Green Terrors

[Screscenzi]

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone can help me. I used to have 3 green terrors in my tank. One large male and 2 other females (one bigger than the other.). The larger female and male were constantly mating and having babies, but sadly, he died the other day. Since he has gone, the bigger of the two females (the one he was with) seems to be looking like a male with its colours and head shape, and also starting to chase the other female. I have heard that some fish change sex... Does this happen to terrors??

 

[V227]

I don't believe that RIvulatus have the ability to change sex. It's more likely you are observing
the stronger GT displaying her dominance posture. Many fish species, especially cichlids, can intensify or diminish their colors depending on mood. That ability is not limited to males.

 

[drjallen3]

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone can help me. I used to have 3 green terrors in my tank. One large male and 2 other females (one bigger than the other.). The larger female and male were constantly mating and having babies, but sadly, he died the other day. Since he has gone, the bigger of the two females (the one he was with) seems to be looking like a male with its colours and head shape, and also starting to chase the other female. I have heard that some fish change sex... Does this happen to terrors??

No sex change. But...sometimes you have a male that looks more like a female when a dominant male is present. It's not impossible that you had 2 males to begin with. I'm not guaranteeing you had 2 males all along...but it's possible.

 

[Screscenzi]

Thanks for the replies. I can assure you that she's not male as she was the one who was laying the eggs before. She just looks very male-like now.

 

[drjallen3]

Thanks for the replies. I can assure you that she's not male as she was the one who was laying the eggs before. She just looks very male-like now.

Then the other probability is that she's just establishing her dominant role over the other female. It's been found that green terror females are more aggressive than the males. And as most Cichlid owners have found through experience, all cichlids tend to be territorial.

 

[V227]

Unless the tank is enormous, the chances of two adult male RIvulatus successfully living together are remote. The "one king per tank rule" applies to GT's. Lol.
Females might rule the roost while on the nest, but it's been my experience that the male GT
dominates the rest of the time.
Green Terrors are great fish, one of my favorites.