Geophagus Altifrons vs Tropheous Set up

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My year old orange heads were 5 inches. The breeder I got them from has some gorgeous 10" males. I think a 55g is a bit too small for a bunch.. You could do a pair if you can find one.
 
meegosh said:
My year old orange heads were 5 inches. The breeder I got them from has some gorgeous 10" males. I think a 55g is a bit too small for a bunch.. You could do a pair if you can find one.
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I thought tapajos were smaller? Are you sure he didn't have altifrons? Because they fit the bill of a 10" geo.

Pindare are small, I love mine! Bright red eye, and just starting to develop the lateral lines of blues and reds

image-2966875175.jpg
 
Seems like no ones knows lol I went to three different profiles and saw 5", 7", and 10" lol wtf internet!?
 
Freakgecko91 said:
It's really gonna come down to what's available. The bottom two I've never seen for sale, the tapajos are great! But can be a bit pricey, but I'd say to go with these!. The "rio are" I'm unfamiliar with. I have "rio pindare", maybe you meant that? Lol

I'd go with the tapajos, and then add your GBRs, and maybe another small-medium cichlid species, like keyholes or cupids. A dither species (tetras, rainbows, etc) aren't necessary, but will still help them come out of their shell. Just remember these guys grow quite slow, so your 55 will look rather understocked for a while, unless you start with adults (not as much fun). For the tank, sand is a must. Obviously, if you break down the word "geophagus", you are left with geo, meaning earth, and phagus, to eat. So they are "earth eaters", they sift through the sand for insect, small crustaceans, etc in the wild. Driftwood is also another natural part of their wild habitat. Plants can be iced, but often get dug up or uprooted. Black sand will show colors best, play sand looks more like in nature.

As for your water, don't sweat it. Geos are very adaptable to water conditions. My tank was running a 8.4 and my wild caught geophagus sp. "rio pindare" babies were all fine till I moved them to a bigger tank at my dads house. They were in the 8.4 for about 4 months (in which the largest has grown like and inch at most, the ones that Fantastic Fins are withholding for a breeding project are growing at the same rate). Yours will be fine, but obviously RO never hurts
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Awesome! I was worried I'd have to can the idea cuz my water sucks lol :) yep, I read about the sand :) don't know what color ill do, maybe black since I have white in all my other tanks :) the back is already been wrapped black. I have 5 BIG pieces of driftwood in my African tank ill pull out & hopefully find some more nice ones along the way :) I have lots of Anubius I was planning on super gluing to the wood along with moss & Subwassertang. Here is the link to where I found the "Rio Are" I love it :D http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=462
 
That sounds great! You could always grow out the fish, trade them in when they're adults, and start with babies or even a new species, that'll help with the limitations of the 55. Just a thought :)

Those are pretty sweet! There's so many earth eaters it's near impossible to know them all lol between geophagus, gymnogeophagus, and satanoperca, there's sooo many species to choose from, then throw in the related genera, like mikrogeophagus and guianacara and you're left with so many more choices even
 
Freakgecko91 said:
That sounds great! You could always grow out the fish, trade them in when they're adults, and start with babies or even a new species, that'll help with the limitations of the 55. Just a thought :)

Those are pretty sweet! There's so many earth eaters it's near impossible to know them all lol between geophagus, gymnogeophagus, and satanoperca, there's sooo many species to choose from, then throw in the related genera, like mikrogeophagus and guianacara and you're left with so many more choices even
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I'm guessing if you haven't heard of them they are hard to come by, lol. Well I browsed Aquabid last night and found some Tapajos Orange Head, a little pricy as you said but that is what I want I'm pretty sure. The seller was selling them 3 for $99 or $37 a piece I think it was. So how many can I keep in a 55g? If the profile I used to research them is correct they only reach about 5 inches. it's quite possible this next question is dumb but I have to ask.... What about keeping Cory's in with em?? I have a school of pretty large Peppered Cory's that would appreciate the footprint :)
 
Before you don't, let me check out Fins, I believe they were gonna be getting in babies for 11$, however that's if I remember correctly. I'd be more than happy to ship them up to you if you're not ale to make the trip down :) a flat rate box would cost WAY less than what aquabid sellers charge lol I may make the trip out there today
 
Freakgecko91 said:
Before you don't, let me check out Fins, I believe they were gonna be getting in babies for 11$, however that's if I remember correctly. I'd be more than happy to ship them up to you if you're not ale to make the trip down :) a flat rate box would cost WAY less than what aquabid sellers charge lol I may make the trip out there today
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That would be awesome!!! Thanks!!! How many would you suggest I get??
 
You could always start out with a group of 5-6 and then cut it down as they get larger, these guys fetch a pretty penny as adults in part to their scarcity, colors, and slow growth rate. Fins had a 5" peach/orange head for $45, that means the guy that traded it in got about $20 for the one fish, that's trade in value!

I say 6 because it will give you more movement and show their natural behaviors (they "school" like cories, not true schooling, but they stick together) and it allows for pairs to form, they reach sexual majority at a relatively small size from what I've heard. Plus they are delayed mouthbrooders, so they should be a perfect transition from your Africans ;)
 
Freakgecko91 said:
Before you don't, let me check out Fins, I believe they were gonna be getting in babies for 11$, however that's if I remember correctly. I'd be more than happy to ship them up to you if you're not ale to make the trip down :) a flat rate box would cost WAY less than what aquabid sellers charge lol I may make the trip out there today
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You can also look at the wet spot in Oregon. They seem to always have good stock.
 
Good point! If I can't find them, then you should check them out (might possibly be the aquabid seller actually) but their shipping is quite high :/

I actually just ordered in some krobia so I have a flat rate box all insulated and would just reuse it, throw in a new heat pack, and they'd be good to go, around $10 or less to ship *if I can find them lol*
 
After a bit of research, the one good sized tapajo that Fins has is a peach face (tapajo II), not that it matters, just wanted to clarify. I tried texting my friend who works there to no avail
 
Freakgecko91 said:
After a bit of research, the one good sized tapajo that Fins has is a peach face (tapajo II), not that it matters, just wanted to clarify. I tried texting my friend who works there to no avail
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Thanks for going out of your way to check on em for me :) keep your eyes open for em ;) I would really rather raise babies I think. I raise alot of fish and have a nice grow out set up if needed :) I have a 55g that I'm moving fry out of this weekend, so I'm cycled & ready to go. The only thing is ill be stuck with white sand, but that would probably be ok with me. I have a Fluval 306 to use for this setup, is that filtration sufficient or should I think of adding more filters, maybe an AC110? Did you see my question about Cory's? Whaddya think?! I'm gonna go look for the auction on Aquabid, I don't think it was wetspot, & ur right about they're shipping! Expensive!
 
I missed the question on cories, but if it's about them going in with the geos, then yes, they'll do fine lol I would try to keep a larger species, maybe even bronchi cory, but a good shoal will be fine! You could also add a nice pleco of some sort, maybe a gold nugget (I think they stay small) or some blue seam ancistrus (look these up! Super cool, fins has them $25 each, I think that's the only LFS I go to anymore lol)

That filter will work great, can't hurt to add a HOB for surface movement, but a filter as large as a 110 isn't really necessary per say

Just saw the Cory question: the peppereds will do fine! At least until the geos get larger, but I would see them still working out, I just can't say from experience. Mine don't even look at other fish, just grab a mouthful of sand and mind their own business lol
 
IME extra filtration really is a must due to the fact that these guys are always digging and kicking up muck. I have a marineland c-306 and two marineland penguin 350's and my water still is not as clear as I like. About to stuff both hob's with poly fill and see if that is better.
 
Jess1ca said:
I'm guessing if you haven't heard of them they are hard to come by, lol. Well I browsed Aquabid last night and found some Tapajos Orange Head, a little pricy as you said but that is what I want I'm pretty sure. The seller was selling them 3 for $99 or $37 a piece I think it was. So how many can I keep in a 55g? If the profile I used to research them is correct they only reach about 5 inches. it's quite possible this next question is dumb but I have to ask.... What about keeping Cory's in with em?? I have a school of pretty large Peppered Cory's that would appreciate the footprint :)
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I'd recommend you try contacting Pete at MFK from the link I provided earlier. He sells 12x 2" tapajos for around $55 + shipping (~$30 overnighted). Not sure if he has any batches ready or at that size but worth a check.
 
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