geophagus drama
- Thread starter FatLoach
- Start date
I have kept, and had spawning steindachs(red hump group), and found males to be extremely aggressive, even at a small size of only a few inches.
A 40 gal is very tiny. I kept a quartet of 1 male and 3 females in a 125, and he rode any non-receptive females very hard (some to death), even in that size tank.
When I saw a female acting ready to spawn, I'd put only she, and the male in a 40 breeder until spawning was complete, and quickly remove the male back to the main tank to let the carrying female incubate the eggs and fry unmolested.
I would also suggest, any of the Amazonian type Geos are not tough enough, or have the aggressive attitude to be kept with those of the red hump group.
The red hump group seem to me to be more like Central American cichlids in demeanor, and toughness. Putting any of the Geo tapajaros clade in a tiny tank, with a red hump of the steini clade is akin to putting a few of the class nerds in a room with the angry football team after a crushing loss, pulling the shades, and locking the door.
A 40 gal is very tiny. I kept a quartet of 1 male and 3 females in a 125, and he rode any non-receptive females very hard (some to death), even in that size tank.
When I saw a female acting ready to spawn, I'd put only she, and the male in a 40 breeder until spawning was complete, and quickly remove the male back to the main tank to let the carrying female incubate the eggs and fry unmolested.
I would also suggest, any of the Amazonian type Geos are not tough enough, or have the aggressive attitude to be kept with those of the red hump group.
The red hump group seem to me to be more like Central American cichlids in demeanor, and toughness. Putting any of the Geo tapajaros clade in a tiny tank, with a red hump of the steini clade is akin to putting a few of the class nerds in a room with the angry football team after a crushing loss, pulling the shades, and locking the door.
the funny thing is its the female that seems to exibit all the aggression. The male hump head has been getting run all over the tank, the tapajos so far has dealt with it by some defensive gill flares which chase the female off. The male has a small nucal Hump but dosnt seem to have any interest in spawning where as the female is quite a bit thicker woth no hump and she's also darker in color as if she's gravid. I'm trying to get photos but she stays in the wood cave. The male has exibited zero aggression thus far.... last week I saw the head shaking and other behavior that looked like they were going to spawn, maybe the female has eggs?
Yes the head shaking is definitely the males way of trying to attract a female into spawning.
In your pics there seems to be plenty of room, and if its more bluster than actual aggression, you are doing well.
With mine, there were no torn fins, or other obvious indications that aggression was in any way, out of the ordinary. I'd simply find dead females when I'd turn on the lights in the morning.
The most dominant female lasted the longest, and spawned a number of times.
In your pics there seems to be plenty of room, and if its more bluster than actual aggression, you are doing well.
With mine, there were no torn fins, or other obvious indications that aggression was in any way, out of the ordinary. I'd simply find dead females when I'd turn on the lights in the morning.
The most dominant female lasted the longest, and spawned a number of times.
Thanks for the input, and wake up call some of people who have not experienced keeping Geophagus species assume that they are all soft, and mild mannered, lol not the case at all.
