Which type of Eartheater?

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Aqualoon

Aqualoon

Piranha
MFK Member
Jul 8, 2009
1,787
52
81
Minnesota
Tank Size: 150 gallons
Filtration: 2 x XP3 (willing to add an AC110 if needed)
Current Stock: 1 x Male GT (2.5"), 1 BN Pleco, 4 YoYo Loaches
Proposed Additional Stock: 2 x YoYo Loaches, 10 x Rainbow Fish, 1 x Fire Eel, 3 x SA Eartheater

Alright, I want to add two more loaches to my current school and then get some species of Rainbows that will school nicely, specific species is still in the air, I'm between a few. I have gone back and forth if I want a Fire Eel or not as the width of my tank is only 18".

I would however like to add a trio of eartheaters to the tank but I'm unsure which species would be best with the current stock and with the proposed stock. The proposed additional stock can be altered to meet the needs of the eartheater group but the current stock cannot. Also, I don't know if 3 is a good number or if I should look for 4 or 5 of them.
 
I'd go with red humps, since they are more outgoing and aggressive, can hang with the GT
 
in addition to the aggression issue, SA eartheaters usually like soft and acidic water, which is incompatible with your GT.

Try some CA sand sifters instead....they can hold their own.
 
Water incompatibilities for WC fish I would agree with you 110%. In my experience however the tank bred fish are a lot more adaptable to different types of water conditions.
 
What about G. itapicurensis? They are in the braziliensis complex but are a smaller species. They should be able to their own against the GT.
 
Aqualoon;3442992; said:
Water incompatibilities for WC fish I would agree with you 110%. In my experience however the tank bred fish are a lot more adaptable to different types of water conditions.
Click to expand...

I'm just saying....Astatheros can be a lot of fun...check them out...I'm getting three species this weekend....
 
peathenster;3443041; said:
I'm just saying....Astatheros can be a lot of fun...check them out...I'm getting three species this weekend....
Click to expand...

I have to a agree that most of the astatheros would be a better choice. I don't think your water will really be an issue, but the agressiveness of the GT when it matures will be. Pretty much all of the astatheros would be able to hang with it. Most geophagus would not. Even if they didn't get killed they would most likely always have split fins and no trailers. The Brasillensis (spelling?) complex would probably be OK. I would recommend you try them or any of the astatheros over any other Geo's.
 
Great, thanks guys, I'll start looking into the Astatheros. I usually use cichlid-forum.com for species profiles but I guess they don't have these guys :D
 
http://www.donconkel.com/astatheros.htm

This has pictures of several of them. You will almost certainly have to order them. I think cichlid-broker or something similiar has several of them right now. The only one that I can think of that is not pictured is Rostratus. They might still be classified with amphilophus, not sure if they were changed or not.
 
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