Need Geophagus stocking info please

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stingraybranden

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 29, 2006
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West Coast
I am thinking about stocking my 75g with Geos to go in with my single Jurupari (about to move Juripari out of discus and stingray tank into empty 75g). I just have a couple of quick questions if someone doesn't mind helping out. Questions:

-I would like to find some of the smaller more colorful Geophagus, can anyone suggest which are the most colorful and aren't one of the larger Geo? So far I like the Winemilleri and Brokopondo Geos....

-Can different individuals of different breeds be mixed or do they all need to be the same, ie. red heads, jurupari, winemilleri, etc. It wouid be nice to mix colors, etc. Say a male of one breed and three females of three other breeds?

-Once I have picked one or more smaller breeds (depending on recommendations) how many would I be able to fit into a standard four foot 75g?

That's it for the questions, thanks ahead of time to whoever takes the time to respond. :D

oh ps. how would they do with discus? I am assuming they would bother each other but doesn't hurt to check, thanks again.
 
I wouldn't personally keep Satanoperca in a 4' setup, adult males will get pretty cramped. Unsure of sizing on G. brokopondo, but G. winemilleri are similarly sized and should be kept in a 5' minimum setup.

Here's a list of some smaller species from the Geophagus genus that should do well in a smaller tank.

G. sp. "Pindare"
G. sp. "Orange Head" (all variants)
G. taeniopareius

As for your mixing, I disagree with it. If you're setting the tank up from scratch, I'd recommend picking and growing out 8 juveniles of a single species, and then selling the excess for a ratio of either 1M 3F or 2M 2F.
 
Thanks for the quick response Japes, you were the one I was hoping to hear from. Of the species you listed which do you consider to be the most colorful and personable?

Hmmm, that is not great news on the Winemilleri I really liked those. I will leave my Jurupari in the 350g for the time being then.

So how large do the smaller species grow? four or five inch? Thanks again for the help.

Branden, WA
 
PSS. Where in Queensland are you from? I just noticed that. I really enjoy Australia, so far I have been to almost every city but Darwin. I really like Cairns and Perth. The b.reef diving is amazing. I was there a little over a year the last time I was in Auz (just me and my backpack a number of years ago).
 
The smaller species I've listed will be about 5-6", with healthy dominant males possibly pushing up to around 8".

You should try and get some more Jurupari for your 350, they're fantastic in groups.

Orange Heads are very personable if they're tank raised and well looked after from a young age. Most Geophagus will be similar (in fact, most healthy fish will be, obviously there are exceptions). I have no experience keeping Pindare, but from my experience they're quite a timid species.

Sexing can be difficult. I couldn't even tell you the ratio of my leucosticta other than a few of the older specimens that I've had spawn or notably interact with the dominant male. Orange Heads are fairly easy, as the females are generally much less coloured through the head. Other signs are body and head shape, pelvic fin extension length, soft ray extension lengths, but they vary between species and are only an overall guide.

I'm from the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland.
 
I could put my discus in my 75g, they are fine with the Jurupari, and possibly stock with Jurupari. I assume they are schooling and are okay in larger numbers? Say ten+ or so? The Jurupari is in with my stingray and a school of about 40 clown loaches (5"-10") and they all get along really well.

So would I have to worry about sexing or would "any" ten or so Jurupari work?

I spent a fair bit of time in Brisbane and only a little in Surfers Paradise (to much like Vegas on the beach), that is probably the closest I have been to where you live. I really miss the diving and weather. A gf of mine in Melbourne says the economy is sucking as bad there as it is here.
 
The economy here honestly never changed, sure if you were heavy in shares you would have taken a hit, everywhere did, but other than that there's no difference. Obviously there's the jobs that were cut by businesses depending heavily on shares for survival, for example my brother is a carpenter and his workload has been a little bit light recently, but if anything, homeowners are benefiting from the lower interest rates, but they're rising right back up to where they were pre-GFC. I'm no sharemarket or banking buff, but consumer confidence here honestly didn't seem affected.

Eartheaters love stingrays, as the rays movement and feeding habits of flicking up substrate (presuming you have a fine sand substrate as Rays deserve) stirs it up for the Eartheaters to sift and feed from. Can't find the articles on it though unfortunately.

Any 10 would suit, male heavy ratios wouldn't be ideal but it will work with such large numbers to spread aggression. The male ratios are an issue when theres 2-3 specimens with 2 males, as the sub-dominant male(s) can be constantly harassed.
 
I'm growing out a group of 5 G. winemilleri in a 90g. Got them from JD a couple of months ago and they are now close to 5". The tank is looking more and more crowded everyday. Since 90g and 75g have the same footprint, I'd say it's probably not ideal to keep them long term.

Like mentioned above, G. parnaibae, G. pindare and G. taeniopareius stay relatively small, but they are not the most colorful Geos...
 
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