# 'Geophagus' pellegrini



## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

Starting to get into SA cichlids after keeping africans for a while. My LFS has some 'Geophagus' pellegrini and I was just looking for some info on them. The profile on this site says,

'Currently, it is difficult if not impossible to find this majestic species in North American aquariums'

Is that accurate? and also why is that? If it is then I have a good hook up! lol


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

or its possible the fish are mislabeled. As Geophagus are constantly labeled as something they are not.

Although I am not sure if the profiles are up to date or not.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

It's true. Pellegrini come from the western side of Colombia where there are no commerical collectors, and the rivers run right though the cocaine plantations so privating collecting is extremely dangerous. The 'godfather' of geo's Lee Newman has been searching for them for like 20+ years now. And if he can't find any with his connections ...

Usually fish labelled as pellengrini are regular stieny's ... though once in a while you'll score some of the rare central american crassilabriis instead.


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

ya i found some older posts on here talking about it with some good stuff on it. ill try and get a pic on here.


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

My LFS has some "pellengrini" as well. They've been there a few weeks now. They've very yellow- not at all what I would expect a steiny to look like. I can also try to grab a pic and post it.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

They might be the crassibris with the yellow coloration ... here's a link to a thread that has some nice pics of the only central american geo ...

http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5763&start=40


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

dwarfpike,

So thats a link to a picture of a crassibris right? Do you have a site I could refrence for a picture of a proven pellengrini? I went ahead and bought the one at my LFS because whatever he his I think its an amazing looking fish. I will try and post a picture when I can and try for a proper ID. Thanks a lot!


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Yes, that was a link to confirmed crassibris ... pellegrini are so rare, I don't know of a confirmed pic of them though. Appearantly they haven't been seen on this side of the pond for something like close to 30 years.


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

Here's a link to a supposed picture of them:

http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.ph ... ini&id=744


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

so I tried reaaaallly hard to use my girlfriends fancy pants camera and I couldnt figure out how to turn off the flash! But maybe someone can tell me what they are. Either way I'll try for better pics when she gets home! I really wanna know what this is!


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not good pics but I really wanna know! maybe someone can tell what it is...


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

Look like steinies to me, they come in a variety of colors, including red and shiny ice blue.


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

anyone else?


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Yuppers, looks steiny to me too.


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## Chromedome52 (Jul 25, 2009)

_G. steindachneri _are extremely variable in color, but all populations have one thing that _crassilabris _and _pellegrini _don't have: a spotted tail. The other two are absent any kind of markings in the caudal. I've had several unusual strains of Red Humps that I wondered about until I looked for the tail markings.

Because both species come from Colombia, _pellegrini _is often misused as the name for the Red Hump. You may also see them under the name _hondae _on occasion.

I will say that I personally think there is more than one species involved in _G. steindachneri _based on my experiences with different populations. But for the moment, science recognizes them as the one species. They might start playing splitter if they ever get around to moving these species out of _Geophagus_.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Well they are out of Geophagus, but not assigned a new one. Much like Alf's silbersaum got named not long after the genus was established (finally!!!!), they usually work on establishing the new genus first, then sorting out the species within it...

I agree with *Chromedome52* and expect to see steiny's divided up like convicts, festivums, and ports were ...

But then wierder things have happened too (like making turquoise sev's efasciatus).


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

well now how about a tank mate for them? would some sort of larger tetra be okay in a setup with the steindachneri?


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

Looks like a Steinie to me as well. An excellent beginner eartheater that can be combined with a wide range of other fish or cichlid species.
I'd keep 2 or 3 females for each male as the males are always ready to breed and the females who won't eat for 12 to 14 days while holding fry need some time to recover between spawns.


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

I have 1 male and 4 females, one of which was actually holding when I got her but i think she might of spit the eggs in transit. thanks a lot for your input.


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

broessle said:


> well now how about a tank mate for them? would some sort of larger tetra be okay in a setup with the steindachneri?


I kept my Steinies in a number of set-ups. Some of the other inhabitants included;

Rummynose Tetra 
Cardinal Tetra 
Serpae Tetra
Asst'd Corydoras
Bolivian Ram
Keyholes
Severums
Convicts
Jack Dempsey

Some of these tankmates were short term, others were long term. The only one that I would say was less then ideal was the Bolivian Ram - but only because the male Steinie kept harassing the female Bolivians (horny little buggers).


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

Yea I'm thinking a group of cardinals, they always look nice! add a little color to the tank.










I took this pic before I turned off the lights last night with my phone. I thought it was funny how they stay together under there at night! theres plenty of other spots to go! Its the male with his three pieces of tail lol. the fourth females holding and is somewhere else alone.


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## Cichlid-Power (Jan 7, 2006)

broessle said:


> so I tried reaaaallly hard to use my girlfriends fancy pants camera and I couldnt figure out how to turn off the flash! But maybe someone can tell me what they are. Either way I'll try for better pics when she gets home! I really wanna know what this is!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not very good photos, but still I can see it' Geophagus steindachneri. If you want to see and read about the G.pellegrini, then visit my homepage and enter Geophagus page. *http://home.c2i.net/Cichlid-Power*


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

ALSOOO, I wanted to get a good book on south american cichlids becuase I have a nice 30 hour bus ride coming up and I need something to do!

figured I'd just post in this thread instead of starting a new one! recycle renew and.....however that goes! lol


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## Cichlid-Power (Jan 7, 2006)

broessle said:


> ALSOOO, I wanted to get a good book on south american cichlids becuase I have a nice 30 hour bus ride coming up and I need something to do!
> 
> figured I'd just post in this thread instead of starting a new one! recycle renew and.....however that goes! lol


 Since you are looking for a good book I would recommend "South American Eartheaters" by Thomas Weidner. It's original in German but also in English. It's about the Eartheaters. Mary Bailey translate it to English. You can get the book from "Cichlid Press, P.o. Box 13608, El Paso, TX 79913.

www.cichlidpress.com


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

So what else do you have in the tank? If you're building around the Stienies you really do have a lot of options (depending on tank size of course).

One thing to consider is that your females are going to be producing a LOT of fry. If you want to grow some out you should probably set-up a seperate tank, but if you just want to let nature take it's course you may want to consider adding some fish that will eat the fry.

One often overlooked fish that is excellent in community tanks and cichlid tanks alike is the 3-spot Guorami. I had one that was a master at eating it's fill of convict fry - with the parents present. A 3-spot Guorami will also let you keep that school of Cardinals - where as a Dwarf Pike cichlid (which is another great option for fry control AND still South American) may eat your Cardinals...


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

I only have the stienies right now. I want to keep some fry, so I have just a 30 gal set up for that. I think the 3-spot guorami and cardinals sounds good to me. I dont want to have to worry about dealing with a thousand fry, but I would like to keep some. Are there any other alternatives to the guorami?


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

oh and thanks for that book idea! actually my parents are from Germany so perhaps I'll look into getting the German version, they would probably appreciate that! lol also could be a little fun for me to try and read!


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

*illy-d*, I was lookin at your tanks and they are amazing!!! I am very jealous, your plants look stunning! :thumb:


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

broessle said:


> *illy-d*, I was lookin at your tanks and they are amazing!!! I am very jealous, your plants look stunning! :thumb:


Thank you - they are all very easy to grow plants (I don't do CO2 or anything) that do well in almost any tank. Aside from the Vals I think every other plant is or was fastened to wood or rocks - this makes maintenance easy and prevents the cichlids from re-decorating.

The Guorami is just a suggestion - there are many types of fish that will take an easy meal in the form of live fry. Depending on what type of tank you want to have there will be quite a few options.

If you want to do an all South American set-up you could look at some other cichlids for fry control (tetras will eat fry too, but liveborn fry are typically too big for a Cardinal or Neon by the time they are 'spat')... Dwarfpikes may be an option (talk to Dwarfpike or others with experience on them - not me!), Blue Acara, GT or Oscar (tank size would be a factor), and on & on...


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

lol I see..I'll have to do a little research and see what I like! thanks


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

My lfs has some Severums, would one of those be good in my 75 gal with my group of steindachneri?


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

I'd do it. The Severum may even help with fry control!


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## cichlify (Sep 1, 2009)

Yaaa so i went to the store yesterday and picked up this guy! He's awesome, but they had a red face gold severum? i think it was labled. I really woulda liked to get him but he was sold already I guess. they said they would get more in next week soo maybe I'll pick one up then, they were just little guys like 2 inches for $40, is that an average price for them? anyways heres a pic I took with my phone of my new feesh


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## Cichlid-Power (Jan 7, 2006)

gryffin said:


> My LFS has some "pellengrini" as well. They've been there a few weeks now. They've very yellow- not at all what I would expect a steiny to look like. I can also try to grab a pic and post it.


Hello have you taken a photo of THE "pellegrini"??

Alf Stalsberg.


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## Cichlid-Power (Jan 7, 2006)

broessle said:


> dwarfpike,
> 
> So thats a link to a picture of a crassibris right? Do you have a site I could refrence for a picture of a proven pellengrini? I went ahead and bought the one at my LFS because whatever he his I think its an amazing looking fish. I will try and post a picture when I can and try for a proper ID. Thanks a lot!


Don't forget it!!!! I'm going to pick up some G.pellegrini after X-mass, and I' looking forward to that again.


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## Cichlid-Power (Jan 7, 2006)

dwarfpike said:


> Yes, that was a link to confirmed crassibris ... pellegrini are so rare, I don't know of a confirmed pic of them though. Appearantly they haven't been seen on this side of the pond for something like close to 30 years.


Well we have it here in Europe.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Alf - Yes, I read about those crazy germans than ran through the gauntlet of cocaine plantations to grab some (no mention of _Andinoacara biseriatus_ though). I mean, I love this hobby but geeeez ... :lol:

I've made mention in previous pellegrini posts that if they are being imported from Germany, there is a decent shot of them being real pellegrini before. :thumb:


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## Cichlid-Power (Jan 7, 2006)

dwarfpike said:


> Alf - Yes, I read about those crazy germans than ran through the gauntlet of cocaine plantations to grab some (no mention of _Andinoacara biseriatus_ though). I mean, I love this hobby but geeeez ... :lol:
> 
> I've made mention in previous pellegrini posts that if they are being imported from Germany, there is a decent shot of them being real pellegrini before. :thumb:


I visit a shop in Duisburg in Germany in the begining of November, he had only females, the ones I'm picking up after New Year, is in Denmark, he has one batch with fry and two females was chewing. If you search for the shop in Germany the name is Zoo Hobby Tilman, and look at his stocklist!!!!


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## Cichlid-Power (Jan 7, 2006)

Cichlid-Power said:


> dwarfpike said:
> 
> 
> > Alf - Yes, I read about those crazy germans than ran through the gauntlet of cocaine plantations to grab some (no mention of _Andinoacara biseriatus_ though). I mean, I love this hobby but geeeez ... :lol:
> ...


*dwarfpike, if you want to read something about when we collect Geophagus pellegrini, Andinoacara biseriatus and C. atromacualatum and other fish. Then you have to visit my homepage and visit the page, Collect in South America. http://home.c2i.net/Cichlid-Power

Alf

*


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Wow!!! Pellgrini, atromaculatum, AND biseriatus?!?!? Talk about a gold mine!!! I wish we had these species on this side of the pond!!!

Thanks for the link. I go to your acara page quite often, but some how missed the rest of the pages (and the fact you enjoy westies as well).


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