Potential Candidates for my nephew's Eartheater Tank (ID Please!!)

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Sidrock

Candiru
MFK Member
Nov 20, 2009
579
3
48
Bombay, India
Hello guys,

My nephew is considering buying these fish for his very first Eartheater tank.

(His previous experience was with Malawi cichlids, Green Terrors, tetra and even a Flower Horn.)

The first set of two fish are labelled as Geo. Red-head Tapajos and the other one as a G. Balzini.

Are these IDs correct? Also comment on the quality of fish.

Gini-x6-2686.jpg

b.jpg


a.jpg
 
They are what they are supposed to be. What size tank are they being kept in? Also Balzini require some special requirements, they like cooler water and require a few month cool down period where they should be kept in an unheated tank the Tapajos will not do well in those conditions as they are tropical while the Balzini are neo-tropicals.
 
The Balzini seemes to be missing an eye.......Or it may have an eye infection.....The Red Heads are healthy looking..............Go for the Red Heads........
 
yeah balzanii looks like it has an eye infection or something, but they shouldnt be kept with geos anyways because like stated gymnos have different temp requirements, the red heads would be a good addition though and they dont grow as large as some other geos, how large is the tank they are going into? and try to get more than 2 if you can since geos do best in groups
 
Thanks guys.

So the ID/labels on them are correct. (phew :) )

I see two pieces of advice here: 1) Get more than 2 Geos and 2) it's not a good idea to keep the Geos with the Balzini at least at the onset.

The immediate tank is a 50 Gal custom tank with fake plants and sand with a few river stones for decor. Once this 50Gal becomes small for the Geos, I can move them to my 90Gal. Or maybe I can get my nephew and niece to make those puppy-eyes and get their dad to go for a larger tank :P

The Balzini is a freebie. I am thinking of getting him for myself till he recuperates and then see what can be done (maybe sell it).

Any reference to the specific requirements for these two types of fish??

Thanks,
Sid
 
Has the G. balzani been moved between tanks with big difference in pH? It may not be blind - sometimes a sudden pH drop could cause the membrane to cloud up. The tail position is typical for G. balzani when they are not happy or feel threatened.

Geophagus sp. orange head "Tapajos" like softer and acidic water, but G. balzani like their water in the low 7s (per Ed Burress, who collected them in Uruguay). If you want to keep them together, it's probably a good idea to maintain pH around 7. Oh and add some sand ;)
 
Hi all

I am the one who is buying them all
I am getting the balzani free with geos

Can someone suggest how to maintain Ph? What should I add?

There are some change in the decor ...I have added a nice peice of driftwood and good amount of river rocks and removed the fake plants
Will also remove the arc in right later
Will add some more rocks after pouring the sand
Tank is 36''l X 17''d X 16''h (around 46 US gal)
Will add soft golden sand once I get it .....have conformed the order
Here is a picture of the tank:
DSCF5350.JPG


Note: In the picture, the tank is filled with only half of the water of its capacity
 
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