My new Geo. Sveni group

[danotaylor]

One more thing - So far my sveni is sort of a slow grower. They are known for this. He beefed up pretty quickly after I got him and got accustomed to the food types and dealing with the SDs.
His growth curve has flattened a bit since.

Thanks mate!
My 6 sveni pound everything that goes in the tank. Fluval bug bites, xtreme peewee and Northfin veggie. I also gave them some earthworms which they took readily
I know clean water will be highly influencial in their growth rate & final size. Thinking about a 125g long term….

 

[LBDave]

A long tank would be great. Mine also pounds food. I have found these to be a very active fish with personality. Worked out great for me.
Seems to have a slightly slower growth rate than the jurus I have had. They certainly are not like bass or oscars as far as growth LOL!

 

[neutrino]

Puppy dog fish, as my wife calls them, similar in this respect to most 'surinamensis type' geos I've had, especially when it comes to food.

I haven't seen the 'slow grower' thing with geos, including sveni. I've had several species and all grew as you'd expect considering their max size and lifespan. For sveni it meant going from 1.5 inches to as much as 9 inches in a year.

 

[danotaylor]

For sveni it meant going from 1.5 inches to as much as 9 inches in a year.

I’d be very ok with that!!

 

[LBDave]

Puppy dog fish, as my wife calls them, similar in this respect to most 'surinamensis type' geos I've had, especially when it comes to food.

I haven't seen the 'slow grower' thing with geos, including sveni. I've had several species and all grew as you'd expect considering their max size and lifespan. For sveni it meant going from 1.5 inches to as much as 9 inches in a year.

Wow. I'm not seeing that for growth. All I know is I read up on them before I bought mine and probably looked at some YouTubes. Sort of doubtful about the 9" claim. In a year? I doubt that very much.

 

[LBDave]

Good YouTube video.

 

[neutrino]

Wow. I'm not seeing that for growth. All I know is I read up on them before I bought mine and probably looked at some YouTubes. Sort of doubtful about the 9" claim. In a year? I doubt that very much.

That was the largest of the group, very close to 9 inches, another inch in the next year or so. They can occasionally get almost altifrons size, I've seen them a good 11 inches or so. After a year I had a large, dominant pair that I had to separate into their own tank, because as a group they made a 135 gal tank seem small, really small when breeding.

Not that any of that matters, they don't always get that large and saying so wasn't my intention. I've also had some be about 8 inches as full adults, so max size is variable. It's growth rate I'm talking about. The growth in that Bros video is absurdly slow from my perspective. With very little growth in 4 months I'd wonder if something was wrong, same for any other Geophagus species I've kept. 11 months just to approach 4 inches and only 5 inches in a year and a half is not even remotely close to my experience. Maybe the lesson is don't start them out in a small tank-- or get them out as soon as possible. At 1.5-1.75 inches mine went immediately into a 75 gal tank with 70-80% weekly water changes. At 5-6 inches (approximately 7 months), they went into a 6ft tank.

 

[danotaylor]

G’day folks.
As you know, I got 6 sveni recently, wild caught, but that’s actually of no real relevance to be honest. It was their quality and fin extensions that inspired the purchase.

They are 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inches and in a 40 breeder quarantine at the moment.

I noticed some behavior that appeared to me like pairing behavior this evening as I’m sitting in front of my tanks.

I took some footage from across the room so the quality is not great but what are your thoughts about the behavior of the pair on the left-hand end of the tank?

neutrino you kept these guys previously, did they spawn for you?

At what size or age would one expect breeding behave to commence?

Appreciate any insight you folks can share with me.

 

[neutrino]

Mine started spawning close to a year after getting them, so they were pretty big by then. They liked to use a rock right in the middle of the tank, essentially taking over a whole 6ft tank, so it would turn into a complete riot with the other sveni and a severum in the tank. I ended up moving them to their own tank, more for the sake of keeping the peace than wanting to raise fry at the time. I'm not sure if a year is normal for sveni or if that was just mine, I bred pyrocephalus and they would start sooner, maybe 7 or 8 months? Don't remember exactly, aside from they weren't full size yet.

 

[danotaylor]

Thanks mate! Given that we’re advertised as wild, and are already 3.5-4.5”, I have no idea how old these guys are. Like you, not necessarily want to breed them atm, but certainly don’t want a spawning pair to form while they’re QT’ing in a 40B