Unexpected Cupid behavior… well duh, that's because they are not Cupids

[Magnum Man]

Geophagus dicrozoster — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

I bumped up the temp last night, after noticing what looked like white spots to me... much bigger and more noticeable in the picture, than in person

 

[anewbie]

My issue is I have seen winemilleri and abalios with dicrozoster. Whether they re thrown together at the holding station or by the seller is never clear.

If those aren't glass spots, I think I see Ich too. You'd best get onto that, just in case.

Man, I feel like Debbie Downer here.

Yes Gary but here:

[old picture removed]

The red mark badly circles the cheek mark - the right vertical edge of the right circle is through the cheek mark (badly circled) is actually through the cheek mark so it cannot be Abalios; it cannot be Winemilleri because of the 7 vertical stress mark (black lines) badly numbered 1 to 7. Winemilleri have 4. Also in all the g. dicrozoster i've seen line 4 and 5 form a y; not sure if that is uniformly true. g. dicrozostger tends to be more yellow than Abalios and more elongated when young than winemilleri but these traits are more subjective. The cheek mark can be very faint under some conditions as it is with this fish as well as the stress marks but if it has them clearly visible then they are solid indicators unless the fish is a hybrid. I should probably clean up the annotation on the image so if this is not clear let me know and i'll do it again

As i noted we need clear pictures of the other three fishes but i suspect from the yellowish colouring they will all be g. dicrozoster.

Ok improved image:

 

[Magnum Man]

outwardly they all look pretty similar... of course, after I bumped the temp up to about 82F, they got more active / aggressive, so harder to get individual pictures... I'll try & see if I can get a few tonight...

 

[GaryE]

I don't disagree with the ID offered. I agree. But all four? Let's hope. My abalios rapidly outgrew the winemilleri I had with them, so let's hope they aren't them. If you plan for cupido and get dicrozoster, there's pressure on your tank space coming. Since my abalios were really into growing quickly compared to the others I kept, that would get even more complicated.

 

[anewbie]

I don't disagree with the ID offered. I agree. But all four? Let's hope. My abalios rapidly outgrew the winemilleri I had with them, so let's hope they aren't them. If you plan for cupido and get dicrozoster, there's pressure on your tank space coming. Since my abalios were really into growing quickly compared to the others I kept, that would get even more complicated.

Yes that is why i've said multiple times he needs to provide pictures of all 4. I *think* winemilleri adults are the largest but of course females tend to be different size than the males and then there is the difference in sizes of various fishes. I worry about keeping more than one species together as in an aquarium hybrids are probably more likely if choices are limited. My intention is to pull my abalios which are count wise a minority so i only have one species. i have mine in a 500 gallon aquarium (8ft long 4ft wide); pity my arms aren't long enough for a 6 foot wide tank.

 

[Colin_T]

Geophagus dicrozoster — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

I bumped up the temp last night, after noticing what looked like white spots to me... much bigger and more noticeable in the picture, than in person

You need the temperature at 86F if you plan on treating white spot with heat. If you don't get it up there, the parasites simply multiply faster and kill the fish sooner.

If you want to use chemicals to treat white spot, lower the temperature to 77-79F.

Increase aeration when using chemicals or salt.

 

[anewbie]

I've used hitachi and kordon ick meds with solution. I've had horrible long term effects of using salt in aquarium (not he fishes but plants will be taken out of whack and it took me several years to get things rebalanced); I've had mixed results with heat - while the geo can easily handle the warmer temps you need to evaluate your full stocking to ensure heat is tolerable by everyone and you need to get the entire tank above the target temp for the full period so the set temp has be several degrees warmer.

 

[Magnum Man]

Here are Pictures of all 4 today… they all look the same to me…

 

[Magnum Man]

That 1st picture has a Bolivian Ram in it, it’s not a different geo…
Not really seeing and spots today

 

[Magnum Man]

 

[Magnum Man]

Tank is at 86 degrees… I would suspect, the Cory’s will dislike that temperature the most???

 

[anewbie]

Bolivan ram won't enjoy 86. In the first picture the one on the left is the boss and the other are submissive. However, none of the pictures are close enough to see cheek marks and hte one on the left you can't even see the vertical stripes.

 

[MaloK]

They will dislike ich even more.

 

[Magnum Man]

Tank is at 86 degrees… I would suspect, the Cory’s will dislike that temperature the most??? Sorry, double post

 

[GaryE]

I never use heat for ich, but many swear by it. But whatever treatment you start, you stay the course on. The spots may be gone but the parasite isn't. Hang in til it's dead. Since I don't use the method, and haven't for oh, 30 years, I can't recall the time period for heat. Anyone?

I can see the cheek strip on 3 out of 4 of the Geos, so I will say dicrozoster. It's a great fish, but it will grow. And your Bolivian rams ARE Geos, technically, as they are Mikrogeophagus altispinosus.

So if the Ich clears and all survive, you will have a wee problem thanks to that seller. G. dicrozoster is a wonderful fish, and beyond the colours and behaviour, you'll come to appreciate their wise looking eyes. I can't imagine keeping this fish without really liking it. It's big enough that it can really become a pet. It's also in need of pristine water, a sandy substrate (like the Bolivians), warmth and space. It is a water change addict, and can use good solid filtration. They tend to like their water to move.

You'll never have to gravel vac again (in your brand new large tank they'll need....). I have 3 large tanks. All are because of Geophagus, even if I no longer keep any. When we were in Gabon catching Chromidotilapia, I loved watching those African eartheaters at work, partly because they reminded me of my old South American Geos. Watching eartheater behaviour got me back into Cichlids after a couple of years when I had very few. There is something about eartheating fish a lot of aquarists really like, and Geophagus dicrozoster is one of the best to keep.

Next summer, I hope to have those big tanks back at work with African eartheaters galore, and I hope these SA ones work out for you. It's a surprise acquisition, but a good one.