Fish Identification Please

[ottawa_fry22]

Hey everyone,

I bought this fish locally in Pembroke and the lady that is at the shop on odd days she didnt know what it was. But I wasnt worried cuz it looks to me like its some type of Geophagus which is my favorite species of south american cichlids. Although I underestimated its level of aggression to towards my larger Jurupari which is about 5 inches..4-5 years old I had her. They are in my 75gal with live plants and soft sand.  There is some drift wood in there..I didnt have a ton of rocks and wood in there cuz I had more fish than what I do now before.  But right now there is those 2 fish and 2 emerld cories, bushy nose, raphael cat, banjo cat.

So here I provide a picture. The first pictures are of the fish I have. The 3rd picture is what I think it will grow into which is called Brasilliensis. Beautiful fish. I would love to keep him/her..I just want to better manage the level of aggression. It nips the fins of Jurupari and the sides..where as I am used to seeing fish that give warnings or just chase.

Any tips and appreciated..like do I need a shool of schooling fish for distraction? I would prefer to just add another type of cichlid with them to set him straight. lol Any confirmation on the identification greatly appreciated. I have emailed the owner of the shop I got it from now as well.

Thanks,

Stephanie

[exv152]

Most cichilds are best kept in groups of at least 6-8 to spread out the aggression, and bigger the tank the better, and lots of hiding spaces is good too. My guess is it's a geophagus brasiliensis pearl cichlid, but I'm no ichthyologist. Nice fish btw!

[blueknight0303]

its a Geophagus Iporangensis. brasiliensis dont usually have that type of dark line crossing the eyes.

[ottawa_fry22]

I checked out some videos on youtube. It does look like Iporangensis. I dont know if it male or female. It has grown fast since I got it. I want to keep it. I suppose I should get more mayasian drift wood. I wuld like more branched out instead of just a block shape though. And I just got some wood the last time I was at the shop and its taking a long time..more than I thought to sink..I have a stone on top of it. I had soaked it in a pail for a few days with hot water just from tap. I suppose I will ask the store owner about that. I have more large rocks I can put in the tank..the only thing is I want the plants I have to do good. When I had co2 they were bushy and that was the coverage. So I dont really want to put too much rocks in..if I wanted to do that permanantly I might as well went with Africans. o.O'

So thanks for the replies. Now I can take that name to the shop owner and see what he has to say. I want to add more cichlids..just not a bunch of that kind lol. I really liked the orange chromide I had. I would get one of those again in a heartbeat. Thankfully no sign of parasites for many months now. 

Stephanie

[Montrealguy]

You are going to have aggression problems with that fish. jurupari is a Satanoperca from northern South America - a fairly gentle, easy going fish. The Brasiliensis group within Geophgagus would never meet them in the wild (different region, different water needs) have very different behavior. It will be a large, somewhat territorial and far more aggressive species. You've already seen signs with the biting, and that may not stop.
On one level, it would be slaughtered by Central America, or any traditional aggressive cichlids, but on another, it is much more aggressive than the extremely gentle Satanoperca.
You could try increasing the current by extra filtration or powerheads, if the aggression becomes too much. However, it's not two Geophagines I'd expect to get along longterm.

[ottawa_fry22]

Pmed you Montrealguy. Thanks again. Pointing out to everyone again that blueknight is most certainly right after I checked out youtube videos that its an Iporangensis. However Im unsure what cichlids to add to tame its aggressiona way from the only other cichlid in tank which is Jurupari. Im thinking of asking to order in some orange chromides..I had one before and I loved it..it just chased others away..not hurting anyone. I had a Threadfin Acara and loved it..same temperment as Jurupari..and Red Hump was nice. Thing is I want to make sure I dont get fish that get bigger than the ones I had. Im wondering if I should put another Satanoperca in there but then it may be targetted..I just trying to decide if I should find the Iporangensis a new home that can match its temporment if its not going to change with adding more cichlids that not as aggressive as it is at the moment. I do like the coloration..but I want to see fish hang out together..not cause issues. Right now the Jurupari has been staying in its driftwood cave more than what it did with other fish. This is a 75gal tank by the way. I was also thinking..if I removed the Iporangensis...maybe I could try introducing smalelr cichlids again that I had for a while before..the Apistogramma types..yes they are smaller..buteven when I had bubbe bee gobies..my Jurupari and large Acara and Red Hump didnt bother to try to eat them. lol So I cant imagine Apistogramma being foods. I could fit more of those smaller cichlids in this large tank.

Im gonna speak with Rick who is store owner in Pembroke to see what he thinks as well. If anyone thinks what is better option..if I should add the fish I mentioned..or remove the cichlid being boss in the tank...please let me know. If I have to remove it..I hope Rick can find it a new home again from his store.  Any advice or thoughts..help me make a decision. lol Thanks.

Stephanie

[Montrealguy]

I'm sorry I was away for a bit there. Orange Chromides are a brackish water species that must have salt in their water to thrive. Satanoperca are a rainforest group of several species, none of which should be anywhere near salt. The two are totally incompatable - the tank environment good for one will kill the other.

[ottawa_fry22]

Yes the chromides are suppose to do better in brackish but they can be kept in freshwater and become more colorful when it establishes territory amongst thick plants. I had one for a couple of years.  Yeah I think Im gonna have some earth eaters ordered in and some SAE again.  Going to have to bring the aggressive fish back to store to find a compatiable home where he doesnt rule the enter tank area.

[Montrealguy]

I used to spend a lot of time in Pembroke - my parents lived there. They had pretty hard water, which may be why the chromides work. Cool.
I had a friend breeding them for a while. Pretty fish.

[Harris625]

The most important thing for better growth these fish are plants and freshwater. The space between these fish is also needed to avoid their fight.