Geophagus Altifrons vs Tropheous Set up

[Jess1ca]

I have a 55g that I will be putting together in the next couple weeks. Initially I was wanting to do various Tropheous in it but recently went to my breeders & he has some Geophagus Altifrons that I pretty much fell in love with. I made this thread in hopes someone can sway me in either direction since I'm torn on which way to go... I've read the Altifrons get quite large & prefer the company of they're own species. Since they get quite large would I only be able to do 1? Would it be possible to house my Rams & Killies with them? How about Cory's? I've read they are peaceful except during spawning. I've also read that they like black water which I must admit sounds fun since it would be different from my African tanks. If you have any advice, tips or info please feel free to post! Thanks!!

 

[Cichlid ism]

Altifrons are very beautiful when they mature. They do prefer to stay in groups but have seen them singly with other fish. In a 55, you can probably get away with one and some other mild manner cichlids. Not to change your mind, have you seen Threadfin Heckeli? They don't get as large.

 

[Jess1ca]

Altifrons are very beautiful when they mature. They do prefer to stay in groups but have seen them singly with other fish. In a 55, you can probably get away with one and some other mild manner cichlids. Not to change your mind, have you seen Threadfin Heckeli? They don't get as large.

Thanks for the input! I have not seen that one, I will google it if they prefer groups I may shy away. I wouldn't want it to get lonely I sure hope this Heckeli is equally pretty, otherwise I may go with Troph's.

 

[Cichlid ism]

Here are my two Heckelli's.

 

[Jess1ca]

Here are my two Heckelli's.

Oh those are nice! I wonder what the availability of them are in my area.... The Altifrons were proving themselves to be pretty rare around here :/

 

[Freakgecko91]

Geophagus are great, but a 55 is tough! Look into gymnogeophagus too, they stay smaller, but many get an obnoxious head hump. Gymnogeophagus meridionalis is a super cool one with no hump head. There are many of species of geophagus though, and while altifrons are great, they get huge. I've seen adults larger than severums! I see you are in northern michigan, I'm actually down between flint and ann arbor, and there's a store in Livonia that specializes in hard to find species, called Fantastic fins. Depending on how far north, it's probably THE best fish store in the state of michigan

 

[Jess1ca]

Geophagus are great, but a 55 is tough! Look into gymnogeophagus too, they stay smaller, but many get an obnoxious head hump. Gymnogeophagus meridionalis is a super cool one with no hump head. There are many of species of geophagus though, and while altifrons are great, they get huge. I've seen adults larger than severums! I see you are in northern michigan, I'm actually down between flint and ann arbor, and there's a store in Livonia that specializes in hard to find species, called Fantastic fins. Depending on how far north, it's probably THE best fish store in the state of michigan

Really?! I may check em out! I drive to Grand Rapids for livestock now that's an easy 2.5 hours away. I would love to go larger but already have a 150g Mixed African, 75g & 10g salt 29 & 10 planted and a room dedicated to my multiple grow outs, and putting together my 150g sw predator, I really only have room for another 55g display :/ ill look into them tho I am not a fan of head humps lol, that's why I didn't go fronts in my African tank!

 

[Jess1ca]

It would be great to combine my 29g planted GBR & Killies with the geo's so I can go salt in the 29

 

[Freakgecko91]

Geos are a blast! I have 4 geophagus sp. "Rio Pindare" (yet to be named) and love them. The biggest is around 2.5" now and they are awesome. But this store looks a bit trashy, but it's far from it, the owners are great and have soooo many species, cichlid and non. They currently have (off the top of my head) geophagus altifrons (lg adults) and another thats slipping my mind as well as medium tapajo (peach or orange head), satanoperca jurapari (another genus in the "earth eater" group), gymnogeophagus balzani and rio olimar, as well as acarichthys heckelli as suggested above. It's the meeting place for a lotta supply and fish swaps i do with members of another forum (great lakes aquaria, not to advertise, it's just a good local forum for the great lakes states)

 

[Freakgecko91]

And yes, GBRs will work, killis are iffy depending on the species and size, but overall they leave other fish alone. They mostly just cruise the bottom, sifting the sand for food. They are aggressive feeders, so make sure the species they're kept with aren't too shy or they won't get enough food. Just steer clear of geophagus brasiliensis, they can be fiesty.

 

[Jess1ca]

And yes, GBRs will work, killis are iffy depending on the species and size, but overall they leave other fish alone. They mostly just cruise the bottom, sifting the sand for food. They are aggressive feeders, so make sure the species they're kept with aren't too shy or they won't get enough food. Just steer clear of geophagus brasiliensis, they can be fiesty.

Oh, I'm kinda excited now! I may go this route since I can put the GBR in with em! I have Golden Wonder Killies, they are about 3.5 in right now and max at 6 I think I read, they are top swimmers & when I say that I mean waterline swimmers, they hardly ever come to the bottoms except for when I feed Repashy

 

[Freakgecko91]

Yeah, you're perfect then, I was thinking like clown killi or something like that lol golden wonders will work perfect! The geos are pretty easy going anyway

 

[Jess1ca]

Yeah, you're perfect then, I was thinking like clown killi or something like that lol golden wonders will work perfect! The geos are pretty easy going anyway

Perfect! Looks like I will be spending my night researching the above mentioned species thanks so much for your help!

 

[Freakgecko91]

No problem! Always like converting people to the better side of the pond

 

[cbourg746]

No problem! Always like converting people to the better side of the pond

The force is strong with this one!!!!! Geos all the way. Great suggestions!!!

 

[Freakgecko91]

Haha we're a bit biased though might need to ask HUKIT and 5x5 for their opinions too hahahaha just don't ask convict or Andrew lol

 

[Jess1ca]

Haha we're a bit biased though might need to ask HUKIT and 5x5 for their opinions too hahahaha just don't ask convict or Andrew lol

Ain't that the truth, I'm straying from the African pact, & Andrew already told me I should keep my focus on breeding my Africans but when I seen the Atifrons I knew it was too late to save me! They are almost strictly Mbuna & Malawi and I'm into Vic's, I mainly breed P. Nyererei, In fact I used to be quite biased myself. But black water has now caught my attention besides, it's just one more tank hahahahaa! I am the crazy fish lady, pushing almost 10 displays not counting the grow outs in my fish room lol.

 

[Freakgecko91]

You know you truly love fish when you can find beauty in a brown fish Africans offer the colors, new worlds offer the personality and behaviors, and sometimes the colors as well!

 

[Jess1ca]

Spent a little time today researching this project & came up with a list of what I like, here they are in order from the ones I like the most to the least:

Geophagus sp. "Tapajos Orange Head" - read they get to be about 5 inches or so
Geophagus sp. "Rio Are" - read to be around 7 inches

^^^ I like these two equally the most ^^^

2) Geophagus sp. "Tapajos II" - around 7 inches
3) Geophagus Brokopondo - 6.5 inches
4) Geophagus Dicrozoster - pushin it at about 8in.

What do you guys think about the species I have chosen?! I do have some MAJOR concerns about trying these fish. I'm not sure if I can keep them, my tap water is HARD, very hard. My pH is also very high.... My Africans love it, but research says these guys do not & are prone to things like HITH & HLLE. Is RO water my only option here? I do own a RO unit for my salt tanks but I, unfortunately, do not have the space for more water storage cans :/

 

[Freakgecko91]

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