History

Eartheaters or Geophagus are members of the genus Cichlidae and are group into the Tribe Geophanginii. They posses a special lobe within their gills for doing what else, eating Earth. This lobe, called an epibranchial, found in Eartheaters and other closely related Genera Mikrogeophagus, Taenicara and Apistogramma, allows them to sift through the substrate to find insect larvae, crustaceans and microscopic plant organisms (algae) in the wild (Weidner 2000). All Eartheaters are riverine species that come from tropical and sub-tropical South America except one species, “Geophagus” crassilabris from Panama. Eartheaters are easy to maintain, are very adaptable, are attractively colored and with proper maintenance, can be induced to spawn under most conditions.

The first Eartheater was described in 1791, by Marcus Elieser Bloch, its name was Sparus surinamensis. It wasn’t until Jacob Heckel in 1840 described 7 new species to the new genus Geophagus, the 7 described species were G. altifrons, G. megasema, G. daemon, G. jurupari, G. acuticeps, G. pappaterra and G. cupido (Weidner 2000). Francis de Castelnau in 1855 described G. proximus, proximus means “nearest” in Latin and this may have to do with it’s “nearest” relative which might have been “Geophagus” brasiliensis at the time (Weidner 2000).

J. Pellegrin described G. camopiensis in 1903 based on its location, the Camopi River in French Guiana. Jean Pierre Gosse in 1976, described one new species, G. harreri amongst resurrecting the Genus Biotodoma. In 1989, Sven Kullander and H. Nijssen described two new species, G. brokopondo and G. brachybranchus . Kullander also described G. argyrostictus in 1991, argyros meaning silver and stictus meaning spotted. This refers to the spot pattern of the fish around the lateral spot (Weidner 2000).

G. grammepareius (stripe cheek ) and G. taeniopareius (headband cheek) were described by Kullander, R. Royero and D. Taphorn in 1992. Lopez-Fernandez and Taphorn in 2004 described 3 species, Geophagus abalios, G. dicrozoster and G. winemilleri. And finally in 2006, G. parnaiba was described based on where it can be collected, the Rio Parnaiba. A formal description was done by Sven Kullander (Weidner 2000).

Tank Setup for Geophagus

Minimum of 50 gallons in size for small to medium size species like, Geophagus sp. “Tapajos I.Redhead” and Geophagus sp. “Pindare”.  Larger species like, Geophagus altifrons, need tanks of 100 gallons or more. Filtration for Geophagus usually consists of canisters, power filters, trickle and sponge filters, the latter being usually used for juvenile Geophagus. Any reliable heater will work as long as it can keep the temperature of the aquarium at 76-84 F.

Subdued lighting is best as most Geophagus species are found in areas without high amounts of light. Small size gravel, sand, driftwood, river rocks, etc. work well as a substrate and decorations for the tank. Natural colors (browns, reds, tans) are preferable to recreate Geophagus species’ natural habitat.          

While most Geophagus habitats lack plants some can be grown in the home aquarium. Cryptocryne, Echinodorus, Valliseneria, Java Fern and Java Moss may all grow under subdued lighting.

The pH, hardness, temperature and other water parameters is of secondary importance then water exchanges with some regulations. The pH for Geophagus should be in the range of 6.5-7.5, have a hardness less then 200 ppm and have a temperature of at least 76 F. One exception to this rule can be seen in some of the blackwater species liks Geophagus argyrostictus which needs a pH below 7 and a softness under 60 ppm.

Water changes of 20-40% at least once every week should be preformed for adult Geophagus, although more often can encourage growth and breeding. Juvenile Geophagus should get a water change 2-4 time a week or more of 10-20%. The water should be relatively the same temperature as the water that is in the tank as well as the pH and hardness.

Filters should be cleaned at least once a month in aquarium water to save beneficial bacteria. Sponge filters in tanks with juvenile Geophagus should be cleaned once a week. Filters should probably be taken completely apart once every 3-6 months to ensure proper function of impellers, no clogging of hoses, etc.

The diet for Geophagus can and should consist of live foods and frozen when available. Geophagus will also take prepared foods like flakes, pellets and feeding sticks. For breeding, foods like earthworms, white worms, ghost shrimp, bloodworms, brine shrimp, krill and plankton are great for conditioning.

Frozen vegetables are also a great addition to the diet of Geophagus. Frozen peas I have found work the best, especially out of the outside shell. When it comes down to it, variety is key and there is no one food that you should feed exclusively to them.

Possible tankmates for Geophagus consist of larger tetras like Metynnis, Hemiodus, Prochilodus, Nematobrycon and other characin species, Catfish like smaller Pimelodidae and Locariidae, other Cichlids like Heros, Uaru, Small to Medium Crenicichla, Hoplarchus, Hypselecara, Krobia, Pterophyllum, Mesonauta and other peaceful cichlid species.

Relationships Between Eartheaters and Other Related Cichlid Families

Along with the tribe Geophaginii, the following species also have specialized gill rakers that are used for sand sifting: Apistogramma, Apistogrammoides, Mikrogeophagus and Taeniacara (Kullander, 1986). Also somewhat related to Geophagus is the tribe Acarichthini, including the Genera Acarichthys (Eigenmann, 1912) (Monotypical Genus), Guianacara (Kullander & Nijssen, 1989) (6 Described, 1 Undescribed).

The tribe Geophaginii consists of 4 described and 2 undescribed Genera;
Satanoperca (Gunther, 1862) with 7 described, 3 undescribed species,  the “Geophagus” brasiliensis Complex with 4 described, 1 undescribed, the “Geophagus” crassilabris Complex with 3 described species with some variation in each location, Gymnogeophagus (Ribeiro, 1918) with 8 described, 7 undescribed species, Biotodoma (Eigenmann & Kennedy, 1903) with 2 described, 2 undescribed and Geophagus (True) (Heckel, 1840) with 16 described, 12+ undescribed species.

            Probably the most recognized species out of the group of almost 30 Geophagus species include, Geophagus altifrons, G. proximus, G. surinamensis and more recently, G. sp. “Tapajos I/Redhead” has been kept and bred on a regular basis. Other species do occasionally show as well and often are mistaken for G. surinamensis, which is rarely imported from Northeast South America and only found in Suriname (Weidner 2000). Typically what you see listed as G. surinamensis are often G. altifrons but I have also seen G. abalios and G. dicrozoster from the Rio Orinoco under G. surinamensis.

Geophagus Species

            Now we will take a look at a few species you may encounter in the hobby. Starting with the most common species seen in the trade, Geophagus altifrons. G. altifrons is beautiful species when it is full grown at about 8” for females and upwards of 12”+ for males, making it the largest growing Geophagus species. G. altifrons can be found throughout the Amazon, being found in locations such as the Rio Trombetas, the Rio Xingu and the city of Manaus.

While this is the most common species, it is my personal favorite. They have long flowing streamers on all their fins, including their pelvic fins, which may stretch the entire length of the body and past the caudal fin. Their color is a yellow base under tone body with bright turquoise on top of that. The fins are striped with red and blue in the beginning of the dorsal, pelvic and anal fins. The second half of the dorsal and the caudal fin are marked with blue dots on a red base. This spot pattern is a typical feature of G. altifrons and can be of help at identifying this species. A small lateral spot also is used to ID them. Look at the pictures provided as a reference.

Care is straight forward as they accept a wide range of tank conditions are not very prone to lateral line disease, although this is not an excuse to miss that ever crucial water change. Since this species gets so large, tank sizes of 100 gallons or more is typically considered the smallest tank for this species.

G. altifrons takes about 2-3 years to mature, all the while developing its color. While the aquarist may have a lot to desire when they first acquire G. altifrons, give then 6 months to 1 year and you should start to see that these plain looking silver fish are changing into something really beautiful. It is like the story of the ugly duckling turning into a swan; your patience will be rewarded for keeping these species in the long term.

Geophagus altifrons is a Bi-Parental Ovophilous Mouthbrooder meaning the male and female care for the eggs and fry with the eggs being picked up immediately after fertilization, or are fertilized in the mouth of the female. This species will show variation in its spawning techniques and it is not yet known if this is to the small size of their environment in captivity compared to being in the wild.

The next most common species seen in the trade these days is Geophagus sp. “Tapajos I/Redhead”. It can be seen as a medium growing, easy to keep Geophagus species. Males typically top out at 8” while females remain a few inches shorter. Only found in the Rio Tapajos, like its trade name implies; the species thrives in warm water conditions.

            As also indicated by their name, Geophagus sp. “Tapajos I/Redhead” has a gorgeous redhead. This species also has a turquoise body with the base color being a more whitish to yellow color. The fins are draped in a red and blue strip pattern. This species is also quite impressive when full grown.

                This species is also straight forward in its care as long as regular water changes are preformed. G. sp. “Tapajos” is a little more outgoing when compared to G. altifrons. The species is somewhat more aggressive in my experience with conspesifics. Tank sizes of 75 gallons work well for small groups of around 4-5 but larger groups need a tank size of around 100+ gallons.

            As with G. altifrons, the fry and juveniles of G. sp. “Tapajos” look nothing like the adults. This species takes a little less time to mature however and spawning can be seen in specimens at 1 ½-2 years old. This species is a Bi-parental Larvophilous Mouthbrooder meaning both the male and female care for the eggs and once hatched both parents will incubate the fry up to 8-10 days.

            For an atypical species of Geophagus, Geophagus sp. “Pindare” should be considered quite rare in the hobby but for no other reason that the species is just not collected very often. This species is almost like a dwarf in a group of medium to large growing cichlid species. The location of this species is the Rio Pindare in Northeast Brazil. This species tops out at 6.5” for males and about 5” for females.

            The overall coloration of Geophagus sp. “Pindare” is a uniform strip pattern of red and blue stripes running the length of the body of the fish and into the fins. The undertone coloration being a yellow-bronze color. The body of the fish also has a larger lateral spot for its size. While this species remains smaller, it still gets the nice finnage of its larger cousins.

            This species is also a Bi-parental Larvophilous Mouthbrooder like G. sp. “Tapajos”. The biggest difference between these species can be found in the size of the spawn. G. sp. “Pindare” usually only lays around 100 eggs but they are larger then the up to 200-300 eggs, G. sp. “Tapajos” may lay.

The eggs also seem to hatch much faster in G. sp. “Pindare” then other Geophagus species. The parents are usually chewing the fry out of their egg casing on after 24 hours of laying them! Care for the fry is straightforward as long as they are not crowded. The juveniles may spawn at half their adult size at 3.5” and only at a year old! This species has a life cycle that is sped up when you compare them to other Geophagus.

Breeding Geophagus

Given the right care and time allowed to reach adulthood, Geophagus usually start showing signs of courtship at 2-3 years old with smaller species like the previously mentioned G. sp. “Pindare” taking half the time. The usual lateral displays, tail slapping, jaw locking found in other cichlid species can also be found in Geophagus. However, they seem less likely to injure each other in the process of courtship then some of the more aggressively known cichlids that come out of Africa and Central America.

            Given the right tank conditions and diet, Geophagus will spawn even in a community tank. Most will lay their eggs on a flat rock, a piece of driftwood or even the tank glass as a spawning platform. Geophagus use numerous spawning techniques with Ovophilous (immediate mouthbrooding) being the most advance (Weidner 2000). Geophagus argyrosticta is considered the most primitive species as its an actual open spawner and does not mouthbrood at all (Weidner 2000). Also there are some Larvophilous (delayed mouthbrooding) species within the Genus. All species can show variation as to spawning technique, but to keep this article short, I refer you to Thomas Weidner’s South American Eartheaters book publishes in 2000.

            Once you have succeeded in getting your Geophagus spawn, the best thing to do is let nature takes its course for at least the first 8-10 days. Geophagus are devoted parents and will usually hold their spawns to term. After 8-10 days the decision to move the parent fish and/or fry is up to the aquarist. I usually do what a lot of African Cichlid breeders do and strip the fry from the parent’s mouth. This is done by carefully catching the holding fish and using your thumb to open the mouth of the fish. The mouth is then allowed to empty its contents into a bucket of water being careful to not injure the parent fish.
           
            Tank sizes of 10-30 gallons work will. Be sure to fit the tank with an air-driven sponge filter and a small heater of 25-100 watts. My fry tanks are usually barebottom as to help with ease of water changes. Decorations are kept to a minimum as well. Lighting doesn’t need to be super bright either, just bright enough to observe the fry.

Once settled in the fry can immediately take baby brine shrimp which should be prepared a 1-2 days in advance. Feedings of 2-4 times may be necessary to keep the weight of the baby fish up. Due to heavy feedings of fry in general, water exchanges on a more regular schedule become necessary. I usually change about 10-20% of the water 5-7 times a week so I get optimal growth and water quality for my baby Geophagus.

            Flake and pellet foods can be fed to baby Geophagus once they have started to reach about a half an inch in size. Keep an eye on water quality once the fry have grown to this size, they may need to be moved to larger quarters. At about 2-3 months, the baby Geophagus should be about 1”+ in size and are able to be passed on to their new home.

            Well I hope I’ve inspired everyone to acquire some true Geophagus. It takes a little bit of looking for them but it is well worth it. They show a multitude of behavior, color and spawning techniques. They are worth the time and effort of raising and are perhaps some of my favorite fish in my fishroom. If you are interested in acquiring more information, please pick up a copy of Thomas Weidner’s South American Eartheaters book. Enjoy your cichlids!

Jeremy Basch
CAFÉ Chairman
Owner-AmazonCichlids.com
Moderator-Cichlid-Forum.com

Reference: Weidner, Thomas. South American Eartheaters. Cichlidpress, El Paso, TX, 2006.