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Common Name: Green Terror, Gold Saum, Silver Saum
Size: ~8-10" for females and ~10-14" for males *see notes*
pH: 7.0-7.8 though with proper acclimation they can withstand and thrive in slightly higher ph values. I have kept several 'Green Terrors' in a pH of 8.2.
Minimum Recommended Tank Size: 40 gallons
Native Location: South America
Temperature: 72-78 though they could probably withstand slightly higher temps.
Diet: Omnivore. This species is not picky about what they eat. It is best to feed a staple pellet diet with frozen/freeze dried/live treats no more than 2-4 times per week.
Breeding: Females lay eggs on a cleaned, flat surface and will guard the immediate area while Males guard the surrounding areas.
Gender Diffrences: Males will grow larger than females, and mature/dominant males will grow a nuchal hump. The male's dorsal and anal fins will also have long, pointed extensions whereas the female's will be shorter and more rounded.
Aggression: Due to the fact these fish are hybridized, it's difficult to speculate on aggression. Green Terrors will range from highly aggressive killers to being rather passive. Tankmates should still be chosen carefully and only added in large enough tanks. I've had a few different Green terrors over the years and they seemed to get along quite well with Jack dempseys and Severums, though I'd be very careful with severums as they are a fairly peaceful species on average and wouldn't do as well with more aggressive specimens.
Notes: The 'Green Terrors' we see in the hobby today are hybrids of up to 6 different very closely related species. The true 'Aequidens rivulatus' has been absent from the hobby for as long as 15 years and has only been reintroduced in the last couple of weeks by Jeff Rapps. The fact that the common 'Green Terrors' are hybrids has led to a lot of varying information about aggression and maximum size for the species. It is really difficult to determine exactly how aggressive a common 'Green Terror' will be or how large it will grow because of the hybridization. There is also a 'Silver Saum' color morph which has white/silver trim on the dorsal fins and tail.
