# 75G Riparium for Gymnogeophagus labiatus



## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

*75-gallon Riparium for Gymnogeophagus labiatus*

This is a pre-journal at this point, but I think that I have scored a pretty sweet tank to use for a new setup. My main intention for this display is to make a nice habitat for the new little group of _Gymnogephagus labiatus_ that I scored back in July at the* American Cichlid Association *(http://www.cichlid.org) Convention in Oconomowoc, WI. Here are these little devils that I bought from a skilled Milwaukee-area fish breeder.










They came with locality information too, "Rio Olimar". I don't know any more specifics about the collection point, but I might be able to figure that out by asking around some more.

These things are awesome when they grow up into adults. Just look at this show fish.










I should cite the entry number and entrant with this picture. I can go look that up with my image files. I was immediately in love with these _Gymnogeophagus_ cichlids when I saw them there at the convention. I had never really heard of them before and I understand that they are experiencing a lot of recent interest among hobbyists. They grow to about 7" and have relatively mellow temperaments, so I think that a 75G will be a good choice for a small group of either three or five individuals. At the convention I also caught part of the presentation by Scott Arney and Jeff Cardwell, "Collecting in Uruguay", about the Southern South America habitats where these fish originate from. Uruguay is pretty far south and has an almost temperate climate. The pictures of the fish biotopes looked to me more like rivers in Wyoming than the tropical rainforest habitats that are more commonly associated with South American cichlids.

Here is a link to an awesome photo thread in this same sub-forum with pictures of _Gymnogeophagus_ and other fish along with biotopes in Uruguay.

Cichlid-Forum :: View topic - Pics from collecting in Uruguay (load warning!)

I want to put together a nice riparium planting for this tank. I might research plants to a certain extent, but I will for sure take some liberties with plants that aren't necessarily representative so that I can get a nice riparium layout. I do want to add some kind of shoaling fish that will be more or less authentic for the habitat for this _Gymnogeophagus_. I'll have more ideas and specifications in the next few posts. I need to work on getting the new tank here because it is still over in the next county.


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Hi *hydrophyte*,

Nice pick up. I can not wait to see the tank set up.

Thanks,
Matt


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## edburress (Jun 9, 2007)

The ones from Rio Olimar are really nice. There aren't many aquatic plants there, mainly rocks and sand and some terrestrial plants that hang into the water. I'd use _Astyanax_ sp. or _Bryconamericanus_ sp. tetra if you want to keep with the theme. The species are _Bryconamericanus iheringi_, but I am not sure if the small _Astyanax_ there is described, but _Astyanax abramis_ is a medium-sized tetra found nearby, and _Cyanocharax macropinna_ also. I'm not sure if any of those are in the hobby, so your best bet is probably regular buenos aires tetra.

_Gymnogeophagus labiatus_ from Rio Olimar


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

Thanks so much for these detailed tips. That is a beautiful fish in your picture. Tetras sound OK too and it would probably good to have a fair number of fish swimming around midwater.

Do you have any ideas for cories that I might use?

I am planning on having just a few underwater plants or perhaps just sand and a few stones. The abovewater plants will probably be something like the riparium planting that I had going in my 50-gallon last winter.










Do you have any suggestions for researching riparian flora for Uruguay?


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## edburress (Jun 9, 2007)

hydrophyte said:


> Do you have any ideas for cories that I might use?


The species there are _C. paleatus_ and _C. longipinnis_. In the north you can find _C. aeneus_ and _C. hastatus_, but that's fairly far from the Rio Olimar.



hydrophyte said:


> Do you have any suggestions for researching riparian flora for Uruguay?


I have pictures of the riparian zones, but I have no idea about the species. You could probably email Felipe Cantera about that, he knows all.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

Thanks! I think that I am going to shoot for a decent-sized shoal of cories and maybe just a few tetra if there is still room enough.


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## macclellan (Nov 30, 2006)

Hey dood!

Cool fish.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

Yep it's a pretty great fish.

Now I need to work on getting a tank over here. I think that I am going to use a standard 75 and pop the top rim, then fill it to about 2/4 full.

I am leaning toward using a good-sized shoal of _Corydoras paleatus_. That's a real common fish in the hobby, but I understand that they vary a lot in quality. It would be cool to find some nice ones.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

Hey edburress can you post some habitat pictures if you have any handy? I would love to see what that ripariun vegetation looks like.


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## clgkag (Mar 22, 2008)

Paleatus work great with gymno. labiatus. I have a school in with my gymnos and they love it. The spawn in the cooler water and don't bother the gymnos. Looking forward to seeing your finished product.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

Can anybody suggest any sources for nice _C. paleatus_?


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

I have another question. I plan to fill this tank to a few inches from the top, so it will really only be about 60 gallons of water. Is this enough room for this group of five fish? And how many cories do you think I can add in addition to the gymnos?

This tank will have a broad footprint relative to its volume and I will also do frequent water changes.


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## clgkag (Mar 22, 2008)

I have 4 with a group of 6 cories in a 45 long, which is basically a 55 that isn't as tall, and it works fine.


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

hydrophyte said:


> Can anybody suggest any sources for nice _C. paleatus_?


Look for the common name "Pepper Cory". If your LFS doesnt carry them, I'm sure they can order them for you.

I would get six.

...Bill


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

How about eight or nine of them? Would that be too many? I think that it would look best for the cories to be more numerous than the gymnos.


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