# Red Hump Eartheaters



## Koaxke (Aug 24, 2014)

Hi y'all

For reference, I have a 90 gallon tank that measures ~48" x 18" x 24" and have gravel substrate.

I just went to the aquarium store the other day looking for some rams, but they were out of stock. I was talking to one of the employees who recommended some red hump eartheaters as some fish that would get along with my other tankmates (some tetras, and he seems to be right), however it seems like they can't pick up most of the gravel into their mouths. They're only about an inch at the moment, so is this going to be a problem or will it go away once they're larger?

I just want to make sure that the fish aren't going to start injuring themselves trying to pick up the gravel right now.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Sand would be a preferred substrate.


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## Koaxke (Aug 24, 2014)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Sand would be a preferred substrate.


I do understand that, but that's not exactly a feasible option. I was more inquiring on whether or not this will actually injure the fish.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

why is it not feasible? Not a difficult change, really.


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## Koaxke (Aug 24, 2014)

nodima said:


> why is it not feasible? Not a difficult change, really.


It's a sibling's fish tank that I'm taking care of while he's in college. I promised him that I wouldn't change the aquascaping that he did though.


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## Koaxke (Aug 24, 2014)

So I bought a male and a female cichlid, and they got along with my other fish pretty well (I had three silver tip tetras, one bleeding heart tetra, and one bushy nose pleco).
I kept a close eye on the two eartheaters, watching them for about an hour each day, and they never interacted with any of the other fish. The male would just occasionally chase the female around which I wasn't too worried about.
After keeping an eye on them for over a week, I had to go on a business trip for three days, and when I had come back, two of the silver tip tetras had been killed. My first thought was that they hadn't been fed as frequently as they should have been, and the male took out some aggression on the tetras, but I was told that they were fed on schedule. 
I then assumed it was because he's wanting to mate and getting pretty aggressive (he's about 2.5-3 inches now). I am looking for ways to hopefully curb some aggression or at least spread it out among other fish to give the last couple of tetras a chance.
Are there any fish or anything that you would recommend doing to help? Should the rest of the tetras, and specifically the bushnose pleco be ok?

Thanks in advance for your help!


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

Red Humps do best if one male is kept with 3 or 4 females. The males are relentless in their pursuit of the females, always wanting to breed, so this way, his aggression is spread around. Provide plenty of refuges and hiding spots. So I would obtain some more 'girls'.


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## Koaxke (Aug 24, 2014)

notho2000 said:


> Red Humps do best if one male is kept with 3 or 4 females. The males are relentless in their pursuit of the females, always wanting to breed, so this way, his aggression is spread around. Provide plenty of refuges and hiding spots. So I would obtain some more 'girls'.


Sounds like a plan! I'll see if I can't head up to the aquarium store that had them to get a couple of more females.

Are there any other fish that would be good to keep in this tank that would leave the tetras and especially the bushynose alone? I'm fine with even getting other tetras or something.

It's a 90 gallon which I have attached a picture of. I want to say that it's 48" x 18" x 24" or something close to that.


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

Koaxke said:


> nodima said:
> 
> 
> > why is it not feasible? Not a difficult change, really.
> ...


Just ask for forgiveness later. Honestly, sand substrate would look way better in that tank anyhow. Do it. You're sister or brother will forgive you after about 37 seconds of watching the Geos sift the sand and do their whole eartheater thang.

And the 1:4 ratio is perfect for a 90g. You will be SHOCKED at how relentless the males can be... Wait until they all hit 4" and I guarantee that if you have 4 females and 1 male, 3 of the 4 females will be holding fry at any given time...


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## Bamboo (Jan 12, 2011)

or keep it how it is , get rid of all the current fish and purchase 50 Cardinal tetras and nothing more.


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## Koaxke (Aug 24, 2014)

So my brother is still refusing to let me switch it to sand, but I'm about to pick up a 55 gallon that I'm going to fill with sand, but I was wondering what else would make the red humps happy. I remember reading that they like plants and caves? I was thinking I would heavily plant the back of the tank and stack some rocks to make caves and whatnot. Judging by their current behavior in the 90 gallon it's essential to give the females plenty of places to hide since the male harasses them relentlessly. Is there anything else that y'all would recommend?

Also, since it's a 55 gallon I know it's essentially the minimum that I can keep the eartheaters in, but they should be ok right? I'm assuming I can't put much more in there aside from my bushynose. I have two german blue rams that I have in the 90 gallon as well that I'm planning on moving. Should that be ok? Would I be able to add anything else into the 55 or am I already pushing the limit on the amount/size of fish that'll be going in there?


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

How big are the red humps now? I think you said the male was maybe 3"? I've seen some pretty big male steinies before, but they were old. Mine topped out around 6" with the females around 4". But a guy I know had 3 or 4 males that were pushing 8" or 9" easy.

Honestly I wouldn't keep the Rams with the steinies, especially in the 55.

But a male steinie and a few females in a 55 should be okay for awhile at least.

I would lots of distinct areas of refuge so that females have plenty of hidey holes to themselves (the male will have the whole tank).


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## Koaxke (Aug 24, 2014)

illy-d said:


> How big are the red humps now? I think you said the male was maybe 3"? I've seen some pretty big male steinies before, but they were old. Mine topped out around 6" with the females around 4". But a guy I know had 3 or 4 males that were pushing 8" or 9" easy.
> 
> Honestly I wouldn't keep the Rams with the steinies, especially in the 55.
> 
> ...


My male is still about 3" with one of the females maybe 2.75" and the other ~2.25". Would it be possible to keep other fish in with the them, or is it pretty much going to be a red hump only tank?


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

Well, I'm probably guilty of overstocking so take what I say with a grain of salt.

If it was my 55g I would probably stock with the following;

1 Male Redhump Steinie
3 female redhump steinies
1 BN Pleco
6 - 8 Bleeding heart tetra's

The bleeding heart tetra's are a hardy tetra that colour up nicely once established in a tank. I'm quite sold on them at the moment - they are so much larger than neon or cardinal tetras they act like a show piece fish for the mid to high levels of the tank and also serve as great dither fish.


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## Koaxke (Aug 24, 2014)

Alright so I took y'all's advice and just changed the 90 gallon tank's substrate to sand. Holy jesus does gravel get filthy. I've never seen so much fish poop in my life.

The steinies are loving it though! I do have a question though. I have 9 bleeding hearts in there atm, and about half of them ha e gotten their fins nipped to stumps by the dominant ones. How do you avoid that?


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