geophagus

Geophagus (sp. Geophagus) comes from South America. They inhabit numerous river systems in the equatorial and tropical climatic zones, which include the vast basins of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. They belong to the representatives of South American cichlids.

The name of this group of fish indicates the peculiarities of nutrition and goes back to two ancient Greek words: “geo” – earth and “phagos” – to eat, take food. They feed at the bottom, picking up a portion of sandy soil with their mouths and sifting it in search of small bottom organisms and plant particles. Thus, for normal nutrition in the design of the aquarium, the presence of sandy soil is mandatory.

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The way of eating also affected the appearance. Fish have a massive body and a large head with a large mouth. On average, they reach a length of about 20 cm or more. As a rule, males and females do not have obvious visible differences, having a similar color and body pattern.

They are considered relatively easy to maintain if they are in a spacious tank (from 500 liters) in which suitable conditions are created: temperature regime, hydrochemical composition of water, absence of dangerous concentrations of nitrogen cycle products etc. However, maintaining high water quality requires some experience and expensive equipment from the aquarist, so Geophagus is not recommended for beginners.

Within a view, there is a clear internal hierarchy headed by one or more by alpha maleshaving the priority right to mate with females. They are friendly to other fish, but may pursue their weaker relatives if kept in small groups. In a large flock of 8 individuals, this does not happen. The only time when Geophaguses become intolerant of tankmates is during the breeding season.

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With the onset of the mating season, the male and female form a temporary pair. Both parents guard the clutch until the fry appear. From this moment, the males usually start looking for a new companion, and the female remains to protect the brood for several more weeks. The most common way of protection is to hide the juveniles in the mouth, from where the fry periodically swim up to feed. Each time the time of free swimming increases and at a certain moment the fry become independent.

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