Amphilophus festae
| Common Names: | Guayas Cichlid Harlequin Cichlid Red Terror |
| Synonyms: | Amphilophus festae Herichthys festae Heros festae Nandopsis festae |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Category: | Cichlids |
| Distribution: | America - South; Primarily Ecuador and Colombia |
| Main Ecosystem: | River |
| Temperament: | Aggressive; The Red Terror is a highly aggressive fish that have been known to be intolerant of tankmates even in 200+ gallon tanks. |
| Diet: | Ominvore; A wide variety of meaty foods mixed with some spirulina or veggie ba |
| Care: | Because of their overly aggressive nature and potential size, the Red Terror will need a very large tank. These fish are best kept alone or with a mate. |
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| Potential Size: | Male: 40.6cm (16") Female: 30.5cm (12") |
| Water Region: | Middle, Bottom; The Red Terror may swim around the entire tank, but will primarily stick to the middle to bottom regions of the tank. |
| Activity: | Diurnal; Red Terrors will usually be most active during the day, but may also be somewhat active at night. |
| Gender: | It is virtually impossible to tell until ~3.5-4". At this point, the front portion of the dorsal fin and the pelvic fins of females will turn black and they will most likely lose any blue spangling they may have previously had. Males will keep the blue spangling throughout the body and the finnage, and their entire dorsal and pelvic fins will remain red. |
| Breeding: | It is best to purchase several juveniles and let them grow up and pair off on their own. Once a pair is formed, all other fish will need to be removed from the tank. Red Terrors will not fully mature until well over a year old until the male is approximately 7-8" and the female approximately 5-6". Once mature and ready to spawn, the pair will select a spawning location and clean a flat surface. Once the eggs are laid and have been fertilized, the female will stay very close to the nest while |
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| Comments: | Red Terrors are usually ranked among the top 5 most aggressive cichlids in the world! Also, the true Red Terror is often mistaken for the Mayan cichlid...Cichlasoma uropthalmus. The easiest way to distinguish the two is that the second vertical bars will form a Y on the upper portion of the body on Amphilophus festae. All bars on Cichlasoma uropthalmus are strictly vertical and will not intersect. |
| Main Colours: | Red, Black, Orange |
| Markings: | Striped Vertical |
| Mouth: | Normal |
| Tail: | Flat |
| Search: | Show similar species Find compatible species |
| Image Credit: | ;jason_r_s |
| Submitted By: | Jason_R_S |
| Contributors: | Jason_R_S |
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