Gold Saum

[Calihawk]

Wow, absolutely Stunning...

Since you have such an awesome tank you should try and acquire some Andinoacara Stalsbergi, it would be a nice addition to an amazing tank.

I think this species is still unknown to a lot of people, and I believe that Stalsbergi was found after the fact even though some people called it "True Green Terror".

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

Thank you for the compliments!

I'm aware of these True Green Terrors and them being rare is very alluring to me, however I prefer the contrast of orange and blue more.

Maybe when I have a big enough tank to house both or three of the different variations.

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

So far I am really hating the five Silver Dollars I have, calling them pigs is not an exaggeration at all!

They eat 90% of the food while my Green Terrors get the 10% only(it may be an exaggeration but could be true as well).

This are my Green Terrors at feeding time, "what? There was food?"
The Silver Dollars say, "here's some leftovers for you, wait, nevermind."

I'm planning on taking out 2 soon... if not all...

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

though i haven't had my gt for long I KNOW for a fact he prefers sand over gravel, i put him in a just gravel covered qt tank for a while he was not doing much and only ate if i tossed in a worm, I moved him to his grow out with a sand like substrate, turface proleage natural, and he not only eats now he likes to dig and move the sand around, as for plants i'm sure if you pot the plants with hyrdoton and something really dense for weight and some fertilizer like osmocote plus you could make it work, I have amazon swords potted in what i described with my JD, he likes to eat the leaves but the plant is still growing and he cannot move it much, another good choice is a matured lotus, however you have to add some iron fertz to the hydroton pot. works really well especially if you glue or silicone an acrylic sheet to the bottom of the pot to have more substrate over it, the planters can be found at ripariumsupply.com they work for me but if you find something similar but cheaper please let me know! =p
also as far as best substrate i have no idea but i'd give PFS a try or turface, very cheap both are around $10 for 50 lb bag, but the turface goes a lot further in terms of ground coverage

I would also like to know:

Which plants, if any, would be suitable for having green terrors around?
Which substrate would be best?
Do they like playing with sand?

Thank you.

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

also glad you went with silver dollars they're kind of cool, but if you ever end up with over 150g get those pink tails you won't regret it, they're pretty as hell and fun to watch in the right environment, try target feeding for a while if you gts aren't scared of you

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

another thing to add about the substrate, get some malayan trumpet snails, they will stir it up for you

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

though i haven't had my gt for long I KNOW for a fact he prefers sand over gravel, i put him in a just gravel covered qt tank for a while he was not doing much and only ate if i tossed in a worm, I moved him to his grow out with a sand like substrate, turface proleage natural, and he not only eats now he likes to dig and move the sand around, as for plants i'm sure if you pot the plants with hyrdoton and something really dense for weight and some fertilizer like osmocote plus you could make it work, I have amazon swords potted in what i described with my JD, he likes to eat the leaves but the plant is still growing and he cannot move it much, another good choice is a matured lotus, however you have to add some iron fertz to the hydroton pot. works really well especially if you glue or silicone an acrylic sheet to the bottom of the pot to have more substrate over it, the planters can be found at ripariumsupply.com they work for me but if you find something similar but cheaper please let me know! =p
also as far as best substrate i have no idea but i'd give PFS a try or turface, very cheap both are around $10 for 50 lb bag, but the turface goes a lot further in terms of ground coverage

Amazing advice with plants, I'll look into the things you've mentioned.

I already have PFS as my substrate and I really like it. I would consider turface when a new project comes up.

also glad you went with silver dollars they're kind of cool, but if you ever end up with over 150g get those pink tails you won't regret it, they're pretty as hell and fun to watch in the right environment, try target feeding for a while if you gts aren't scared of you

Actually today the Green Terrors got a little more aggressive while feeding, finally.

If I ever upgrade to a 150g, I'll turn the 75g into a sump.

another thing to add about the substrate, get some malayan trumpet snails, they will stir it up for you

I just got 10 Nerite Snails to help a little bit with algae, especially to take care of my driftwood. They look pretty good as well.

I do admit the MTS would be a great addition but since they're not from the Amazon/Peru, I won't be having them.

 

[DrawnToBeaches]

=p way to go, biotopes are fun. can't wait to see progress

 

[alexanian]

Maybe I'm too late with this but I had 2 Gold Saums with a pair of convicts and they never fought. One was dominant of course but there was no fighting other then occasional chasing off. Convicts did really fine with the Saums too, they even spawned in the same tank and had about 30 young ones. and 15 of them grew as big as their parents. So both were doing very well with eachother. Plants however didn't Might work for u now since they're small but once they get to 8" u won't believe the power they have.
All in all ur Terrors look awesome man, I'm so glad u decided on them. If ur not pleased with the dollars (and I know they r pretty dull ) u might wanna try convicts. I'm sure u won't regret it. BTW to minimize the agression u could try keeping the temperature on the lower side, it helps.
Good luck!!!!

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

=p way to go, biotopes are fun. can't wait to see progress

Stay tuned, I'll try not to disappoint.

I've added some fake plants on there, but I can't say I'm exactly happy with it. I used to have live plants and seeing the plastic plants right now, it's an eyesore(to me anyway).

I'll post up a picture when I find myself satisfied with the plant arrangement.

Should I just stick with adding more rocks and driftwood? Thoughts?

Maybe I'm too late with this but I had 2 Gold Saums with a pair of convicts and they never fought. One was dominant of course but there was no fighting other then occasional chasing off. Convicts did really fine with the Saums too, they even spawned in the same tank and had about 30 young ones. and 15 of them grew as big as their parents. So both were doing very well with eachother. Plants however didn't Might work for u now since they're small but once they get to 8" u won't believe the power they have.
All in all ur Terrors look awesome man, I'm so glad u decided on them. If ur not pleased with the dollars (and I know they r pretty dull ) u might wanna try convicts. I'm sure u won't regret it. BTW to minimize the agression u could try keeping the temperature on the lower side, it helps.
Good luck!!!!

Thank you for the advice. You're not exactly late, I could still switch them or add them in the future.

What I like about the Silver Dollars is the difference in their body shape, they do have shiny silver spots as well(not just a dull silver color), and they do school also.

I have the temperature that satisfies all parties, which is 75 degrees. Is that low enough?

How big was your setup when you had both in your tank?