# Green terror male/feamle ratio



## Galc (May 12, 2011)

Like subject says, what is the perfect green terror male to female ratio?
I have a pair of green terror, and male is sometime chasing female around and I though I should maybe get additional female or maybe two so females could take a brake sometime from chasing. What do you think?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

What are the dimensions of your tank?


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## Galc (May 12, 2011)

It is 125G. tank


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

Do you have any other fish in the tank besides the Terrors? Give the male something else to chase and he will be less likely to harrass the female.


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## Galc (May 12, 2011)

They are alone. Male is at 9" and female is at 6", and I don't think there is enough space to put more other fishes anymore, that is why I thought I would put two more females like I was used to do with African cichlids. And I am not familiar with GT, and I do not know if male will pair with other females or not?


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

He will most likely pick one, kill the other two, and then you are back where you started. Giant danios, Buenos Aires Tetras, or large Rainbowfish are very fast, and a relatively slow fish like GT will chase, but probably won't be able to catch them. But it will give him a target for his territorial instincts.


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## Galc (May 12, 2011)

Mr Chromedome said:


> He will most likely pick one, kill the other two, and then you are back where you started. Giant danios, Buenos Aires Tetras, or large Rainbowfish are very fast, and a relatively slow fish like GT will chase, but probably won't be able to catch them. But it will give him a target for his territorial instincts.


Ok, good to hear that another female is not a long term solution. And I think tetras are just to small and I don't think it would work either, I often feed my GT's with "Poecilio reticulato" and they eat them all. 
What about any other SA cichlid pair? Oscars or JD maybe?


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

Adult Buenos Aires Tetras get 3.5-4.5 inches, Giant Danios commonly reach 4+ inches, and several Rainbowfish species can get over 5 inches. As target fish they would be expected to occasionally take some damage, but all are much faster than Guppies - or GTs. Another pair of Cichlids would result in major battles. Oscars would be killed outright.

The other alternative would be putting a divider between the two fish for a while, or making a divider that the female can get through but the male can't. With the size difference you give, that could be possible. A lot of people do this with "egg crate", the plastic grid often used to cover light fixtures.


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## Galc (May 12, 2011)

Interesting. So basically speed of school fish is the key to survive right? So could I try with other fast smaller tetras? Maybe neon, cardinal or serpae tetras? Is there any other small, fast and colourful tetra that I could give a try?


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

Those smaller fish are not fast swimmers, they tend to move in small jerky jumps rather than constant movement. The size is also a consideration, but many fish that are 4-5 inches would still be feeders for the Cichlids if they were too stationary. It's the constantly moving types above that are much harder for him to catch. In the wild, the biggest threat to SA Cichlid fry are schools of medium size Tetras. While the parents chase some, others dash in and grab a mouthful of fry.

If it were my fish, I'd have a divider in the tank to protect the female. That is the simple solution.


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## Galc (May 12, 2011)

Actually I don't have a problem with male to female aggression anymore. I did move few wood peaces in such a way that female can get away from male in both corners of the tank and also one hiding place where male can not reach her. It seems that female has male in control now and male does not chase her anymore that much and female does not hide that much anymore. 
But this discussion lead me to an idea which does not give me a peace - I think it could look very nice if I could add some small school fish with my big GT pair. Don't get me wrong, tank with this pair looks great, but they are alone in 125G tank and I think I could add more fishes. So I am thinking what are some fast small school fishes/tetras that I could try with (fast enough to not be eaten).


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

> So I am thinking what are some fast small school fishes/tetras that I could try with


Think your best bet is to add something that Mr Chromedome suggested.


> Adult Buenos Aires Tetras get 3.5-4.5 inches, Giant Danios commonly reach 4+ inches, and several Rainbowfish species can get over 5 inches. As target fish they would be expected to occasionally take some damage, but all are much faster than Guppies - or GTs


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## cprings (Sep 10, 2003)

Silver dollars are another option along with the BA tetras and Giant Danios. Just make sure to add these dithers in a group.


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## Galc (May 12, 2011)

I wouldn't like to put another big fishes like Silver dollars in tank. At the moment I like Buenos Aires Tetras and Giant Danios, but I am looking for other suggestions because I can not get them at LFS at the moment. So what could be good substitutions for this two?


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## Galc (May 12, 2011)

I think I should update this post - I think it could be useful to someone someday. 
I did put 9 Buenos Aires tetras with my 10" Green Terror breeding pair a week ago and so far I can say Buenos Aires tetras does not have any problem living with my breeding GT pair. Buenos aires tetras does not seem bother much about GT's, they move all the time and they don't flee away from them, they only respectfully keep the distance of not less then 3-4". So far I can confirm Buenos Aires tetras are great dither fish for breeding GT pair.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Awesome. Good to hear its working so far.


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## Galc (May 12, 2011)

Buenos Aires Tetras survived breading GT's so far and have no problems with them, but I don't think they are perfect dither fish anyway. Male is still chasing female when I feed them and so she is getting a very small portion of food. I thought I will solve this with adding Buenos Aires Tetras. So I am considering if I should try with adult Oscar pair? I see some have success with keepeing this two species togather, is there anyone who is keeping togather adult GT's and adult Oscar's or anyone who at least tried it? I would like to hear experiences?


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