# pretty straight forward Geo question



## Rift485 (Dec 3, 2004)

Well I have a 55 setup with 5 Tapajos Geos (3"), 1 Blue Acara (3"), 5 Odessa Barbs and 2 Clown Loaches. I have had them in this setup for about a year now. I am looking to thin out the Geo group bc of the available space for now. This is essentially a grow out tank that I keep looking nice 

I have 1 established pair of Geos right now and what I think is one more male and 2 unidentifieds. If I wanted to keep a trio is it best to have 1m 2f or a reverse? Logically I would think a 2 f trio would be best but that could just be my African cichlid background talking. The goal is to keep the male as colored up as possible and I don't know with Geos if that is best accomplished by having 2 females to impress or 1 female I know he likes and 1 male to stay dominant over. Breeding is a bonus, I am not making any decisions based on that...

Side note: I know the Acara is a wild card in this tank and I am keeping a close eye on him so if he becomes too rowdy he will have to go :thumb:

Thanks!


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

1 m & 2 F is the typical trio specs...

I have a 6' 125 gal with a group of about 25 Orange Head Geos that have become sexually mature in the last few months... the tank is relatively peaceful, but I do see some aggression between the males that father spawns... the holding females often work/hide together...

So my experience strongly supports the typical suggestion mentioned above... :thumb:


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## Rift485 (Dec 3, 2004)

Ok, that makes logical sense.

Now if I have one established breeding pair (that follow each other around and really 'like' each other :lol: ) is there any reason to add a second female? Or is a pair the best way to go?

Again I have space concerns to deal with. Thanks for any additional thoughts on the subject.


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## Rift485 (Dec 3, 2004)

Any ideas?


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I've never tackled this exact situation... but I would think that since the current pair is established the female involved may not appreciate the additional female showing up and may be unwelcoming. If the new female is larger/tougher she may be able to step in and make herself welcome though...

Personally I wouldn't bother if the pair seem happy as is...


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## edburress (Jun 9, 2007)

Toby_H said:


> Personally I wouldn't bother if the pair seem happy as is


Agreed.


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## Rift485 (Dec 3, 2004)

Great. I am going to remove the other 3 for a month or so and make sure the Acara doesn't up the aggression on the pair in their absence before I sell them back to the store.

Thanks for the advice!


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## Rift485 (Dec 3, 2004)

Well, I removed the 4 Geos and left the 2 that had become a pair in the tank by themselves. All of a sudden, the male chases the female around and doesn't seem interested at all in breeding or sticking with her like he used to. Every time he goes near her she dashes away so she doesn't get chased.

What happened :-?


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

FYI - I just reviewed this thread top to bottom and I believe at the point I suggest against adding a second female I did not remember this was an established pair within an existing group (which makes a difference)...

It is likely that the male had social distractions amongst the other fish in the group and therefore it was to his advantage to politely court the female he was paired with... Then suddenly everyone left him and he has all this energy and doesn't know where to put it... So the single female gets it all and it seems it is too muchâ€¦

Being keenly aware to the detail you had a pair within a group, I think I would have changed my suggestion to leave a few females if at all possible. Leaving only one 'extra' female gives the existing female only one fish to take her unwelcoming on and leaves that 'extra' fish to fend for herself... leaving a few 'extra' females allows the paired femaleâ€™s aggression to be distributed and the 'extra' females can seek safety in numbers...

The male is probably going to like the idea of having multiple girls around and is likely to discourage them from fighting, although this isn't always the case.

Had this been a pair by themselves, I would have suggested that you do not add a second female to the group...

I'm sorry if my lack of reviewing has lead me to give you bad advice  Did you take the 'extra' Geos back to the store yet?


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## edburress (Jun 9, 2007)

I made the same mistake. If none of these fish have bred, I'd put them all back together and wait. IMO it will be very difficult to get a pair or a trio to get along by themselves in a 55. Your best option will likely be waiting until two pairs form and keep those.


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## Rift485 (Dec 3, 2004)

I do have all the other fish in another tank. Unfortunately, it looks like I have 3m and 2f total so I don't know if I'll be able to get a good mix. Uncle Neds in Millis MA has some of the same size so I might check it out, maybe do a trade in. So, in that case, what would be the ideal group to go for? But keep in mind I have a 55 gallon tank so 2 m 6f won't work....

Ed it sounds like you think I should try to get a temporary group of 2m 4f and hope for 2 pairs?


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## edburress (Jun 9, 2007)

I think a total of 4 fish would be best over the longterm (considering your tank size), either 2m/2f or 1m/3f, just to prevent an odd-out fish. Since they're young, they'll be fine overstocked for a while to determine sexes/pairs


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## Protazerg (Aug 28, 2007)

I had 6 Geophagus Tapajos, and Now only 5, because they are MEAN to eachother man... ****.. they are only one inch big, and I have a big enough tank for them. but all of them if they swim near eachother keep facing off, and lip locking, at only one inch in size... the little ****heads. the one that died got his eye ripped out before it was dead. did I by some wierd chance get a bunch of troubled boys? lol, I dont understand it, all the profiles of the fish say they are pretty peaseful for a cichlid. *** had Jack dempsys and oscars that were more peaseful then these guys. any idea if Im doing something wrong? the Ph is at like 6.5-7.0, I have small small gravel that can be sifted thru thier gills to make them happy to play in and stuff. 40gal breeder tank setup with lots of caves and plants. why are my one inch Tapajos trying to play Highlander? "there can be only one.. hahahahaha"  Anyway, was reading this thread, and thought you guys might know. Thankies ^^


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *Protazerg*,

I've grown out two groups of geo "orange heads" in the past and never had any issues with aggression. However both times I bought my fish at around 2 inches in size, when some were starting to show some good colour, and both groups were raised up in a 6 foot tank. The first group I grew out had a ratio of 1 female and 5 male, and there was very little aggression amongst the group.

I do not think it's a good idea to buy medium to large growing fish at such a small size, 1 inch. You simply can not tell the quality of the fish, there may be defects that aren't noticeable at that size.

Could you tell us about your tank. It's dimensions, what equipment your using, and what the aquascape is.


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## Protazerg (Aug 28, 2007)

Thanks Deadfish, well, thier tank is a 40gal breeder, 36"x18" I gave them "peace river" gravel from CaribSea, its a very small pebbled gravel that can be sifted thru gills. but Im also able to use the undergavel filter. I have an Emperor 400 filter, and a Fluval 405 on it as well. some lace rock caves, and driftwood. lots a plastic plants. as far as other fish go. I hav a few decorative plecos, 2 flag tail catfish. as far as other cichlids go, I have 1 Hechelii, and a couple severums. but none of the other fish seem to bother the Geos, the Geos just attack eachother, and thats the only agression in the tank. I know it seems like allot of fish, but really it looks as if thier is barely any fish in the tank. 2 of the geos look really good for thier size, so I dont think color will be any problem. they look fine to me  but Im just shocked that they were so mean to eachother. Im looking at the tank now, and it seems pretty calm for once. hope it stays that way.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

First up sorry to the OP, *Rift485* for hijacking his thread.

*Protazerg* I originally had fine river gravel with my geo's, and trust me it's definately not the same as watching geo's sift through sand. Thy quite simply do not sift any where near the amount of fine river gravel as they do when they have a sand substrate.

It does seem like a lost of fish. Right now, if all the cichlids are small juveniles, then you're not really overstocked. But in 3 months time you'll definately have to look at rehoming the cichlids. None of the cichlids you've mentioned should be kept in the 40 gallon long term. The group of geo's will need a atleast a 75 gallon tank to themselves, and so will the pair of severums. As for the Heckelii, I'm not sure where you'll be able to place it once all your fish are mature.

What type of fancy plecos do you have? Having kept fancy plecos with cichlids in 50 gallon tanks with the same footprint as a 40 gallon breeder in the past, how are you coping witht the amount of waste produced? I used to find myself doing three 40% to 50% water changes per week.


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## Protazerg (Aug 28, 2007)

well, the peace river gravel, has a really nice natural color to the tank, I lot it allot, I had two larger Jurupari in there before I got the Topajos, and the sifted and sifted just fine thru thier gills, no problems at all. Im kinda old fashoned and I dont think Undergravel filters ever failed me on anthing using them since I was a kid. but I have allot more filtration added to it like hardcore. with an Emperor 400, and a Fluval 405. I do water changes and clean the tank 25% every week, give or take two three days. the tank is crystal clear all the time, and every one is healthey.

I have as far as plecos tho

1 Sailfin Gibbiceps
1 Albino Sailfin Gibbiceps
1 L-1 spotted sailfin
1 Blue-fin, bushynose
1 Hypostomus Sp.
1 Snowball/Inspector
1 wiptail

all of them are getting allong fine 

as they grow I may have to trade some in.

see I have this problem with plecos.. if I see one I like at my LFS that I work at somethimes to help out.. I have to take it..


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