WOW! This is one of those hidden gems on RUclips for the more experienced aquarist who has no interest in channels like "the king of DIY". great information and unique footage. Thank you for the upload!
I love my Gymngeophagus balzani! They do handle cooler water pretty well. They are housed in a 55 gallon with a pair of Chocolate cichlids( temporalis), a pair of Turquoise severums, 2 pair of Balzanis, a mixed shoal of black skirt tetras, Diamond tetras, Bleeding heart tetras ect. Along with a breeding population of bristle nose plecos , assorted corydoras catfish, and an ancient ornate climbing perch that's outlived a decade's worth of fish. It's extremely shy n gets picked on but it's nearly 8 inches long so it's the giant of the tank until my Chocolate n Severum cichlids finish growing. All have some assorted Raphael catfish, and 2 4 line Pimelodus catfish. Wish I could share a pic on here!
Those winemilleri are absolutely gorgeous! I changed it up and weny with a 125 gal. And filled it with convicts and severum but seeing those makes me regret my decision...
I have grown own TWO of my favourite’s. All time favourite is the Altifrons and I’ve just purchased a few Red head Tapajos and still at 2 inches or so are really colourful. Great video.
@@belowwater sorry didn't saw your respond my freind.So thank you so much for your explain. Because Finally i know my geophagus are going too grow up and became an adults altifrons. All i need is patient
Glad I found this channel, so rare are there youtubers like you and Ivan mikoli who produce great insights into biotopes and fish species as they relate to aquarium hobbyists
Cannot describe how much I look forward to each of your videos! May I know what are those silvery looking fish with a black marking at the caudal fin in the harreri segment of the video?
What a cool video!! Thanks for the info and amazing footage of all these guys in their natural habitat! Been looking for a group of 5 or 6 Tapajos for my new 180g so found this video very interesting and helpful as I know very little about geo's and really excited to start keeping them in my fish room! Very cool man, cheers 🤙
no, you could never match that. But: the fish that occur in faster moving water (such as G.argyrostictus) need much better water quality and frequent water changes to stay healthy longterm.
Great video. I am really enjoying your videos seeing the fish in their natural habitats. How fine a substrate would you recommend for Geophagus, and Sveni in particular?
All _Gymnogeophagus_ are, but some of the Andean _Geophagus_ like _G.steindachneri_ can handle cooler water also, so can the Atlantic species like _G.brasiliensis_ which is found very far south along the Atlantic Coast.
yes, no problem, they are not that aggressive. I would recommend 8 as that will distribute the aggression better and you will be less likely to have 1 fish that gets picked on.
Such a wonderful video to satisfy my craving to see more rarely seen Geophagus species! I became a bit obsessed with Geophagus lately after keeping African cichlids for over 10 years. Their long fins and calm nature are very pleasant to watch!!! BTW can you recommend any online sellers with more Geophagus species (wild or Tank raised)?
Sorry, I can't on youtube. Not all Geophagus are so calm, some species can be rather aggressive and difficult. Usually the more rheophile species are much more difficult to keep.
Appreciate this very informative video. I’m setting up a geo w tank. Struggling with the type of sand as substrate. Do you have a type/brand that you could recommend? Than you!
Not coral sand (too alkaline and too sharp), but any sand will do. I use quarry sand from near my house. The finer the better as a base, but I mix in various sized pebbles and rocks. The colour does not matter, but if you go with a more neutral colour the fish stand out more.
@@belowwater thank you for the reply and the information. Just recently found your channel. Im a fan, excellent information, precise and scientific. Will continue to learn from you and will purchase your publication to further my knowledge on South American fishes. Keep up the videos and other media.
Sry one more question, so when you see fish like the svini with the fry here, I see how their stomachs look more concaved and not rounded. Most of the time I have fish that look that way they don't last or grow as they should, I always saw it as a bad sign. Can you explain that to me
Most fish like this are easily obese, i feed the fish in the way they look in nature. for Geophagus that also means no food on Sundays. They have less colour, don't get the crazy long fin extensions, but live overall longer.
@@belowwater yeah i was mostly just concerned if it's a sign of trouble, since usually the ones I've had like that normally never did good, other cichlids not geos. They wouldn't grow much then one day dead.
Is a 55 gallon tank large enough for a Sevurum and 2 Tapajos? I have a 55g with a gold severum, 2 small plecos, and 2 Rams. I have 2 small (maybe 2 inch) Tapajos that are growing out in a 40 with my apistogrammas. Would the 4 foot 55g be large for the adult severum and 2 adult Tapajos?
@@belowwater Cool, I will try it when they are large enough to live with the Severum. The tapajos get along fairly well so far, they face off from time to time but they've never done any real damage to each other. They grow pretty slowly compared to other cichlids I've had so it may be awhile until they're large to live with the severum. I'm looking forward to it though.
Seria interessante falar sobre os geophagus satanoperca e suas variantes como satanoperca acunticeps, satanoperca daemon, jurupari, lilith, pappaterra entre outros
This was very helpful information I recently add a geophagus brasiliensis. Very beautiful fish. I would like to know if it’s best to keep them in a group of four?
Are the Andean variants that you did not cover more cold-hardy? I recall reading an article in tfh years ago about some of these being non heater type fish, was balzani one of those?
All the Gymnogeophagus handle cooler temperatures very well, the Andean Geophagus (G.pellegrini, steindachneri, crassilabris) group needs tropical temperatures, they are from lowland rivers.
I think many of them are in that 20cm range, I think of the described species maybe the G.mirabilis, G.dicrozoster and G.taeniopareius are all smaller, but G.taeniopareius is very aggressive. There is an undescribed G.sp."Pindare" that is also rather small. If you really want something small better keep Biotodoma !
Thank you for the guide. I have a group of what I hope are winemilleri growing out. I absolutely love their sifting behavior. Looking forward to their adult coloring. Any tips on how to tell they are indeed winemilleri? Bought them as babies and they are just starting to show a little color now.
horizontal blue lines in the tail, prominent black line under the eye - the only similar and common fish is dicrozoster, you can see the difference in the video.
@@belowwater Mine seem to have the correct 4 bars, tail pattern isn't prominent enough yet to tell, but they don't have any marking under the eye. I wonder if they were mislabeled.
@@belowwater Got it. They grow pretty slow but are worth the wait. One of my bucket list fish. Gotta get down to South America and see them in the wild!
WOW! This is one of those hidden gems on RUclips for the more experienced aquarist who has no interest in channels like "the king of DIY". great information and unique footage. Thank you for the upload!
so true a wealth of knowledge
I love my Gymngeophagus balzani! They do handle cooler water pretty well. They are housed in a 55 gallon with a pair of Chocolate cichlids( temporalis), a pair of Turquoise severums, 2 pair of Balzanis, a mixed shoal of black skirt tetras, Diamond tetras, Bleeding heart tetras ect. Along with a breeding population of bristle nose plecos , assorted corydoras catfish, and an ancient ornate climbing perch that's outlived a decade's worth of fish. It's extremely shy n gets picked on but it's nearly 8 inches long so it's the giant of the tank until my Chocolate n Severum cichlids finish growing. All have some assorted Raphael catfish, and 2 4 line Pimelodus catfish. Wish I could share a pic on here!
It sounds like you have a good selection in there!
Those winemilleri are absolutely gorgeous! I changed it up and weny with a 125 gal. And filled it with convicts and severum but seeing those makes me regret my decision...
change it! I'd get sveni...from what I can tell, they are the most beautiful. Predatory Fins had some a while back and they were GORGEOUS!
Sevrums go with geophagus like bread and butter!!
Hi what problem did you exactly have? Because I'm trying to mix geos, severums and electric blue acara. Reply ASAP please.
I have grown own TWO of my favourite’s. All time favourite is the Altifrons and I’ve just purchased a few Red head Tapajos and still at 2 inches or so are really colourful. Great video.
thank you, _G.altifrons_ and _G.proximus_ , the two biggest species, are also among my favourites.
Best documentary ever on geophagus ty
I got group of 7 geophagus and i think they are altifrons because of the small spot on them
thank you, yes - altifrons has the smallest and proximus the largest spot!
@@belowwater sorry didn't saw your respond my freind.So thank you so much for your explain.
Because Finally i know my geophagus are going too grow up and became an adults altifrons. All i need is patient
Love the video. I keep Abalios (sold as Winemilleri) and a species sold as brasiliensis. I'm really interested in the Brasiliensis complex.
Brasiliensis also known as the pearl cichlid, a southern american species.
Thanks for this awesome video, I am looking forward to more videos like this, giving an overview of the distribution of these beautiful cichlids!
Great video! Lots of useful information. Looking forward to the video on Andean group of Geophagus species
Glad I found this channel, so rare are there youtubers like you and Ivan mikoli who produce great insights into biotopes and fish species as they relate to aquarium hobbyists
I appreciate that!
Great video, thank you
Great video, I was spawning my altifrons for awhile very interesting to watch them
Back in the early 90's I had Junipari I loved them,I can't find them in the he USA anymore
there have been almost no exports from Guyana the last 20 years, so the fish we know as juripari has totally disappeared from our tanks
Nice video daming information syo thanks this sharing arcee pinoy
Ikaw Pinoy?
Great one
Great video and lots of helpful information. Curious about Megasema.
Cannot describe how much I look forward to each of your videos!
May I know what are those silvery looking fish with a black marking at the caudal fin in the harreri segment of the video?
the small tetra with black eyes and black spot near the tail are Jupiaba meunieri
Excellent video!
Thank you very much!
Great stuff
What a cool video!! Thanks for the info and amazing footage of all these guys in their natural habitat! Been looking for a group of 5 or 6 Tapajos for my new 180g so found this video very interesting and helpful as I know very little about geo's and really excited to start keeping them in my fish room! Very cool man, cheers 🤙
😊👍👍👍👍👍🍀❤️Vielen Dank für das intressante und schöne Video. Wie immer sehr professionell 👍👍👍!!!
Wild caught ones need to have as much water changes in the aquarium as from the wild.
no, you could never match that. But: the fish that occur in faster moving water (such as G.argyrostictus) need much better water quality and frequent water changes to stay healthy longterm.
Great video
Thanks!
Very interesting
Great video and very informative. Thank you.
My local pet store never have abalios. They always have red heads and altifrons.
Great video. I am really enjoying your videos seeing the fish in their natural habitats. How fine a substrate would you recommend for Geophagus, and Sveni in particular?
as fine as possible, but i would mix all different size pebbles into it.
Superb content, footage and knowledge!
Only Gymnogeophagus is cool water tolerant correct?
Any experience with or sources for Australoheros Oblongus?
All _Gymnogeophagus_ are, but some of the Andean _Geophagus_ like _G.steindachneri_ can handle cooler water also, so can the Atlantic species like _G.brasiliensis_ which is found very far south along the Atlantic Coast.
@@belowwater
Thank you!
So happy to have found your channel. I'd read your articles in TFH for decades!
Love it... is there a book only on geophagus variants ?
Fantastic video. Thank you Oliver!
Very informative video!
Is it possible to keep a group of 6 tapajo ed heads in an aquarium with a length of 71 inches and a width of 20 inches?
yes, no problem, they are not that aggressive. I would recommend 8 as that will distribute the aggression better and you will be less likely to have 1 fish that gets picked on.
great video .. wish there were more great posts on geophagus. Keep it up
Thank you for showing this, truly incredible!
Glad you enjoyed it!
So cool ! I'm so satisfied with your videos!
thank you!
Such a wonderful video to satisfy my craving to see more rarely seen Geophagus species! I became a bit obsessed with Geophagus lately after keeping African cichlids for over 10 years. Their long fins and calm nature are very pleasant to watch!!! BTW can you recommend any online sellers with more Geophagus species (wild or Tank raised)?
Sorry, I can't on youtube. Not all Geophagus are so calm, some species can be rather aggressive and difficult. Usually the more rheophile species are much more difficult to keep.
great vido
Nice video
I want to See the other video’s of the non named geos here.
Geo pindare belongs to?
Also Hero’s video world be very Usefull
We already made a Heros video....just look through the channel. The unnamed Geophagus is a good video, maybe it will be a follow up in the future.
Appreciate this very informative video. I’m setting up a geo w tank. Struggling with the type of sand as substrate. Do you have a type/brand that you could recommend? Than you!
Not coral sand (too alkaline and too sharp), but any sand will do. I use quarry sand from near my house. The finer the better as a base, but I mix in various sized pebbles and rocks. The colour does not matter, but if you go with a more neutral colour the fish stand out more.
@@belowwater thank you for the reply and the information. Just recently found your channel. Im a fan, excellent information, precise and scientific. Will continue to learn from you and will purchase your publication to further my knowledge on South American fishes. Keep up the videos and other media.
@@eduardolibed1082 thank you!
So in the aquarium, do the balzini still need cooler temps or a cool down?
yes, absolutely. They do fine outside in Montreal for the summer months. If you keep them cool you would get nicer colour also.
I've just started with Tapajos, what is the maximum size I could get these to grow with good water quality and feeds?
around 15cm/6", they are not really a big species. I think the largest is G.altifrons.
Sry one more question, so when you see fish like the svini with the fry here, I see how their stomachs look more concaved and not rounded. Most of the time I have fish that look that way they don't last or grow as they should, I always saw it as a bad sign.
Can you explain that to me
Most fish like this are easily obese, i feed the fish in the way they look in nature. for Geophagus that also means no food on Sundays. They have less colour, don't get the crazy long fin extensions, but live overall longer.
@@belowwater yeah i was mostly just concerned if it's a sign of trouble, since usually the ones I've had like that normally never did good, other cichlids not geos. They wouldn't grow much then one day dead.
Is a 55 gallon tank large enough for a Sevurum and 2 Tapajos? I have a 55g with a gold severum, 2 small plecos, and 2 Rams. I have 2 small (maybe 2 inch) Tapajos that are growing out in a 40 with my apistogrammas. Would the 4 foot 55g be large for the adult severum and 2 adult Tapajos?
if the pairs get along it should work, yes
@@belowwater Cool, I will try it when they are large enough to live with the Severum. The tapajos get along fairly well so far, they face off from time to time but they've never done any real damage to each other. They grow pretty slowly compared to other cichlids I've had so it may be awhile until they're large to live with the severum. I'm looking forward to it though.
what species would you say are more forgiving in a regular aquarium
oh you mentioned tapajos
yes, Tapajos redhead, now has a name: Geophagus pyrocephalus
Seria interessante falar sobre os geophagus satanoperca e suas variantes como satanoperca acunticeps, satanoperca daemon, jurupari, lilith, pappaterra entre outros
sim, vou tentar fazer isso ainda este ano
and the geophagus megasema and parana river sveni ?
of course there are many more, the Parana G.sveni are an introduced population, with different water conditions they may look different.
This was very helpful information I recently add a geophagus brasiliensis. Very beautiful fish. I would like to know if it’s best to keep them in a group of four?
better groups of 6 for most Geophagus species, but G.brasiliensis also get very big
Excellent video! Do you know the name of the cichlid that are with de G. harreri in the nature part?
Guianacara cf.sphenozona
Exists in all regions of brazil / 🇧🇷 existe em todas regiões do brasil .
Are the Andean variants that you did not cover more cold-hardy?
I recall reading an article in tfh years ago about some of these being non heater type fish, was balzani one of those?
All the Gymnogeophagus handle cooler temperatures very well, the Andean Geophagus (G.pellegrini, steindachneri, crassilabris) group needs tropical temperatures, they are from lowland rivers.
Very nice video! What are the smallest geos besides the red heads?
I think many of them are in that 20cm range, I think of the described species maybe the G.mirabilis, G.dicrozoster and G.taeniopareius are all smaller, but G.taeniopareius is very aggressive. There is an undescribed G.sp."Pindare" that is also rather small. If you really want something small better keep Biotodoma !
@@belowwater thanks a lot for your nice reply! Yes Biotodoma would be a good choice, or I could go for Guianacara species...! What do you think?
@@rara5212 yes, they need a bit more room, especially when they start to breed
Thank you for the guide. I have a group of what I hope are winemilleri growing out. I absolutely love their sifting behavior. Looking forward to their adult coloring. Any tips on how to tell they are indeed winemilleri? Bought them as babies and they are just starting to show a little color now.
horizontal blue lines in the tail, prominent black line under the eye - the only similar and common fish is dicrozoster, you can see the difference in the video.
@@belowwater Thank you. I'm watching your other one on breeding winemilleri and you go over the indicators. Thanks again!
@@belowwater Mine seem to have the correct 4 bars, tail pattern isn't prominent enough yet to tell, but they don't have any marking under the eye. I wonder if they were mislabeled.
@@swatch12345 the mark under the eye starts to show at 7-8cm or so if they are still really small, it is hard to tell
@@belowwater Got it. They grow pretty slow but are worth the wait. One of my bucket list fish. Gotta get down to South America and see them in the wild!
Are they very prone to HIH and what are your beliefs wit HIH, is it primarily bad water, or food, or both, or neither lol
old water (not enough water changes). Frequent water changes and varied diet is best for all fish.
@@belowwater what are your recommended food brands
@@jdssurf any high end food brand is good these days. I feed Fluval Bug Bites a lot, and I think they are really good.
Ok, most of these look exactly the same..