# Geo for a 40g breeder?



## phxl (Nov 21, 2008)

I have a 40g sitting empty right now that I would like to setup again in the next few months. I plan on putting it in the main living area of the house and thought it would be interesting to feature a geo species in it. I am assuming that aside from rams, I am probably pushing it with 40 gallons, but I would like to open this up to advice and suggestions.


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

if you cant figure out any geos for your 40, there are some Australoheros oblongum circulating right now and they are awesome. Hardy, tough cichlids with great color. You could fit a pair nicely in a 40 and being in a main living area of your house their great color will make it nice.

i have 4 right now and i love them

sorry, i have no suggestions on the geos...


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## adam79 (Jun 27, 2007)

What is the footprint?


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## phxl (Nov 21, 2008)

I will keep the Australoheros oblongum in mind, great looking fish!

The tank is 36" x 18" and 16" or 17" tall... Standard 40g breeder.


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## FSM (Nov 11, 2009)

Most Geophagus get too big, but Gymnogeophagus all stay fairly small, and would do well with the oblongum.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

I don't like the idea of keeping a "pair" of geos in a 3 foot tank, even if they are one of the smaller species. Maybe you could look into some of the other smaller eartheaters, such as one of the smaller gymnogeophagus species from the rhabdotus group.

I currently have a 50 gallon setup that has the same footprint as your tank, just a little extra hieght. I have a pair of Laetacara sp. "Bolivien" and four Apistogramma erythrura in the tank, along with nine marbled hatchetfish, ten otocinclus and four riffle shrimp.


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## japes (Jan 10, 2008)

If you're adamant on keeping Eartheaters in a 3' tank, I'd highly recommend looking at the smallest Gymnogeophagus like the Rhabdotus complex or perhaps _Gymnogeophagus meridionalis_.

I still would not recommend it, but keeping perhaps 4 at a ratio of 1M 3F in that size tank would probably be a necessary move, as my experience with Gymnogeophagus has shown that males can be just as dominating of girls as their bigger Eartheater brothers, and in a 3' tank there's not that much room to hide, so a spread of aggression would be more suitable.

Personally, I wouldn't keep them in anything smaller than a 4'.


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## phxl (Nov 21, 2008)

That's exactly the type of direction I was looking for, thank you. I am really trying to avoid something that will give me anxiety... That nagging feeling of "do they need a bigger tank?" so if it is going to be a questionable situation I will go ahead and move away from it.

Maybe I will look at the rams a little closer and see what I can do for them... I have some time to figure out what I want and the right way to go about it :thumb:


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