|
Personal notes:
When I got these F1 Geophagus
steindachneri from my friend Joeri in November 2003 I never
though that I could become so fond of them. Their colours
are not very spectacular, but they were and still are very
active cichlids and a joy to look at. I chose to put sand in
their tank as they are shifters.
They indeed appreciate this substrate as they're always
moving it around to find food. They're no bulldozers like
some Malawi cichlids are, but they stir the sand enough to
prevent dirt accumulating everywhere. Soon after
introduction they started spawning and the females carried
fry several times since then. The males are really fun to
watch when they spawn as they shake intensively with their
mouth open. All in all it's not very difficult to spawn
them. I didn't save the fry though as my friend Joeri
already had raised hundreds of them. Their are peaceful fish
as they don't bother about the much smaller Hemmigrammus
bleheri and the Nematobrycon palmeri. Their aggression
towards each other is rather mild too. I've read in
different websites that keeping two males in one tank is
impossible as one of them can be killed. I indeed noticed
some fights, and some lip damage caused by jaw locking, but
never one with a fatal outcome. All in all they are
attractive and very hardy cichlids for a mid sized South
American tank.
Two males displaying in my 750L tank
Shuddering and shaking to impress the
other steindachneri...
Click for a
larger image.
Click for a
larger image.
Photo of the Month - Janurary 2005
A
very cute sight: the fry leaving their mother's mouth. Click
for a larger image.
The last little Geophagus seeking shelter
again in the safe mouth of mommy. Click for a larger image.
|
