Geophagus ????

[ErikFromNJ]

Just got this little guy a few weeks ago. Bought him because of his gracefullness and appearence. The guy at the lfs didn't know which Geo it was. So, my question to the Geo guru's... Which Geo is he/she? also, male/female?

Appreciate any info about this little guy/gal.

 

[japes]

Looks like a Geophagus altifrons, possibly "Tocantins" variant although the lateral spot seems much to small to be a Tocantins for that sized fish from my experience. Little hard to tell from those photos, as they're often quite difficult to ID even with perfect clear profile (side on) shots. Looks male but that's guesswork.

Looks happy and healthy from the photographs but should really be kept with a sand substrate.

 

[peathenster]

.....perhaps an altifrons? do they happen to know where it came from?

 

[ErikFromNJ]

Looks like a Geophagus altifrons, possibly "Tocantins" variant although the lateral spot seems much to small to be a Tocantins for that sized fish from my experience. Little hard to tell from those photos, as they're often quite difficult to ID even with perfect clear profile (side on) shots. Looks male but that's guesswork.

Looks happy and healthy from the photographs but should really be kept with a sand substrate.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I read the other day that he should be with sand. Will it hurt him/her any to be with gravel? This guy digs some HUGE holes in the gravel. It looks like a tornado went through the tank. All the plants are uprooted and the little caves I made are all crumbled.

 

[japes]

Yeah I read the other day that he should be with sand. Will it hurt him/her any to be with gravel? This guy digs some HUGE holes in the gravel. It looks like a tornado went through the tank. All the plants are uprooted and the little caves I made are all crumbled.

They do much better on sand and they're much more interesting to watch when they're sifting food. Sure they'll still have a crack at sifting gravel, but the grain size that they're shifting should be small enough to be taken into the mouth, and the majority of it passed through and out of the gills.

Why not just change over to sand? Easy to keep clean, looks 100x better, and will suit this guy better.

He'll also need a large tank, 4-5'x18" at least.

 

[ErikFromNJ]

They do much better on sand and they're much more interesting to watch when they're sifting food. Sure they'll still have a crack at sifting gravel, but the grain size that they're shifting should be small enough to be taken into the mouth, and the majority of it passed through and out of the gills.

Why not just change over to sand? Easy to keep clean, looks 100x better, and will suit this guy better.

He'll also need a large tank, 4-5'x18" at least.

Ohh I dread the thought of changing the substrate to sand. The tank he's in now is a 75 and I currently am cycling a 125 that has sand. Eventually he'll be moved over to there. I also have another Geo. He/she is half the size and looks completely different. I just got him/her yesterday. I'll have to get some pics soon.

 

[japes]

All Eartheaters will do best in shoals of at least 4 or more.

 

[BastardFish]

beautiful!