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breeding Geophagus rio tapajos red caps


killiguy

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Next week I will be receiving a pair of the above Geophagus.I havent been able to find out much about the fish apart from a brief article linked to Earthearers Australia and a TFH article.Both had their fish in quite hard alkaline water.I assumed coming from a clearwater rather than white water Amazonian tributary that they may prefer soft acid water esp given the other fish that come from that river(Satanoperca jurupari,Dicrossus maculatus,Taeniocara candidi,Apistogramma pertensis,Apistogramma gephyra,Apistogramma agassizii etc etc)all soft water fish.

They will be going into a 200L tank but I would like to know ideal water conditions and any other tips on breeding them.Maybe all they need is clean water and the parameters are not important.

Comments would be appreciated

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They prefer gentle water flow with soft acidic to neutral water. Keep in mind that they will sift through your substrate, so waste will distribute through the water column so you need to have good filtration.

People keep them in normal to alkaline water, with sand to crushed marble as substrate so i don't think you will have any problems at all.

I had them a few years back, wish i could remember who i sold them to as i wouldn't mind keeping them again.

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The tank has a big Ehiem canister 2217 so its not quiet water.Is the spray bar better than other outflow techniques??Do you think the high flow filter will bother them?it will make water quality very good.The male is 6-7 inches female 5 or so.They came from alkaline water which they are in but I will do rainwater changes to reduce pH and hardness.

I have heard they are biparental delayed mouthbrooders.In the other fish I have that do this(Limnichromis auritus,etc)they often stuff it up,it seems hard enough to get one fish to hold let alone 2.Has anyone experience with this fish as parents or should I strip early??

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I recently lost the female from by breeding pair. They had a couple of issues with the first 2 batches but after that all was going well. I sent some to Erina Reef up here a while ago. Given time and a little bit of trial and error a good pair will do what comes naturally. I had them in a pH of around 6.5, due to the wood that was on that systems other tanks.

The young were fairly rapid growers and moved from bbs to nls grow in a short space of time.

Good luck with them, they are a stunning fish.

Cheers,

Brett

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ive had my 8 red horse face geo's for about 7 months.. about 9 months old..

theyre tuff fish.

-keep the ph low with such things as driftwood, try to minimise on granite rocks, quarts etc..

-a fine gravel, even part ruff sand.

-spectrum cichlid formula is good as most of it finds its way to the bottom of the tank where they

will do their scrounging.

- i was very podantic about my water conditions but got a case of severe white spot which i beleive came from letting water sit for days outside in the rain.

-I highly sudjest a bottle of WATERLIFE protozin, saved my fish' eyes falling out. and dieing.

- I rarely vaccume the gravel now days and top up water as it evaporates.

- Internal filter and large external Eheim. 250L tank at around 27c.

but trust me, they tuff out any little ph change or spike in the water.

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Thanks fry party

Ive had my pair for a week or so and they have settled in well.They were very shy untill I put a school of Congo tetras in(they are in a bottom tank which all cichlids seem to dislike)The colour is not as good as I hoped(according to the recent discussion on Rio Tapajos elsewhere)They have beautiful body colour and striped tails with long filaments but lack a really red head, more a small cap just now.They seem to like Tetra bits so that may help.I think their main food previously was baramundi pellets or similar.They love black worms which I hope will induce them to spawn

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well they take time to colour, ive noticed as they age, they show greater colours.

eg colouring of the fins, darkening and more defined features. and their lower fins are slowly

starting to get long like the big fish.

Every w.e i get mosquito larva from my dads well, they go crazy and their colours come out most when the are excited.

i have an Eheim Pro which is BIG, thats set at one end with the spray bar end plug taken out 2 big airstones and internal filter*on during the day.

This internal makes a big difference in maintaining water quality and i found was a must in my big tank

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Main reason why the orange heads in aus have bad colour, is simply no good breeding stock.

Only a hand full have really good orange heads.

But yeh good luck with them, hope they spawn for you.

I recommend trying Prestige Aquatics foods, works for me and great colours.

With breeding Geo's just make sure the water is clean, your normal tap water should be sufficient for the parameters.

Thanks Mark~

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