I came across two true red terror cichlids about three days ago. I put them in my 135 gallon with the three false red terrors I have left out of the 10 I started with. They're 4 inches and I think they're both male, but I'm not quite sure.
Woa 1077 way to grill the OP...
The OP is simply looking for a nice single pair to house in his 135. The mayans were not working out so he went with the festae. I don't think he plans on keeping them all together long term anyway. I do think he should get more than 2 because one will most likely be killed. And it is not true that responsible fish keepers seldom loose fish. I know many very experienced fish keepers that have trouble with some fish. Festae is one species that comes to mind. They are highly aggressive toward their own kind and some people go through many fish before they get a compatible pair. It is not because they are "irresponsible" but simply the nature of the species. I know from experience. I have a pair of cubans. I originally had 5 but they killed eachother off to a pair. Cubans have very high conspecific aggression so sibling casualties is common. I take good care of my fish feeding them quality pellets and performing 50% water changes weekly. And this was in a 125 and the cubans were no more than an inch or two long. Aggressive cichlids are hard on each other and other fish that's just the way it is. I do not condone keeping several large aggressive fish in a small tank to watch them kill each other but I understand that sometimes causalities happen when trying to get some of the heavy hitters to get along in a large aquarium. I don't think the OP is putting them together to watch them fight. He has simply been unfortunate in getting the mayans to cooperate.
To the OP festae are very hard on each other. A pair may form and get along for years then the male snaps and kills her. It happens. Know you may go through several fish before you get a compatible pair and even then success is not guaranteed. They are also very slow growers so it is a slow and long process. Be prepared. They are gorgeous fish when mature though and look stunning as a pair.
What they sometimes call egg crate, (light diffuser) makes fairly good material for divider if secured well.I'm a fairly new hobbiest, while I have had my 135 gallon stocked with healthy cichlids before, I've always wanted some festae because their color is amazing. These fish are hard to find in the hobby due to a freeze on their exportation in South America. I orginally bought the mayan cichlids thinking they were Festae because that is what the store owner told me. I don't want mayan cichlids, I had planned to relocate them some short time after i bought them. My original plan though, was to get 8 to 10 festae and let a pair form and get rid of the rest, as its much harder to get a pair to form when they are older. After I get a pair I'm keeping those 2 in the tank until they get so old they pass away. I seen these two festae for sale and jumped on it because they are no where to be found here in northern california. I'm keeping these mayan cichlids in the tank to help with the aggression between the two festae until I make a tank divider for the two males. After that I'll be relocating the mayan cichlids, and eventually selling one of the two males. I'll be looking for some females to pair up with the male in due time. I am no expert, but I found something I really enjoy and am learning along the way.
I like the look, have not seen the suction cup devices for holding in place before.I was planning on egg crate, at least for the short term. I would like plexiglass to be a more permanent solution because it looks nicer. I don't really want to silicone anything down in this tank, but I found this article that shows how to make a plexiglass divider out of plexiglass without the need for silicone.
Building A Divider For A 135 Gallon Tank - Flowerhorn Craze
I am not inclined to keep kicking a dead horse.:roll:I am not referring too irresponsible fish keepers who place many large aggressive fish in an undersized tank. I am referring to responsible fish keepers who grow some of the harder to raise fish out and end up with casualties because of high con-specific aggression or even worse bloat. All the fish you mentioned don't have this problem. But there is a reason there are not a whole lot of hatiensis, islatum, festae, grammodes, etc. pairs around. They are hard to raise fish and like I said many experienced keepers I know have suffered with them. Con-specific aggression as well as bloat can deliver a major blow to you juveniles even with proper care. This is well before the fish are large. CA pairs can be extremely unpredictable and deaths do happen even with the most experienced keepers. I have seen it happen many times.
To the OP I would't go for the divider just yet. I would focus on finding more festae to grow out. There are plenty of places online that sell festae. There seems to be a bit of a festae craze happening.