I recently ran into 3 of these awesome fish for the first time in person and i had to have them probably within a week of having them 2 paired off and spawned but lost the eggs the first night. Assuming this was their first spawn i was almost positive that the eggs wouldn't make it. But anyways they are about 3 to 4 inches in length and just starting to get their colors. I have a tank divider for next time so i can keep them separate. Im just looking for any tips and information on this fish that i may not have know. From the short amount of time having them they have turned out to be one of my favorite fish ive owned. They are in a 55 gallon community tank with 6 corys 3 angelfish 3 clown loaches and a african knifefish i have a little over an inch of pool filter sand. One question i would have is how long till they will spawn again? And i will post pictures in a little while
Geophagus (Red Head Tapajos)
- Thread starter FloridaFishTanks
- Start date
Thanks and yes the nitrates stay pretty low their tank used to be a discus tank a while back. and as for feeding theyve been eating frozen mysis shrimp and shrimp pellets as well as flake food and they seem to be enjoying it (always begging) and ya is pretty small still and it minds its own buisness plenty of places to hide for everyone 
When I kept them they laid eggs pretty regularly but I kept them with a common pleco so the eggs rarely lasted through the night, wouldn't be surprised if the loaches feast on them as well.
ya thats why i got the divider when shes about ready to lay them ill just throw it in and keep the pair separate looking forward to raising some fry one day
+1 on the loaches potentially getting the eggs, or could be the knife fish (depending on the individual), or could have even been the geos themselves if they felt the eggs were threatened by the other fish. Also, it can take some pairs several tries to get a successful spawn.
Probably not the best combination of fish long term if breeding the geos is a priority and a 55 gal tank would be somewhere between tight and too small for an adult African knife fish (depending on individual size at maturity), ditto for 3 full grown clown loaches (it takes them a while, but they get big, as in 8-10 or more inches and chunky).
Some people can get monotonous telling everyone and their dog their tank's too small, but in this case you might be ok for a while, but those fish won't be a good fit in a 55 as full size adults. At some point you'll need to decide which direction you want to go with that tank.
Probably not the best combination of fish long term if breeding the geos is a priority and a 55 gal tank would be somewhere between tight and too small for an adult African knife fish (depending on individual size at maturity), ditto for 3 full grown clown loaches (it takes them a while, but they get big, as in 8-10 or more inches and chunky).
Some people can get monotonous telling everyone and their dog their tank's too small, but in this case you might be ok for a while, but those fish won't be a good fit in a 55 as full size adults. At some point you'll need to decide which direction you want to go with that tank.
...If you do get a successful spawn, OH tapajos geos can make interesting parents. Good pairs will cooperate brooding and protecting fry, some even to the point of one holding the fry while one eats, then switching off while the other eats.