to experiment. opcorn:


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