Aggressive Geophagus...

[grch36]

Just like the subject, I have a pair of red faced geo's. I got them from the same tank at my LFS and they seemed to get along great! 2 days after putting them together, the larger one is chasing the smaller geo into hiding. Won't let him/her eat, or swim around. Was wondering if there is anything I can do?

 

[liv2padl]

there is no species called red faced geo. theres a red humped gseophagus (steindachneri) and other geophagus with red coloring in parts of the body ... this is why you should use latin names when describing a species. the dealer can and does call them anything he wants but that doesn't do anything to help someone to know which species you're talking about.

some geophagus species are more aggressive than others and without knowing your species it's hard to help you.

 

[grch36]

ok... i'm sorry, Geophagus altifrons. Few people told me it is known as a red faced geo, or red horse geo... obviously they are wrong.

 

[liv2padl]

it's certainly not your fault ... nowadays, dealers give 'made up' names to many fish in an effort to make them more 'marketable'. for some reason, people will more likely buy a fish called 'red humped earth eater' than they will the same fish called Geophagus steindachnerii. go figyaa.

at any rate, G. altifrons is among those Geophagines which are somewhat more beligerant than others of the same genus. for best results, they are best kept in groups of one male with 3 females. the disparity in size indicates you 'may' have a pair (male-female). since they didn't get to 'choose' each other but rather, have been forced into proximity, this chasing is going to happen unless and until the female is ready to spawn at the same time that the male is, or he causes her enough stress from the constant chasing to elicit a breakdown in immune system response.

 

[grch36]

ya, i should of just used to proper name, anywho...

Ya, i try to sprinkle some food int he whole he/she is in so to make sure he/she eats. I know it is tough sexing a geo, is there anything I should look for? It stinks ya know, they were kept as a pair in the store and got a long great until I introduced them into my tank. :/ I guess I'll keep an eye out.

 

[liv2padl]

they were kept as a pair in the store and got a long great

were there other fish in the same tank? if so, the movement and behaviour of the other fish can act as a diffuser ... take the attention off the female. this can result in both geophagus 'getting along great' under those conditions but when placed in a tank by themselves, all hell breaks loose. thus keeping several females with a single male will dilute the males attentions to any one female ... or get some dither fish to accomplish the same thing.

 

[grch36]

They are currently in the tank with about 12 cardinals, 2 sea, 2 otos and 3 cory's, the more aggressive geo is always out and about and his streamers ont he fins have grown about an inch since I got him yet the other stays in his/her little nook and gets chased on when s/he comes out... its really disappointing :/ they lookd great together and I really wanted to get a good looking pair to "showcase" this tank. anywho, thanks for the advice!

Here are two photos of the aggressive geo as I had not had the chance to photograph the other.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e329/grch36/DSCF0984.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e329/grch36/DSCF0986.jpg

 

[weaver7175]

Geophagus stiendachneri (red humped earth eater

here is what mine looks like wondering if you have the same thing
mine isent aggressive though. ive even had him in with 3 day old fry and
he leaves them alone anyway here is a pic

[/IMG]

 

[geoboy]

Grch36:

Looking at your pics I don't believe that you have altifrons. Altifrons types generally have spotted tails not striped ones like yours. If you were sold "red faced" geos maybe they were actually "Red Heads" such as the Tapajos Red Heads or the Araguaia Orange Heads. I'm tending to go Tapajos but they've still got some growing to do.

Weaver7175:

Nice pic of your redhump - has a reasonable size hump. In the past I've had redhumps strip the dorsal fin on the girls right back so that there is only a bit of stubble on their back. Currently I keep 9 girls and 3 boys together to spread any aggression. I can guarantee that if I let my girls spit their bubs in the main tank that the boys and the other girls would gobble them up quick smart. Your lucky if he is so placid.

Cheers,

Patrik