Altec Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Hey Guys, About 10 days ago I got 2 unknown Geophagus from a mate, they were with an Oscar in a 4 Foot tank and the oscar was begining to get a bit aggresive with them so I was given them. I have taken the best photo's I can get of them. They are about 4 inches. I would love an ID as I would like to try and find more of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEG-IT Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 im gonna say rio branco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat williamson Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Rio Branco is my uneducated pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsx Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Not the best pictures but yeah, id also have to say Rio Branco. Was that recently after adding, the colours arnt the best for that size, give em some good food get those colours up. Cheers Mark~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altec Posted July 6, 2010 Author Share Posted July 6, 2010 Not the best pictures but yeah, id also have to say Rio Branco. Was that recently after adding, the colours arnt the best for that size, give em some good food get those colours up. Cheers Mark~ Sorry about the photo's, forensic accountant's and camera's don't really mix that well together. The photo's were taken about 15 minutes after I added them to the tank. They have coloured up more after a week in the tank. Would better quality photo's help with an ID, if it will I will try and get some more in the morning. EDIT: Is it Ok to feed them exclusively on NLS 1mm Thera-A? What else would you recommend feeding them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsx Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Well, Rio branco imo is pretty much on the goods, but yeh pictures of them once there settled is always better. Cheers Mark~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altec Posted July 6, 2010 Author Share Posted July 6, 2010 Well, Rio branco imo is pretty much on the goods, but yeh pictures of them once there settled is always better. Cheers Mark~ Thanks Mark. Will the colours improve over time? Is this what mine should be looking like at about 4 inches: http://www.cichlids.com/uploads/tx_usercic..._Photos_064.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altec Posted July 6, 2010 Author Share Posted July 6, 2010 Anybody know how common Geophagus Rio Branco are in Australia? Just called my mate who gave them to me, told him I had got an ID for them. He then proceeds to tell me that he has 3 more of the same size in another tank that I can have. What do you guys reckon my chances are of getting a breeding pair/colony from a group of 5? Cheers, Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsx Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Rio branco's are very common these days, if you feed it good quality food like prestige pellets, and some frozen foods like brine and mysis, im sure they will colour up better. Yeah the fish in that picture is a good indicator for better colour. 5 fish is a pretty good chance of at least a pair. They don't have much problem with getting straight into it. Cheers Mark~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altec Posted July 6, 2010 Author Share Posted July 6, 2010 Rio branco's are very common these days, if you feed it good quality food like prestige pellets, and some frozen foods like brine and mysis, im sure they will colour up better. Yeah the fish in that picture is a good indicator for better colour. 5 fish is a pretty good chance of at least a pair. They don't have much problem with getting straight into it. Cheers Mark~ Thanks once again for the great advice Mark. At about what size should I expect some form of breeding to start to occur? Also, how long/what size do you think it would take me to get mine to the colour/condition of the fish in the photo? What size do Rio Branco get to when they are fully grown? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsx Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Breeding can start at around 10 - 15cm, but normally they will be a little bit bigger, can take any amount of time, keep the water clean and feed good quality pellet and frozen or live foods, and they should colour up you should see a difference in a month or so. Full grown Rio Branco, can get anywhere up to 30cm. i had a pair male was 30cm, female was probably around 25cm Cheers Mark~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altec Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 Has any one got any info on Geophagus Rio Branco? I have been looking all over the net and so far have found pretty much nothing. Also can anyone recommend any books that feature info on Geopahgus as a whole? Cheers, Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat williamson Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 http://eartheaters.qldaf.com/index.php?page=riobranco http://mycichlidtank.oneinfostop.com/Book_..._Eartheater.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altec Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 I have picked the other 3 Rio Branco up from my mate, taking my total to 5. I have a few questions: *Is a tank temp of 25 OK? *I have been feeding Hikari Discus Bio-Gold in the mornings and NLS Thera-A 1mm in the evenings. Is this OK? *The 5 of them are about 9-10cm at the moment, at about what size will I be able to see males and females? Cheers, Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsx Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Geo's prefer a temp of probably around 27-28 degree's, but running them at 25 will be like there winter temps. The food sounds ok, they eat anything anyway. At any size its difficult to sex Geo's, so its more waiting for them to spawn. Cheers Mark~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altec Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Geo's prefer a temp of probably around 27-28 degree's, but running them at 25 will be like there winter temps. The food sounds ok, they eat anything anyway. At any size its difficult to sex Geo's, so its more waiting for them to spawn. Cheers Mark~ Thanks once again mcsx. Over the long term will keeping them at 25 do any damage to them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsx Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 No damage, they just rather it for spawning etc. Cheers Mark~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altec Posted July 12, 2010 Author Share Posted July 12, 2010 Geo's prefer a temp of probably around 27-28 degree's.... Cheers Mark~ I have raised the tank temp from 25 to 28. Is it normal for them to become more active in higher temps? They are always on the move now, either shoaling together across the tank or picking up the sand and spitting it out. Cheers, Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobbin4 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Yep, higher temp will surely get them more active as you say thats normal behavior.You should get better colour as they settle & grow.5 should get you a pair.You should be able to guess sex now. Google the fish for some info & photo's to help u. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altec Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 Yep, higher temp will surely get them more active as you say thats normal behavior.You should get better colour as they settle & grow.5 should get you a pair.You should be able to guess sex now. Google the fish for some info & photo's to help u. Thanks. The colours on them have improved out of site when compared to the photo's I posted at the start. I have used google to try and help me sex the 5 that I currently have, and up to this point have been unable to find any info. To me, all 5 of them look all exactly the same. Has any one got any idea on how to sex Rio Branco?? Cheers, Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsx Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 As, I've mentioned before, they are one of the harder ones to breed, generally the slope on the forehead can be an indicator, steeper or a more of a sharp one, at the back of the dorsal fin can be more pointy and lower, rather to a blunter higher at the tip, and the anal fin has a similar trait, these would be the separations between the 2 sexes. But these are only indicators, not Necessarily correct.. But the best, and most accurate way would be to vent, or wait for them to breed. Cheers Mark~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobbin4 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Do you know how to vent sex them. Find the info on vents sexing and as they are 100mm fish you should find out. But if they look all the same!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altec Posted July 22, 2010 Author Share Posted July 22, 2010 Update: Thought I would upload a few more photo's of my Geophagus just to help with a confirmation on an ID: Sorry about the quality, they never seem to stay still. Also what appears to be the dominant fish of the 5 of them has a black mark near it's gill area. I have taken the best photo I can get of it below. Is this normal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilly Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Nice looking fish, are you using cichlid salts in that tank? I assume if you are the geos can take the hard water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat williamson Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 black line very normal with Rio Branco , as far as sex very difficuilt , enjoy the surprise............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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