Decisions...add or leave it?

[Aqualoon]

I have a 160 gallon tank (72x20x25) that currently has a FX5 & XP3 w/18w inline UV + inline Heater.

I bought 8 1.5" Geophagus Red Head Tapajos and have them growing out in a 20 gallon long because I had a 4-5" male Gold Saum in the 160g. The original plan was to move the red heads to the 160g once they reached 3" and move the Saum to his own 75g tank. Over the Labor Day extended weekend my Gold Saum jumped the tank and was a crispy guy when I came home (rather sad about this as he was from a local bred out Gold Saum strain that is just gorgeous).

So what I have left in the 160g is 4 Lemon Tetras, 2 Congo Tetras and a female BN pleco - I plan on beefing up the numbers of both tetra groups. Today is my 'tank day' so I am going to be putting the Geos into the 160g and let them enjoy the room.

The question is - should I add tankmates down the road once the Geo's hit 3-4"? I was thinking Uarus or Severums but have read about some people keeping Angels with Geo's. Or do I try to see if any males are left in that local strain and get a Gold Saum again and then put him in his own tank once he starts getting aggressive?

 

[Avatar]

Go for it

Angels and/or discus get on fine with Geos IME. Geos just seem to get along with everyone except for one other.

Always wanted some entirely red severums - would make for a pretty stunning mix and the energy from the severums might mitigate some of the aggression between the Geos. I had a tank full of feuding discus until I dropped my big honking Acarichthys heckeliis in with them - Presto - everyone chilled. Same thing happened with some snarkiness in another tank after adding in some G. altispinosas - them big dogs just tend to mellow everyone out.

 

[neut]

I have a group of red head tapajos geos I grew up from babies to adults. They're an active fish, especially in a group. Yes, they quarrel with each other on occasion, but nothing serious, no serious fights and nothing that causes any damage-- all this given a suitable sized tank, of course. Certain females, especially, seem to want to stake out a territory, which leads to a lot of the fussing they'll do. Once they start breeding it's just a question of whether there's enough room for pairs to maintain their own space. Or if you have extra females, as I do, the extra females might distract the male by trying to get his attention for themselves.

So I split my pairs between two tanks, one with just a pair, some young guianacara, some tetras, couple small angels, and an L260 and L200 in a 75 (geos haven't bothered the angels) and the others are in a 135 with some adult rotkeil sevs. (Like the geos, the guianacara fuss with each other, but, again, nothing serious.) Some people have kept two pairs of red head geos in a 75-- might be ok, depending on the pairs-- but seems a bit crowded to me and I have the tank space to split them into the two groups.

You will often hear people emphasize that geos prefer to be in groups, but the single pair in the 75 are perfectly content and actually seem better bonded as a pair since I made the change. Similar to discus, which prefer to school, but once they pair up and start spawning they're content without needing to be in a group.

Originally the whole group of geos was in a tank with a couple of adult rotkeil sevs, or I should say from about the time the geos were two inches or so (got them at 3/4-1 inch). IME they're quite compatible with the sevs and make a nice combination. The sevs are the more dominant fish of the two, but no aggression, really.

It's possible to get an occasional mean severum, but as often as not this has to do with tank space ime. My original wild rotkeil I got years ago was at a lfs at a discount because it killed anything they tried to put in its tank, which was just 20 gals. Took it home and have kept it in more suitable tanks with various other fish, including other rotkeils I grew from fry, and its always been a good citizen. Of course, like many of even the more peaceful cichlids, they can become territorial when trying to spawn.

 

[Tony]

I have a group of red head tapajos geos I grew up from babies to adults. They're an active fish, especially in a group. Yes, they quarrel with each other on occasion, but nothing serious, no serious fights and nothing that causes any damage-- all this given a suitable sized tank, of course. Certain females, especially, seem to want to stake out a territory, which leads to a lot of the fussing they'll do. Once they start breeding it's just a question of whether there's enough room for pairs to maintain their own space. Or if you have extra females, as I do, the extra females might distract the male by trying to get his attention for themselves.

So I split my pairs between two tanks, one with just a pair, some young guianacara, some tetras, couple small angels, and an L260 and L200 in a 75 (geos haven't bothered the angels) and the others are in a 135 with some adult rotkeil sevs. (Like the geos, the guianacara fuss with each other, but, again, nothing serious.) Some people have kept two pairs of red head geos in a 75-- might be ok, depending on the pairs-- but seems a bit crowded to me and I have the tank space to split them into the two groups.

Sounds like you've got a couple of great setup! Do you have any pictures to share?

 

[Tony]

Any updates from the OP?

 

[Aqualoon]

Always lurking

After talking to a few more people who actually have my dream setup I have decided to skip the Severum and Uaru's and am going with a Saum as the centerpiece fish amongst the Geos.

I have the Geos in the tank now and they are right around 2-2.5" mark. I have a breeder for the White Saum lined up and it will be a few months yet before I get my hands on one (breeder just picked up a white saum female today, so will take some time before thar be eggs). Time line works out nicely as the Geos take time to grow and will be at a good size for adding a lil male Saum.