Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens)

The Siamese Fighting Fish or Betta is known to be one of the most beautiful fish in aquariums.It is a native of Southeast Asia,particularly Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore. Though this fish thrives well in Community tanks,it is not advisable to keep it with even slightly predatory or aggressive fish.Also,this fish is one of the favourite victims of fin-nippers like the blue gourami and other anabantids,loaches etc.

The fish can grow upto 3” in the wild but that size is hardly seen in Aquaria.The male has longer and larger fins than the female and is often brighter in color. One important point to keep in mind is NOT KEEPing TWO MALES OR MORE IN THE SAME TANK;they will FIGHT EACHOTHER TO DEATH.Two females or more can however,be kept together(females can act territorial).
The Siamese Fighting fish is a complete carnivore,but is not predatory.
The fish(male) may attack other fish like mollies and guppies(mainly livebearers).
This fish is a bubble spawner,ie the male tries to woo the female into the ‘bubble nest’,where they will spawn.Eggs take a day or more to hatch.REMEMBER TO REMOVE THE FEMALE AFTER SPAWNING OR ELSE THE MALE WILL ATTACK HER WHILST TRYING TO PROTECT THE EGGS.
In order to give the fish a natural environment,try using floating plants like water lily and river plants like vallisneria.

Green Terror (Aequidens Rivulatus)

The Green Terror aka Gold Saum aka Rivulatus is an aggressive freshwater fish found commonly in the Ecuador and Peru region. It has a good reputation amongst freshwater aquarists as a particularly vibrant looking fish.
The females are usually smaller in size.The male can be recognised by the hump or Kok on its head.The fish grows to 8” (female ) and 12” (male).
The Green Terror is an omnivorous fish and feeds mainly on live food and fish pellets/flakes but from personal experience, I think a meal of minced beefheart and chicken bound together with gelatin is considered a feast….! You can tell how well nourished and healthy your fish is by observing its color every now and then(the more vibrant the color,the healthier the fish).
These fish are also territorial,so you might find them chasing after the other fish in the tank.Since they are aggressive,it is suggested that only fish which are comparatively larger and faster be kept with them.eg: Tinfoil barbs.
In order to keep any type of fish successfully,maintaining the right habitat,temperature and PH level is crucial. Green Terror will require a tank of over 250 litres/50 gallons approx,with an average water temperature of 21-25 degrees celcius and a PH level of about 6.5-7.5 (medium hard).A sand (2mm)substrate should be provided and plenty of rocks and driftwood should be added to the tank as Green Terrors are substrate spawners.However, getting older fish to spawn is quite a challenging task.
Once spawned,both,the male as well as the female take care of the fry.
There are 2 types of Green terrors which can be differentiated from th color of the tail and dorsal fins,
1) white
2) Yellow or Orange.
Some Aquarists also argue that the Green Terrors in the Aquarium market are not the real Aequidens Rivulatus ,but a close relative of the same.