# Red Head Tapajos



## fishman13 (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me if I have this info right? I was told that these fish don't do well in a planted because they dig in the sand like little kids do on a weekend at the beach. Since they dig in the sand, that will help the 2 filters in the 40 gallon breeder get the dirt and waste that wouln't have a chance to settle an the tank floor. Now the fish that they get along with should be as aggressive as the Tapajos them selves. So will the adult male angelfish work with a breeding pair of the red heads. The plants that are in the tank now are 3 large amazon sword plants and lots of straight vals. The right side of the tank has a big slate cave and the rest of it is open sand. What I would like to know is do I have this all right and if not then please correct me and any info you know or have will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. (PS. Not gotten the red heads yet.)


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

The 40 gallon breeder might be a touch on the small for these guys.

I'll move this to South American, as they aren't African and you might get more responses there.


----------



## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *fishman13*,

Where to start. These are an active cichlid, and really need a larger tank than a 40 gallon breeder. They are also a social cichlid, and as such do much better in groups, either equal pairs or in a multiplr harem type setup. I really do think they need to be kept in a 5'x18" tank atleast.

As a pair, a male can be very hard on a female when she is not in the mood to spawn, and would be better kept in a divided tank in such a setup. Nor are they an aggressive cichlid, unless it's aggression within the group.

They don't kick sand up as such, so it's not like you're going to have clouds of sand billowing in the tank. They are a sand sifter, they take up a mouthfull of sand sift out through thier mouth and/or gills, and unless you have strong currents in the tank to keep sand suspended in the water, sand should fall back to the substrate.

They do like to dig around plant stems and roots looking for food, this is how they up root plants. They will also shred palnts that are too close to thier prefered spawning site. Tank scape really is rather basic, with a fine sand substrate, some driftwood and submerged branches throughout the tank, with a few larger river rocks dispersed around the tank as possible spawning sites.

They are not a cave spawning species, but prefer to spawn on clean surfaces, either horizontal or verticle, provided the spawning site has some shelter around it.


----------



## DDRE00 (Feb 5, 2010)

I can add that in my tank with 10 tapajos heads and with 3-4 breeding couple I have no fighting to mension other than standard small fights. However the male digs a bit when preparing for spawning. the pit i sthen defended from other males and if a female comes close he will show off as much as he can.

I think Angel fish should do fine with these, they are as active as a malawi and very eager when eating. I think that is the only concern. angel fish are slower eaters and might have problems getting enough food.

And 40 gallon is farr too small. Tripple that and you should be ok.


----------



## CrypticLifeStyle (Dec 14, 2009)

fishman13 said:


> Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me if I have this info right? I was told that these fish don't do well in a planted because they dig in the sand like little kids do on a weekend at the beach. Since they dig in the sand, that will help the 2 filters in the 40 gallon breeder get the dirt and waste that wouln't have a chance to settle an the tank floor. Now the fish that they get along with should be as aggressive as the Tapajos them selves. So will the adult male angelfish work with a breeding pair of the red heads. The plants that are in the tank now are 3 large amazon sword plants and lots of straight vals. The right side of the tank has a big slate cave and the rest of it is open sand. What I would like to know is do I have this all right and if not then please correct me and any info you know or have will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. (PS. Not gotten the red heads yet.)


I think DeadFishFloating nailed it pretty good on the sand sifting info. If your concerned still about the sand use pool filter sand...Stuff works great & very cheap...I use it for my Tapajos tank...

For the plants you can always zip tie the roots to a smaller rock or some driftwood and then bury them...

Are the fish from a local place or ? I've been looking for more with horrible success & cant seem to find any. The couple times i have the price tag on them were too much for me...They are great fish, you'll enjoy them...


----------



## fishman13 (Jul 27, 2009)

Thanks guys   =D> =D>


----------



## George30 (Aug 16, 2010)

hi everyone
Red Head Tapajos is that a fish??btw im new in this site and i have no any info about that
anyone can give some pics about that
thanks and god bless..

Make Money Online


----------



## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

Plants? what plants? there's no plants here. :lol:

:roll:


----------



## stone76567 (Oct 13, 2010)

hi DeadFishFloating..
thanks for sharing your picture..
nice..
i wish i can have my own fish like that..
thanks a lot and God Bless..

how to treat depression


----------



## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

DDRE00 said:


> I can add that in my tank with 10 tapajos heads and with 3-4 breeding couple I have no fighting to mension other than standard small fights. However the male digs a bit when preparing for spawning. the pit i sthen defended from other males and if a female comes close he will show off as much as he can.
> 
> I think Angel fish should do fine with these, they are as active as a malawi and very eager when eating. I think that is the only concern. angel fish are slower eaters and might have problems getting enough food.
> 
> And 40 gallon is farr too small. Tripple that and you should be ok.


I have kept angels with tapajos orange heads in the past. I fed the geos a small sinking pellet(nls) and fed flakes to the angels. The geos were always busy sifting through the sand getting the pellets giving the angels plenty of time to eat their flakes.


----------



## shef (Oct 3, 2004)

I have surinamesis with angels and I don't find the angels have any trouble getting their share. Mine are pigs with fins.


----------



## wlyons9856 (Sep 16, 2010)

I am also planning on tapajos. Is a 90 gallon suitable for them? 48x18x25


----------

