Topic: Geophagus Tapajo 'Red Head'

[Vern]

Has anyone had any success in breeding the above?

I have raised 2 from fry that, luckily, have turned out to be one male and one female.  However I'm struggling to get them to breed.  I was away for a week over Xmas, so the tank lights were off the whole time.  On my return both Geos had coloured up significantly and the male had begun digging pits out of the sand at various spots in the tank.  However after a couple of water changes they have reverted to type, which usually means male harassing the much smaller female by chasing her around the tank and siding up to her and tail slapping her across the head.

Would anyone know how to tell if this is courtship or overt aggression?  If the latter, do you have any tips on encouraging them to breed?  This is the first time I've kept Geos and I'm not 100% sure what to expect from them.  They're approximately 2 years old and the male measures 6" the female 4".

Cheers! 

[tracey]

I had G. surinamensis rather than the "Tapajoes", but saw similar interaction to what you're talking about between my pair.  It ended in me losing my female to the males over-enthusiasm to breed, so I would keep a close eye on them, it could turn nasty very quickly.  My male was also quite a bit larger than my female.

I suspect, and this is just speculation, that the males become sexually mature much sooner than females.  My male was ready to breed at around 2 years, the same as yours, but my female of the same age was just not that interested.  I believe this is was the reason he ended up killing her.  I can't really give any ideas on how to encourage spawning, except the usual methods for cichlids, but I did want to warn you to watch him.

[Vern]

Thanks Tracey... I think I remember having a similar discussion with you over mixing different Geo 'families' about a year ago but obviously this is much later on and after their sexual maturity.  The female carries a lot of aggression for the smaller of the pair and looks ok in defending her territory, whilst the male is more interested in displaying for her.  I'm hoping she will be ok until she reaches maturity as I don't want to be forced to separate them.

I will keep a close eye on them over the next few months to ensure she's not becoming overly stressed.  Hopefully this will give her time to mature enough to accept him. The odd thing is that it's only when the aquarium lights are on that they squabble.  When the lights are down they are much more relaxed in each other's presence.

[Vern]

I have wrigglers! 

[Stormbringer]

hey hey congrats mate 

[Alex]

kewl vern

alex

[altaaffe]

Nice one Vern.

[tracey]

Very cool    Pics now, please.

[Vern]

Very cool    Pics now, please.

Here you go... 

[Stormbringer]

braw mate absolutly braw

[Alex]

vern if u grow um on a bit ill have a pair nice fish. spec that male!

alex

[tracey]

OK, one question I've had for ages after hearing something that you might be able to confirm.  Have you seen any signs of the parents mouthbrooding at all in the manner of Rift Lake cichlids?

[jones57742]

braw mate absolutly braw

braw?

TR

[Stormbringer]

Scottish for lovely etc 

[Vern]

OK, one question I've had for ages after hearing something that you might be able to confirm.  Have you seen any signs of the parents mouthbrooding at all in the manner of Rift Lake cichlids?

Yes Tracey, that's exactly what they're doing.  Both parents hatch the fry in their mouths.  They dig pits out of the substrate all over the tank and release the fry into these pits whilst they forage around.  I understand this will continue until the fry are free swimming, after which parentage becomes less focussed.  Because of this and as they're breeding in a community aquarium I expect the survival rate to be fairly low.