Anyone wanna chime in on Gymnogeo Balzini's?
- Thread starter wienerdog
- Start date
Really like the Geo and Gymnogeo species. Very cool behavior and demeanored fish. Just got these guys from jeff Rapps, Tangled Up in Cichlids. Never ordered fish online, this was my first. Awesome service he offers. Anyway, my tank is 90g with 4 Clown Loaches, 3 Balzani's, and a couple o' BN plecos....oh yeah, my 2 Blood Parrots (they belong to the wife). Hopin to spawn the Balzani's in the future.
i had some gymnogeos, one thing, they do require a cold period for about 3 months ( temps down in the high 50s to low 60s ) from what i hear.. thats all i know about them. dont have mine anymore sadly. got them as thorichthy meekis ( haha i know right, way mislabeled ) lol, have fun with yours!
Thanks for the info. Not sure if Im gonna pursue the cool down period or not. I have some clown loaches that I fear will get seriously stressed. I hear it's beneficial for spawning and color. I wanna do it, but we'll see. Are they firemouth's, the meekis? If so, I would consider adding a pair of them also. I dig them too.
yupp, and its actually recomanded to do the cool down period, its better for the fish ( not just for the breeding perpose ) and they will live alot longer. even though they are TR ( tank raised ) they still need what is recomanded. i wont try gymnos again cause of that, if anything, ill do geographeus genus. but yes i would do the cool down period. why not dedicate a tank to them? and thorichthy meekis ( Firemouths ) i wouldnt really do with gymno geos. different requirements. how big is this tank you have them all in? and CL ( Clown loaches ) need atleasta 125+ when full grown. perferably a 180 ( 6foot by 2foot wide ) as they can reach about 10 to 12 inches ( although they grow slow, so you still have some time, atleast about a year to 1.5 year )
goood luck!
goood luck!
The cool down period is more of a requirement than an option. They have a tendency to stop eating and die without it. The nice thing is you can keep them in unheated tanks. The not so nice thing is that other tropical fish don't do so well with them as a result.
I just picked up a nice little group at the ACA convention along with 4 other species of Gymno's.
Andy
I just picked up a nice little group at the ACA convention along with 4 other species of Gymno's.
Andy
Speaking with Jeff Rapps, who has caught these himself in Uruguay, he has said that yes, it is important to offer the cold period. However, these have been tank raised and dont really require the period. I do wanna try to do it either way. I originally wanted the r. tapajos and avoided the balzani due to this cool down. He did emphasize that these particular ones do not require that period. Again, I still am going to look into it as I want to give these gymno's the every opportunity to be comfortable as well as hopefully encouraging a spawn. I just have to set up my quarantine tank to house my loaches as well as any other tankmates when the time comes.
If anyone else were to give advice I would really second guess their advice. However, though Jeff is a importer, he is also very well versed with the species as well as their reqiorements. If your not familiar here is his sight. He has also been covered in TFH magazine on several occasions.
http://www.tangledupincichlids.com/
By the way, what species did you pick up? Pics?
