The
Red Terror in Sungei Buloh Nature Park At 11am on 9th June 2001, Park
Ranger R. K. Ramakrishnan collected a cichlid fish from a
net sampling session at the A1 pond in Sungei Buloh Nature
Park. The specimen was sent to the Raffles Museum of
Biodiversity Research, where it was later determined to be
Nandopsis festae by the curator of fishes, Kelvin
Lim. An internet search revealed
that it is also known as Amphilophus festae, and was
previously known as Cichlasoma festae or Heros
festae. English names for it include the 'Red Terror' or
'Tiger Cichlid'. The species originates form
originating from the Guayas River system from Western
Ecuador, Central America. Adult size: 20'', carnivore,
bottom swimmer,. Territorial and aggressive. Nandopis festae
(Boulenger 1899) "...the Male eagerly went to
investigate and as soon as She noticed the Male she
instantly turned from blue to a bright red, i guess all she
needed was a male interest to make her forget about her
stress. The mouth locking begun instantly and the female was
noticeably winning, the male gave up after only a short
period of time and the female proceeded to strut her stuff,
with a huge gill flare and fins extended to there full
capacity, and some groovy shaking, the male started up doing
a similar thing. I took this as good news and left them for
about an hour, i came back and the male was hiding under a
log and the female was swimming proudly round..." 'The breath taking combination
of beauty and beast all rolled into one. This cichlid is
from Ecuador and is among the most beautiful of freshwater
fish. Growing to 16 inches, this fish is very capable of
doing major damage in the aquarium. The protection of it's
fry is legendary and it is one of the few cichlids where the
female is actually more aggressive than the male. Keep only
in huge tanks with other similar sized fish of equally nasty
disposition. Males have numerous blue spots throughout the
unpaired fins.' 'Was it called a red terror?
This name is often given to either of two Neotropical
cichlids, one from Central America Cichlasoma
urophthalmus , the other from South America,
Cichlasoma festae.' 'The only species of these
Pacific coast cichlids found regularly in the hobby is 'C.'
festae, often called the Red Terror. The common name refers
to the intense red body and head color (which is striped
with blue on the flanks) and to the fact that it is found
alongside the well-known Green Terror, Aequidens' rivulatus
(covered in Part One of this series). 'C.' festae is said by
Staeck and Linke and by Konings to be a Nandopsis species,
though it hardly resembles 'C.' tetracanthus. Loiselle
(1985) places it in Amphilophus and I tend to agree with
this placement.' "What does everybody here think
is the most overated Cichlid." P Luvah: "Deinately the red
terror at least IMO." SS Mattimeo SS: "red devils for
sure IMHO. Everyone says how mean they are, yet only a few
out of the 100's ive seen are really as aggressive as people
make them out to be. all the festaes i've seen were real
killers." festae: "I go with the Red
Terror. They can be as nasty as the rest of the fish when
they're breeding, but they are just a touch mellow when
younger compared to the other fish on the list. But that is
a pretty high powered list. On the other hand, a breeding
pair of Red Terrors is an awesome sight, and is then one of
the very elite cichlids." ...8. Amphilophus festae (Red
Terror). A big and pugnacious cichlid. Beautiful
colouration. Needs 150g plus tank. Females are actually more
aggressive and get to 18" Some
internet references to this species The
Cichlid Room Companion How to differntiate between
Red Terrors Both cichlids have a black eye
spot on the base of the caudal (tail) fin. With the festae,
this spot is small, only taking half the height of the base.
The urophthalmus spot is large, taking the entire height of
the base. The red coloration is also usually less intense
with the urophthalmus, but this is not always
true. http://www.rpi.net.au/~graeme/festae.html AquariumsIte.org:
Links to Red Terror Information
page for Red Terror at notcatfish.com Aquanet:
Picture by Albin Kirchleitner One
fish, two fish Master
Index of Freshwater Fishes The
Red Terrors that truly are
(experiences in breeding and keeping Nandopsis
festae) Real
Cichlids Don't Eat Quiche! Cichlid
Research Home Page: Identify your
cichlid Cichlids
of the new world 'The only species of these
Pacific coast cichlids found regularly in the hobby is 'C.'
festae, often called the Red Terror. The common name refers
to the intense red body and head color (which is striped
with blue on the flanks) and to the fact that it is found
alongside the well-known Green Terror, Aequidens' rivulatus
(covered in Part One of this series). 'C.' festae is said by
Staeck and Linke and by Konings to be a Nandopsis species,
though it hardly resembles 'C.' tetracanthus. Loiselle
(1985) places it in Amphilophus and I tend to agree with
this placement.' Dangerous
and Aggresive Fish Board P Luvah: "Deinately the red
terror at least IMO." SS Mattimeo SS: "red devils for
sure IMHO. Everyone says how mean they are, yet only a few
out of the 100's ive seen are really as aggressive as people
make them out to be. all the festaes i've seen were real
killers." festae: "I go with the Red
Terror. They can be as nasty as the rest of the fish when
they're breeding, but they are just a touch mellow when
younger compared to the other fish on the list. But that is
a pretty high powered list. On the other hand, a breeding
pair of Red Terrors is an awesome sight, and is then one of
the very elite cichlids." The
Cichlids Forum
The Cichlid room meeting discusses "Cichlasoma"
festae and "C." urophthalmus.
Chaired by Melissa Danforth, 18th October 1995.
'Although C. festae is most commonly sold as the
red terror, the C. urophthalmus is also sold as the
red terror in the US. While these fish are similar in
appearance (red and black vertical stripes), they come from
different areas. The festae is a South American cichlid from
Ecuador. The urophthalmus is a Central American cichlid
found in south Mexico and neighboring C. American
countries.
Adult size: 20'', carnivore, bottom swimmer, originating
from Western Ecuador, Guayas River system. Territorial and
aggressive.
South American & Asian Cichlids: Nandopis festae
(Boulenger 1899)
by Kenneth V. Ruzek, Jr.
Lists Nandopsis festae as "Tiger Cichlid" and "Red
Terror"
By Tim Bardsley - Smith
"...the Male eagerly went to investigate and as soon as She
noticed the Male she instantly turned from blue to a bright
red, i guess all she needed was a male interest to make her
forget about her stress. The mouth locking begun instantly
and the female was noticeably winning, the male gave up
after only a short period of time and the female proceeded
to strut her stuff, with a huge gill flare and fins extended
to there full capacity, and some groovy shaking, the male
started up doing a similar thing. I took this as good news
and left them for about an hour, i came back and the male
was hiding under a log and the female was swimming proudly
round..."
by Jeff Blake
Cichlasoma festae
'The breath taking combination of beauty and beast all
rolled into one. This cichlid is from Ecuador and is among
the most beautiful of freshwater fish. Growing to 16 inches,
this fish is very capable of doing major damage in the
aquarium. The protection of it's fry is legendary and it is
one of the few cichlids where the female is actually more
aggressive than the male. Keep only in huge tanks with other
similar sized fish of equally nasty disposition. Males have
numerous blue spots throughout the unpaired
fins.'
by Ron Coleman
'Was it called a red terror? This name is often given to
either of two Neotropical cichlids, one from Central America
Cichlasoma urophthalmus , the other from South
America, Cichlasoma festae.'
Part
III -- Cichlids of North America (and Some Close
Relatives)
by Dean Hougen, Aqua News, July/August 1994,
a Publication of the Minnesota Aquarium Society.
Amphilophusthe2nd posted on 3rd May 2001:
"What does everybody here think is the most overated
Cichlid."
Ragemaster4 posts (3 March 2001), "What are your 10
favourite cichlids (american or african) (in order), and why
r they your favourites? HERE ARE MINE.
...8. Amphilophus festae (Red Terror). A big and pugnacious
cichlid. Beautiful colouration. Needs 150g plus tank.
Females are actually more aggressive and get to
18"..."