Gymnogeophagus Balzanii querries...

[abhishek]

Well friends, I have got a 40 inches x 20 inches x 20 inches 55 gal tank with Balzaniis that have spwaned successfully for me.I have 2 males and 3 females.But the biggest alpha male is causing so much problem for the beta male that I plan to sell out the beta male and a female.Will this cause my alpha male to become less colourful , lazy and less energetic.Often people say that they will loose all interest in spawning after the beta male is removed.Moreover the alpha male is developing greta humps.Will he loose the head growth in absence of amy competiton. Is it true??

Also is it possible to have a pair of Guianacara along with a trio of balzaniis???

As for a picture here 's the 1 inch small mother with her babies...the fries are just 5 days old....

The balzanii tank.....

 

[japes]

I'd be more worried about having the Alpha male start targeting females if you went through with that. I'd consider trialing it by temporarily rehoming the beta male and a female and seeing the Alpha males reactions.

At least with your current setup, there are other fish available to spread the aggression.

 

[abhishek]

Man , am I so glad to hear from the great Japes.I learnt about eartheaters from your posts only.Well even I was thinking of rehoming the beta male and the female.Thanks a lot.Well one querry please. I wish to have atleast a pair of guianancara .They are too rare in India.Will be getting them imported through a breeder.Have a 32 inches 30 gal tank currently occupied by the fries.Can I go for atleast a pair of them in the 30 gal breeder after selling away all the fries?Or is it not good enough for I have heard that guianacara does better in groups.Is 4 of them feasible in 32 ichx16 inchx12 inch (height) tank??

 

[japes]

Man , am I so glad to hear from the great Japes.I learnt about eartheaters from your posts only.

While I appreciate the comments, please don't take any of my posts as gospel, I am honestly an amateur when it comes to experience and knowledge regarding Eartheaters.

Well one querry please. I wish to have atleast a pair of guianancara .They are too rare in India.Will be getting them imported through a breeder.Have a 32 inches 30 gal tank currently occupied by the fries.Can I go for atleast a pair of them in the 30 gal breeder after selling away all the fries?Or is it not good enough for I have heard that guianacara does better in groups.Is 4 of them feasible in 32 ichx16 inchx12 inch (height) tank??

30 Gallon would be a decent size for a pair, but if you can get more I'd definitely go for 4 - not sure whether those dimensions will be large enough though. I have no first hand experience with Guinacara, but from what I've read they appreciate having a few females for every male, so if you could pickup 1M 3F that would be ideal.

Perhaps darthpike could help you out here with tank sizing etc.

 

[abhishek]

Thanks a lot again.Well actually I am getting a 5 foot 130 gal tank but not before coming march end.So was thinking of getting a few guianacaras as I will be shifting them to the 55 gal tank and make a Uruguayan tank out of the 130 gal.Ideally I think I will be getting only 1 inch babies , so it will be impossible to find the sex ratio.Anyways will wait for others to give inputs.

 

[peathenster]

If I were you I'd keep the whole group together. The subdominant male is supposed to get picked on - that's his function. He's not going to get killed or even seriously injured.

I had a group of 8 (3m/5f) that worked perfectly...so much so that I got bored with them quickly....

 

[abhishek]

Ok as you say I shall try to continue for a few more days.And what do you think about a trio or 4 of guianacara in a 32 inch 30 gal tank.Eventually they will end uop in a 55 gal tank in the next 6 months.

 

[peathenster]

Ok as you say I shall try to continue for a few more days.And what do you think about a trio or 4 of guianacara in a 32 inch 30 gal tank.Eventually they will end uop in a 55 gal tank in the next 6 months.

In general they are capable of doing more damage to each other, although it might depend on the particular species. I had 5 Guianacara stergiosi with 6 Geophagus orangehead "Tapajos" in a 4x2x2 120g, which worked out well and they bred a lot. However, when they got moved into a smaller tank (to be sold), the dominant male almost killed the others.

I recently got another group of a (probably) undescribed species. They are bigger than the stergiosi, but seem to have a milder temperament. The dominant male is substantially larger than the others, but he doesn't bother them at all. They are in a much bigger tank though.

 

[abhishek]

Thanks peathenster for the inputs.Well I guess I shall stay away with keyholes or guianacara with my balzaniis..but what about Apistogramma Borelli?They are from the same geagraphic location..can handle the low temparature issues.What about a pair of them??

 

[peathenster]

Haven't kept Apistogramma borelli myself so I don't know for sure. However, if I were to do it, I'd probably dedicate a smaller and heavily planted tank.