Guianacura sp.

fishguy1978

Redtail Catfish
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Mar 30, 2020
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Hey guys,
I have a chance at some Guianacura sp. listed on CL. The seller purchased them from a whole seller and claims they are Guianacura sphenozona "Red Spot Suriname cichlids." I've not kept Guianacura before. I have a heavily planted 60g cube with corydoras they can go into or a 115g with Mary Jane Arowana who is still not large enough to eat them. Below is the ad with one picture.
I'm not seeing much info out there other than some posts by duanes duanes !
Guianacura sphenozona
 

duanes

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Mine arrived in the summer of 2012 at about 1", and were grown out in 75 gal tank.
I started with about 20 from a breeder.
At 2.5" they were moved to a planted, 125 gal 6 ft tank, where 1 pair spawned, the green eggs are dug in a pit below the log below.
By 2014 some were in the 4" to 5" range (below)
At that point they were moved to a 150 gal (below), with some 7" Acarichthys heckelli, current was moderate (pump about 1200 gph..
There was "no" aggression between them.
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Mazan

Exodon
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Jul 17, 2022
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I have 7 Guianacara that I also received very tiny, about 1" , last July. They all thrived and now measure 3-4". I have them in a tank that measures 130 x 50 x 50 cm along with 4 Bujurquinas that I obtained at the same time and size, 4 marbled headstanders and some Hemiodus that I am gradually moving to another tank (when I can catch them). I also want to put the Bujurquinas in a tank of their own, and I think the tank will be too small for all the Guianacaras eventually. Setting up the tank I tried to mimic their natural environment with sand and river rocks, some driftwood, leaf litter and a decent amount of flow. I did plant some Vallisneria but it got eaten, I think by the headstanders, though I have been surprised to see that the Bujurquinas also love lettuce. The Vallisneria was always bitten off during the night, but I am sure it was not the Guianacaras. A pair formed and spawned recently, they dug a very deep hole under a rock, building up the sand like a crater rim all around. They spawned under a rock ledge right at the bottom, I couldn't see the eggs. Luckily no rock structure collapsed as we built the tank with digging in mind, knowing that they are cave spawners. I rescued some of the fry when they were free swimming, the Hemiodus ate the rest when the parents left them to feed. Up until they had been very protective. They are now preparing to spawn again.

Mine were sold as G. geayi, but I am pretty sure they are owrowefi. Their parents were wild from French Guiana. I really enjoy them, and though they do quite a bit of chasing they are not really all that aggressive and don't seem to do much harm. As they grow though I may have to rehome some. I do have a large tank with South American cichlids that is not too heavily stocked, but it has species that tend to prefer quieter waters and I don't want to overcrowd it. We'll see.

IMG_0049.jpeg
 
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Mazan

Exodon
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Jul 17, 2022
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I also used that diagram ,and since mine came from French Guiana and have the black first dorsal fin ray, which Geayi does not, I cam eto the conclusion that they must be owroewefi, as from what I could work out those are the only two species to occur in French Guiana. They always have the vertical stripe pattern. Here is another picture of one of mine.IMG_9940.jpg
 

fishguy1978

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My link chain from the original post isn't working.
The ad picture show a mid lateral stripe extending up into the dorsal and the first 2-3 rays are black as well.
I interested in getting them but the earliest would be next week 😞

 

fishguy1978

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Thanks for the info M Mazan !
 

neutrino

Goliath Tigerfish
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I had sphenozona, not spotted-- from a reliable source, so essentially I trusted their ID. They looked similar to the photo in the ad. Mine grew faster than others seem to be saying, the males from 2 to 6 inches in a year and ended up 6.5 to a bit over 7 inches, females more like 5-5.5 inches. I don't know the dimensions of a 60 cube, if you have 3 feet of length they might work there, at least for now, otherwise imo I'd keep them in the larger tank. Mine could be feisty, not overly aggressive, but they pushed my pyrocephalus geos around some. Upon pairing up an outright riot erupted among them for 1/2 hour, lol. But as soon as a dominant pair emerged they settled back down.
 

fishguy1978

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Mar 30, 2020
2,405
3,965
154
Washington
I had sphenozona, not spotted-- from a reliable source, so essentially I trusted their ID. They looked similar to the photo in the ad. Mine grew faster than others seem to be saying, the males from 2 to 6 inches in a year and ended up 6.5 to a bit over 7 inches, females more like 5-5.5 inches. I don't know the dimensions of a 60 cube, if you have 3 feet of length they might work there, at least for now, otherwise imo I'd keep them in the larger tank. Mine could be feisty, not overly aggressive, but they pushed my pyrocephalus geos around some. Upon pairing up an outright riot erupted among them for 1/2 hour, lol. But as soon as a dominant pair emerged they settled back down.
Cube is 24in³. They would be the only cichlids. Tankmates would be corydoras.
 
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