Geophagus Surinamensis

[minnnt]

Just wondering how fast these grow and what size group they're best in?

 

[Always Learning]

It really depends on which you actually get. When buying 'Surinamensis' they can be pretty much anything.

I've had Tapajos, Altifrons, Dicrozoster, Abalios all from ones ordered as 'Surinamensis'.

Some like Altifrons grow to 12" long for example.

 

[Always Learning]

The ones Chillipepper has for example, are Altifrons.

Most Geos do better in a group and let them sort their own pecking order out. They chase and chase though and quite often pick at each others fins. It depends on which Geos and how big the tank is, but with Altifrons I have had best results with just a trio, which turned out to be 1 male, 2 female... the other ones I found minus their heads, so I am going to assume they were males too and it was the top dog who remained.

 

[Wills]

Yeah the ones labeled as Surinimensis are usually Altifrons or Dicrozoster and both are pretty large.

I have always found that they do better in groups of 4 or more. But have heard of various numbers working - though in the wild they are found in largeish herds.

To get the group to around 6 inches in a bit over a year is good going - though tank size is important from the offset as they can be susceptible to slow growth in smaller tanks - start off with at least a 4 foot and then depending on species move upto 5 or 6 foot.

Wills

 

[minnnt]

Thanks. Any knowledge/experience on the Red Hump Geo's?

 

[johnboy!]

To get pure, genuine G.Surinamensis, you're gonna have to order from the american importers, Don Conkel or Jeff Rapps, and even then they may make mistakes, you would struggle to find genuine G.Surinamensis in the UK, lots of cross breeds going about due to incorrect labeling of the species, Altrifrons, Dirozoster and even Abalios can be mistaken for Surinamensis when young, although when importing from Jeff or Don, they are usually bang on with identification, Oddball Express are a source for importing species from the two breeders named above, i can put you in touch with them if you wish, they order either twice a month or once every 2 months, i can't remember at the moment, i'd assume the former though.
Surinamensis are quite similar to Altrifrons but the former usually have longer pectoral trailing rays, infact that is one of the only differences an average fishkeeper will notice. Your best bet is to import a small group from one of the two breeders mentioned above via Oddball Express and hope for the best. I will be able to identify which species, and even which regional variant you have if you can get some good quality pics, a lot of the surinamensis being sold at the moment are infact Altifrons Sp. 'Rio Xingu'

 

[minnnt]

Yeah i get the stock list email from ross every month. I think they would be too big for what i am looking for really. Have you any info on the Red Hump?

 

[johnboy!]

Yeah i get the stock list email from ross every month. I think they would be too big for what i am looking for really. Have you any info on the Red Hump?

Steindachneri? I had a group of 8 imported via Ross, gorgeous species, males tend to grow A LOT quicker then females do once their is an alpha male, and the male will breed with every female in the tank, i got fry from 3 females but didn't want to disturb them, so the fry were eaten, PH doesn't effect them really,softer the better is an obvious, 6.5 via HMA was perfect and mine went from 2" to 4" within 2 months and by that time i had fry... Ask ross to import you a small group just be prepared to split up the males cause although they wont fight so much, they will be pushed to a corner in the tank and denied any chance of food, but i can totally reccomend this species, both the male and female are gorgeous all year road, even more so when breeding, and they're quite easy going, i had mine in with a small pair of pikes (of the saxatallis group) which weren't bothered, GORGEOUS species which i cannot reccomend enough!

 

[Wills]

Redhump as in Stiendachnari?

Hamfist is your man for them

 

[minnnt]

Thanks very much.

Yes the Steindachneri. Saw some at one of my LFS for £8.95 each and one of my local MA's had 5 for £30...

Would these be ok in with an Oscar in a 5x2x2?

 

[johnboy!]

Thanks very much.

Yes the Steindachneri. Saw some at one of my LFS for £8.95 each and one of my local MA's had 5 for £30...

Would these be ok in with an Oscar in a 5x2x2?

I'd assume so, aslong as they were big enough not to be considered food, they're not a particularly aggressive species, their is inter-species aggression but thats standard cichlid behaviour, i didnt see any problems with other fish in my setup

 

[minnnt]

Thanks Johnboy, i will keep these in mind when on my travels!

 

[johnboy!]

Thanks Johnboy, i will keep these in mind when on my travels!

Anytime Minnnt, Central and south american cichlids is very much my forte!

 

[minnnt]

Any thoughts on dithers for an Oscar then?

 

[johnboy!]

Any thoughts on dithers for an Oscar then?

Larger barbs IE torpedo barbs or silver dollar? Red Hook Metynis are also a good choice, problem with dithers for oscars is that you need a decent sized group, and the fish have to be say, 4" per fish minimum, so your gonna have 30" of fish already not including your oscar/s. Red hook metynis are gorgeous, but are very skittish so you need a long tank for them!

Metynnis lippincottianus AKA spotted silver dollar, are a nice fish too but not too easy to find either!