# need help with my tank and breeding geophagus altifrons



## 6footer (Dec 19, 2009)

basically i wasnt getting much help in the ca section so decided to try sa.. 
and i get a little impatient sometimes when it comes to getting new fish.. its my curse

im getting rid of a few fish (my africans) and having a sa/ca tank.. (180g 6x2x2)
the list of fish will be 
2 male nics
4 severums- 1 green 3 gold
1 firemouth
1 male geophagus altifrons 'tocantins'
1 recently purchased thread finned acara
4 silver dollars 4 clown loaches 2 bristlenose catfish

i want to add 2 female geophagus and hopefully get a breeding pair
need any help on these species about breeding i can so any information would be much appreciated.

i also want to add a salvini.. any do's or dont's about this fish?

is this my max or can i add more fish

if so i need help on what other fish i could possibly add any suggestions would be great

cheers


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

I would say your definately going to be over stocked. Nor do I think you've done the proper research on any/all the species your looking to mix together.

For a start true Geophagus species are a social cichlid. They prefer to be in groups of 5 or more, and, while altifrons are one of the larger species, they really aren't aggressive.

The thread fin acara, A. heckellii is considered to be a rather aggressive eartheater, certainly a lot more biosterous than altifrons. _Edit:_ Just read your thread in the CA section. Did you pickup a Blue acara or a Thread fin acara?

Severums can be gentle giants when there's one in a tank, but like many cichlids, will display a fair amount of conspecific aggression.

Silver dollars and Clown loaches are both schooling species, and prefer to be in groups of 5 or more. And while they are slow growing fish, grow rather large and will match the cichlids in terms of waste produced.

Breeding pairs are never a good idea in a community tank. Especially with medium sized, and larger species. They will claim a large area of the tank as thier territory, and push all the other fish in to a smaller area, which in it's self will create problems.

A salvini would be just too aggressive compared to all the other species in the tank.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

You have mentioned two very nice species in your possible stocking list. I'd look to do a group of either Hypsophrys nicaraguensis or Geophagus Altifrons "tocantins". These are two of the nicest species to see as a group in a tank.

I would look to stock a tank around either of these species. It's quite possible that you might not include any other cichlids in the either stocking option.

SA and CA tanks really should not be stocked along the lines of African tanks. They also require very different aquascapes and water parrameters.


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## 6footer (Dec 19, 2009)

ithanks for your input. i got the thread finned. thought it would be the same temprement as the blue. i must be wrong. i was going to get rid of any fish showing any aggression. so i think i might just leave the tank as is and slowly eliminate fish as they get bigger and more aggressive. as for the sd's n clown loaches in groups of 4 im sure they will be fine. i am going to add a second external filter so the waste wont be a problem and i do weekly water changes and vacuums. i won't get the salvini. l might get lucky with this mix. and only have to get rid of one or two fish.ill just wait and see now it all pans out. thanks for your help. [/code]


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

The two fish aren't anything alike or even related.

Acarichthys heckelii

Andinoacara (exAequidens) pulcher


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## 6footer (Dec 19, 2009)

cheers.
so do you think it will get too aggressive for the fish i have? should i just take it back now or wait and see?


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

6footer said:


> cheers.
> so do you think it will get too aggressive for the fish i have? should i just take it back now or wait and see?


I'd pick my favorite and get rid of everything else and stock around it.

It is true it is possible you get lucky, but you shouldn't have to, if a species shouldn't be mixed they shouldn't be mixed, you should not need to get lucky.

If it were me, get rid of everything except the _G. Altifrons "Tocantins"_, get more of them (for a total of 5ish) and stock around them. Both you and the fish will be happier in the long run and will avoid all possible problems.


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## 6footer (Dec 19, 2009)

say if i was to stock around the geo what would i stock and what could i keep already in my current list of fish? i have a bit of time for now as some of my fish are still young but i know it will start to get to me and ill want to go with the geo's beacuse im already fascinated by my geo and its only half its size at about 5-6 inches


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

*6footer* how is your tank currently setup? what type of substrate have you got? and what type rock/wood/plants etc are in the tank?


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## 6footer (Dec 19, 2009)

check out my tank you can see. in my tank section. dont take any notice of the fish list. the tank now is similar to the way it was set up when i took that photo but no greenery and alot more caves under the large pieces of limestone and an ubundance of caves to the right. substrate is small pebble sort of gravel.
when i got my geo it was around $50. are they that much up your way or did i just get ripped off?


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

*6footer* if you want to keep altifrons, or most of the South American cichlids, your going to have to change up most of your tank.

Sand substrate is a must. Either pool filter sand available from most pool shops or play sand available from bunnings. Tank setup shout be pretty open, with some driftwood branches to break up the tank, and a couple of large roundish river rocks placed around the tank that the fish can spawn on.

These cichlids are eartheaters. They sift sand through thier mouth and gills looking for food. Larger substrates such as yours can actually damage the gills of the fish if they try and sift through it.

Here's a link to photos from another Aussie member. He has two eartheater tanks.
My Eartheaters Update

Geophagus altifrons "Tocantins" (Australian Variant 1)


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## 6footer (Dec 19, 2009)

thanks for the info. im not prepared to completely change my substrate and aquascape atm. i will simply get rid of the geo. although no easy task im still trying to catch some other fish in there. although i am a bit lazy and havnt really had a got at it yet. which is why i wont change the substrate.. ill get around to it next complete vacuum i do which means taking all the rocks out. which brings me back to square one. 
i might wait for two of my gold severums to grow up. the other two are alot bigger. then i will get rid of two of them and keep a green and gold.
which will leave me with the nics, firemouth, and maybe the thread finned acara? and the clown loaches and silver dollars. will this mix? havnt noticed the acara doing much sifting although profiles *** searched suggest otherwise. so should i get rid of this as well. 
which will leave me with 3 different cichlid species. 
so now the question is do they go together?


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

The heckelii isn't sifting becuase it can't with your current substrate.

I don't know if they will mix or not. Cichlids can be funny sometimes, and all get along, other times, all they want to do is kill everything in sight.


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