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Who keeps Geophagus


supasi

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Hello everyone :lol:

Just wondering how many out there keep or have kept geos(any type)

Ive sold my discus and when my tank is repaired i want to get a few.

What i want to know is how available are they, what are peoples experiences with keeping them, stocking levels and photos would be great.

the tank i want to use is approx 200 litres.

Can i use Daltons propergating sand(or is this to sharp)

Im also a Plant freak so was wanting to know if any plants would work with them, i asume swords would be ok if established with good roots???

Any comment appreciated :D:D:D

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hey shadow fax

do you have any pics of your setup?

how big do suris get, and are they territorial, what else do you keep with them?

Sorry for all the questions but i wanted local peoples experiences not just article about someone in the state or something else from google,lol

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tank is in a mess at the mo, i pulled out some drift wood that i thought was causing problems & my new bit is still soaking in the bath, should be ready this weekend & then i'll replant. i have 1 blue ram 2 neons ( had 6!) some bn's & a gold spot. mine are quite shy & the ram is the boss in the tank. 2 are only about 5cms & the other is around 10cm, i lost my other big 1 a couple of weeks ago. so far ive found if they are well fed they dont seem to mess the tank up too much. mine get abit stroppy with each other but nothing to bad but i would try & get them all the same size, the slightly smaller one seems to bear the brunt of any rot between them. will take some pic's after the weekend. not sure on size, all the sites ive looked at have different ideas. the ones at wetpets in their display tanks are 15cm plus, worth a look.

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hi supasi

theres usually a few tanks at wetpets in palmy with geo suris

i have my 2 over riversand

ive read that while they are young stocking levels are of no concern but when bigger the males get teritorial and when breeding they peotect their nests quite well

they are gentle fish so avoid too many lage agressives

aparently they also take 1.5 years to reach breeding maturity

the best thing i think to do would be do a google search on the species your interested in and make the judgement yourself cos you are the one looking at your tank

and as for plants i reckon if you put yurplants in pots or had them planted behind i log or something they probably wouldnt get to the roots

ive noticed they dont like being in confined spaces

ive read that sand and fine gravel are best for them cos large sharp peices of gravel/stone can cause damage to their gills and mouths they look cooler with sand too cos it comes out their gills

one othe point their messy eaters so good filtration is a must

hope this helps you

chris

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Cheers guys/Girls

Hey cichlidmad, good to see another member from Wangas.

At this stage i havent decided if im gonna get geo but wanted to get some guff on them first.

If i do get them it will be a species tank, as i try to keep my tanks as natural as possible.

Im giving up my discus and want another intruiging fish( i love the look of geos(little snapper,lol, well some)),I def want American Cichlilid.

Pics of set ups would be good too!!

:wink::wink::wink:

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Hi :D

I've got a south american cichlid tank with geo suri's, blue acaras and severums, they all get on relatively well, just the odd chasing here and there. I can't keep any plants in the tank as everyone keeps pulling out the plants... :lol:

The geos certainly can move the stones around, the front of my tank has heaps of stones, but the the back has hardly any stones :x just have to move them back occasionally!!!

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It's funny, my Geo Suri's sift the stones of course, but don't move them much at all, just sift and drop on the same spot.. wonder if you have nesting behaviour going on in your tank... If really robust plants are planted like strong heavy vallis and crypts etc that heavily root down there shouldn't be a problem... we don't have any problem with the Geo's in with plants... just make sure the front of your tank and sides etc is left bare for them to sift happily... our tank has mainly the middle heavily planted, that way it still gives them a heap of space to be able to sift happily without having to venture into the planted area.

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For me, the only other tropical fish that really appeals is the Geo Suri.

I had five at one stage in a planted tank and as long as I kept an open "runway" at the front, they would sift through the substrate all day long looking for food. My ones loved Spirulina tabs and blood worms. I also made the mistake of keeping a few tetras... lets just say the remaining were quickly removed.

I would love to get some more one day would look fantastic with a sand substrate and rock wall.

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  • 1 month later...

ok people i have got geophagus Geophagus sp. "Pindare" (Parnaiba),

Geophagus brachybranchus ,Geophagus sp. "Araguari - Orange Head" ,

and heckelii they have to be one of the best cichlids!! some probley dont think so , but you wont regret having these beautiful eartheaters!

so supasi if you plant nice strong plants in the back of your tank with a couple in the middle, there wont be a problem with geos ripping your plants out. like you even said (baby snapper) thats the only reason why i got them, cos they look like snapper!! as for breeding they have to be young adults before they do any spawning (4-5 inchs) once they spawn there is no stopping them. its a shame nz cant get most geo's,but if you can get Geophagus sp. "Araguari - Orange Head" they are one of the best looking geo's. as for riversand not my taste in a tank, i use 1mm gravel brown as it looks good and its like sand anyway! also ROCKS is very important as geos love to lay eggs on flat surface rocks. well i better finish this off cos i can go for ever lol,good luck supasi with what ever you go with. and heres a video just to try and confince you to buy geo's,one more thing they are middly aggresive so dont get put off,and mostly middly aggesive to them selfs not other fish.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jpT5vvTgwjs

peter

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I have brasiliensis, they just spawned so have around approx. 50 fry....dont find them that aggressive they get bullied by my smaller Quetzels and Texans, even the mating convicts rough them up...so too the red jewels... my Oscar and large Quetzel male just leave them alone...Though i have separated my large Texan and Jag from the main tank till i get my 7 ft up and running... Just have my bristlenoses albino corys and Khuli loach in with them at the moment had to leave the mum in the net tho...

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  • 2 weeks later...

For anyone interested i finally decided what i wanted and bought two baby Suris, they are so fascinating to watch, My lonely lemon tetra hangs out with them and follows them around.

Now just gotta get my big tank fixed and make them a better home before they grow to much. :lol: :lol:

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  • 3 weeks later...

it is very hard to sex geophagus cichlids, yes the fin and pectoral fins is one way to sex geophagus as the male has longer fins! the other way to sex geophagus is by the size!! male are bigger than female!! the way you will know for sure is when they pair up and start dancing around with each other!!

supasi good choice bro, you will love every minte with those geo's,good luck and hopefuly you have a pair

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Awesome pics mystic.

I cant wait for mine to grow bigger and start to colour up more. Im also very glad to hear that daltons propergating sand is ideal as i was planning on using this myself.I have also decided against planting the tank and only having one sword and some Anubias on a rock.

hope to get some pics of my bubbas soon :D

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