sunshinehippy;3639263; said:
He is in a tank with a load of discus and a single female in the LFS but from what I could see he was chasing the female a lot and she was trying to get away from him and hiding the whole time.
This is exactly what's going to happen if you keep less than 4,
unless they're a solid, established pair. They are shoaling fish with a social structure. If you can't fulfill the structure, and there is a male, there will be trouble. You can keep them by themselves but they will never be as interesting to watch or as vividly coloured and active as those kept in a proper shoal.
'Geophagus' brasiliensis can not be used as a guideline for other Eartheaters.
When people say Eartheaters are 'fine' with some of the bigger, more aggressive centrals, I only ever interpret that as them being alive, regardless of the actual circumstance. Cichlids have personalities, if they're in with larger and potentionally aggressive Centrals you might just find them lying lifeless on the bottom of the tank one morning.
MonteSS;3637519; said:
I have no personal experience, but heard Redheads are more of a pairing fish than other Geos which like groups.
Quite far from the truth. While they predominantly breed in pairs, Geophagus sp. "Orange Heads" are very conspecifically sociable, even while spawning to a degree.
My question to you sunshinehippy: Why half-ass a Geophagus shoal based on a few responses on an online forum? If you like the fish but don't have room for a full shoal, either make room for them, buy a new tank, or don't bother. That is my honest advice.
