Central Thorichthys or South Gymnogeophagus for my first 55 Gallon?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
No, I am in the USA. :( It seems like most of the Thorichthys for sale are in the UK and Germany right now. Having a hard time finding them.


By the way, how do you tell which oak branches are dead? See if the smaller twigs snap and scratch to see if there is a green layer? How long might a branch last?

I can collect oak leaves right now too. How many might I go through in a year if I keep them stocked in my 55 gallon like you had them in those pictures? I may need to go collect more...

I am hesitant to go buy a manzanita stump. They are so darn expensive and we have some oak trees here.

I also saw some nice looking plants in those pictures. What types are those?

Thank you for all the help!
 

Certain Gymnogeophagus (the Gymnogenys group) like to live in harems of 1 male to multiple females, like the Gymnogeophagus sp yerbalito male above. They would "not" require a heater. Many are larvophile mouth brooder that take fry into their mouth after eggs have hatched.
Whether you decide on Gymnos or Thorichthys, I agree that you need to hold the population of stock down, a 55 is really too small for the amount of fish you propose.
There are pike cichlids that come from Uruguay, and would work with the Gymnos, but they would also eat the white clouds, or any small dither type fish you mention as they grow
 
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OP, check out aquabid.com. You can probably find what thorichthys and wild type livebarers you are looking for there.
 
Congrats on the tank! I like the direction you are taking. Kudos on the homework and planning, I can't wait to see what you do with it.
 
Grubhead said:
the way, how do you tell which oak branches are dead? See if the smaller twigs snap and scratch to see if there is a green layer? How long might a branch last?
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Yep,that's pretty much it.
Decent sized branches of oak last for years.
Some of the very thin ones may start to go after about a year or so.
 
Grubhead said:
can collect oak leaves right now too. How many might I go through in a year if I keep them stocked in my 55 gallon like you had them in those pictures? I may need to go collect more...
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That's hard to say really, depends how many you put in and how often you change them.
I put a few in some of my c/a tanks and change them about once a month.I like to swop them with fresh ones before they start to break down too much and get a bit messy.
I normally collect a carrier bag full every autumn, they normally run out just before the following autumn.
I would use a lot more in my s/a tanks,probably twice as many.
When I kept angels I would use dead branches with leaves still attached, I like the look of it and enjoyed watching the fish swim between them.

Lone angel two.jpg
 
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Grubhead said:
I also saw some nice looking plants in those pictures. What types are those?
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In the pics you mention they were mainly moss and hornwart.
Later I just let algea take over and I love the effect algea can give.
 
Perfect! Thank you everyone for the great feedback!

I feel like I'm set to go and simply have to make some simple decisions, collect some more natural wood/rocks, and of course upgrade to a larger aquarium someday because we all know it would be good for the fish and the hobbyist. ;)

duanes said:
Certain Gymnogeophagus (the Gymnogenys group) like to live in harems of 1 male to multiple females, like the Gymnogeophagus sp yerbalito male above. They would "not" require a heater. Many are larvophile mouth brooder that take fry into their mouth after eggs have hatched.
Whether you decide on Gymnos or Thorichthys, I agree that you need to hold the population of stock down, a 55 is really too small for the amount of fish you propose.
There are pike cichlids that come from Uruguay, and would work with the Gymnos, but they would also eat the white clouds, or any small dither type fish you mention as they grow
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From what I have read, the el Norte are the rhabdotus type; substrate spawners which will pair off like the Thorichthys.

Do you think the 55G is too small? The plan was to start with 6 juvenile to hopefully get one or two pairs. I would remove 2-4 of the cichlids.

I guess it is all relative and a larger aquarium would be best to give them more room to swim, but even a dovi in a 1000 gallon aquarium is probably not truly as happy as being in the wild.

The pike would be cool...but might really make them all crammed in the tank. I'll save it for the next upgrade! I would want to add more support under the floor and change my homeowners insurance if I go larger than 75G or so. :(


ahud said:
Select Aquatics has Rio Otapa swordtails. Greg the owner is awesome to deal with.
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Awesome! I did notice this...but wasn't sure if they were truly from that wild Otapa strain. I am not familiar with Select Aquatics.



You all rock! I'll post some pics once I get the tank set up. Currently, it is simply a painted black backround using acrylic, pool filter sand substrate from Ace Hardware (seems like a good grain size and many good reviews from hobbyists), two Hydro Pro #3 sponge filters, and a Cascade canister.

I've been using the food method to get it cycled and it is already converting plenty of ammonia to nitrites and nitrates. Have to feed the tank daily to get some ammonia, 0 nitrites, nitrates finally built up to require a water change.

I have to say that the fishless method is great, but makes me anxious for some fish! lol Another few weeks and I should have some more plants and the first set of fish in.
 
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