Big Dummy
December 5th 05, 08:17 PM
Thanks that was quite helpful
From: "NetMax" >
Subject: Re: Gymnogeophagus meridionalis
Date: Sunday, December 04, 2005 9:08 AM
fishbase didn't have much:
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=52194&genusname=Gymnog
eophagus&speciesname=meridionalis
but this site was very informative in regards to this new classification
of gymnogeophagus:
http://www2.nrm.se/ve/pisces/acara/gymnogeo.shtml
which also states that G.meridionalis are substrate brooders.
http://www.cichlidae.com/gallery/species.php?s=311
has an excellent photo.
A google search of Gymnogeophagus meridionalis turned up 791 hits, most
of which may not be particularly useful, but you only need 2 or 3 good
sites.
In the complete absence of information, you can follow the water
requirements of local fish (southern tropical South America), but
generally these types of fish are quite hardy and not overly particular
about water conditions (soft to medium-hard, 76-78F). I'd expect their
territorial behaviour to be similar enough to the common Firemouth (or
other substrate brooding Gymno or even Geos), perhaps giving them a bit
more room to adjust for size.
Whenever you encounter a new or unfamiliar species, err on the
conservative side. Give them lots of room, a variety of shelters
(vertical & horizontal slate, clay pot, silk plant cover, some floating
plastic plants for shade, don't mix with aggressive tank-mates, consider
adding known-good inexpensive dither fish (during acclimation, and not if
you're trying to breed them), feed a variety of foods more frequently
than usual (moving some of these fish to processed foods can be a chore,
though most cichlids have a strong eating instinct which allows them to
experiment with new foods more easily), and use lots of fresh water (I
think the amount of dissolved organics in an aquarium can initially be
stressful to a wild caught fish). hth
ps: for food, try fresh clean earthworms occasionally.
--
www.NetMax.tk
"Big Dummy" > wrote in message
om...
> Anybody ever keep these? A local pet shop has some and their
> appearance is
> stunning. But the pet shop folks don't know anything about the
> species.
> I'm wondering about water conditions / sensitivity, and behavior /
> terriotirial nature in particular. What kind of tank do I need to put
> these
> critters in and what other tank mates can they coexist with?
>
> Big Dummy
>
> P.S. some photos for those who don't know the species:
> http://www.tangledupincichlids.com/images/merid.norte.fem.jpg
> http://www.vda-online.de/zucht/images/GymnogeophagusMeridionalisM.jpg
> http://www.cichlidae.be/meridionalis.jpg
>
>
>
From: "NetMax" >
Subject: Re: Gymnogeophagus meridionalis
Date: Sunday, December 04, 2005 9:08 AM
fishbase didn't have much:
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=52194&genusname=Gymnog
eophagus&speciesname=meridionalis
but this site was very informative in regards to this new classification
of gymnogeophagus:
http://www2.nrm.se/ve/pisces/acara/gymnogeo.shtml
which also states that G.meridionalis are substrate brooders.
http://www.cichlidae.com/gallery/species.php?s=311
has an excellent photo.
A google search of Gymnogeophagus meridionalis turned up 791 hits, most
of which may not be particularly useful, but you only need 2 or 3 good
sites.
In the complete absence of information, you can follow the water
requirements of local fish (southern tropical South America), but
generally these types of fish are quite hardy and not overly particular
about water conditions (soft to medium-hard, 76-78F). I'd expect their
territorial behaviour to be similar enough to the common Firemouth (or
other substrate brooding Gymno or even Geos), perhaps giving them a bit
more room to adjust for size.
Whenever you encounter a new or unfamiliar species, err on the
conservative side. Give them lots of room, a variety of shelters
(vertical & horizontal slate, clay pot, silk plant cover, some floating
plastic plants for shade, don't mix with aggressive tank-mates, consider
adding known-good inexpensive dither fish (during acclimation, and not if
you're trying to breed them), feed a variety of foods more frequently
than usual (moving some of these fish to processed foods can be a chore,
though most cichlids have a strong eating instinct which allows them to
experiment with new foods more easily), and use lots of fresh water (I
think the amount of dissolved organics in an aquarium can initially be
stressful to a wild caught fish). hth
ps: for food, try fresh clean earthworms occasionally.
--
www.NetMax.tk
"Big Dummy" > wrote in message
om...
> Anybody ever keep these? A local pet shop has some and their
> appearance is
> stunning. But the pet shop folks don't know anything about the
> species.
> I'm wondering about water conditions / sensitivity, and behavior /
> terriotirial nature in particular. What kind of tank do I need to put
> these
> critters in and what other tank mates can they coexist with?
>
> Big Dummy
>
> P.S. some photos for those who don't know the species:
> http://www.tangledupincichlids.com/images/merid.norte.fem.jpg
> http://www.vda-online.de/zucht/images/GymnogeophagusMeridionalisM.jpg
> http://www.cichlidae.be/meridionalis.jpg
>
>
>