Mesoheros Gephyrum temperament?

[Omrit]

I was interested in Mesoheros Gephyrum. My water is similar to their natural habitat, and I have always wanted a male Festae. The big green/yellow fish with a red tail just really strikes me, but I don't want a fish I can't keep in a community of some kind which is why I never got a Festae. I was thinking Mesoheros Gephyrum might be perfect having the great color , but less aggressive and supposedly a possible candidate for a large community?

Data on these fish is scarce though. My question is can this fish work in a community with other larger fish so long as nothing looks like them? The Mesoheros Gephyrum would be the largest species in the tank as I hear they don't like being anything but #1. Also do I need a group, harem, pair, or would be just 1 male be fine? The pictures online always show them in groups. but I can't imagine that being ideal for adults.

Or is this fish really just like a Festae and not really a possible candidate for anything other than a pair+dither fish set-up?

 

[Cal Amari]

Mesoheros Gephyrum?

So are ornatus and gephyrum separate species, or are the names synonymous? I think the battle still rages on, on this topic... from the angry threads on cichlidforum and chatting with Willem heijn on fbook. It would seem they are separate species based on limited collection points. What was...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[duanes]

started them in 75 dal tank to grow out, at about 1".
At first they were very aggressive with each other , as a single species.
So I added some S American tetra's and slightly larger Guianacara,and the aggression subsided

After they hit abou3" they were move to a 150 gal 6ft community tank, with dissimilar shaped and colored species and had no problems

 

[Omrit]

started them in 75 dal tank to grow out, at about 1".
At first they were very aggressive with each other , as a single species.
So I added some S American tetra's and slightly larger Guianacara,and the aggression subsided
View attachment 1537242 View attachment 1537243
After they hit abou3" they were move to a 150 gal 6ft community tank, with dissimilar shaped and colored species and had no problems
View attachment 1537244View attachment 1537245

You posted about these in 2018, do you still have them? If not what happened to them and what size did they reach?

 

[duanes]

You posted about these in 2018, do you still have them? If not what happened to them and what size did they reach?

I do not, had to give them away when I moved to Panama.
So far, in my tanks here, I only keep Panamanian biotopes, with species from the Mamoni river.

 

[Omrit]

Thanks for the help everyone, I think I am going to order a group of these and see what happens.