The True Red Terror is a very beautiful, but very aggressive fish. They will be quite quarrelsome with other tankmates, and virtually intolerant of other Red Terrors. Coloration ranges from a pink-red with black vertical stripes as in mature females, to golden tan with red accents on the fins for mature males.

This fish is usually mixed up with the Mayan cichlid or fake red terror. True festae are hard to come by, but you will know you have the real deal when you see the bright red color and atitude that a Mayan does not have.