Geophagus Altifrons tankmates

[Lilyann]

Many people cram tons of Africans together, especially mbuna.
The two I mentioned are not mbuna type that you would cram together like typical rift lake Africans, they live over sand substrate in shoals.
I grew a group of 6 Fossorochromis together in a 150 gal, 2 males hit about 12", females 8-10". The dominant male killed his brother, then paired up with one female, and I removed the rest.
After spawning she would cram 50 to 60 x 2" young in her mouth, a fascinating sight.
When startled they can dive into sand substrate and totally disappear, even though the males was a bright purple/blue .

Oh, okay! I did like the Fossorochromis, I also really liked this one:

 

[Lilyann]

Some cichlids will adapt better to hard water than others. Heckelii in my experience is not one of them.
My Dad used to keep biotadoma in hard water without any issues. He used to add lots if leaf litter to create tannins in the water and they did fine. If you kept discus ok I wouldn't worry too much.
I think you should take a look at Central American eartheaters. They are very similar to geophagus but will thrive in your water.
Take a look at thorichthys, Astathoheros or Cribroheros. Central America has some ideal sized colourful eartheaters that would live happily for life in your set up.

I also agree with Duanes. The cichlids from Uruguay would also be a good choice.

I like the Thorichthys :

 

[Stanzzzz7]

I like the Thorichthys :

View attachment 1256946

View attachment 1256947

They are probably my favourite cichlid species and I have kept many over the years.They are colourful, interesting and not too aggressive. They look great in groups and I can't recommend them enough.

 

[Lilyann]

They are probably my favourite cichlid species and I have kept many over the years.They are colourful, interesting and not too aggressive. They look great in groups and I can't recommend them enough.

Thank you Stan! How many would I put in a 150? What other fish have you put with them?

 

[Lilyann]

Thank you Stan! How many would I put in a 150? What other fish have you put with them?

Is that the fish that is in your avatar?

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Is that the fish that is in your avatar?

Yes,the fish in my avatar is thorichthys helleri.
There are about 10 different species available. T.aureus and T.helleri are my favourite.
Here are a few pics to give you some examples of how they look in groups.
You can keep them with lots of fish but I like to keep them with fish they can be found with in the wild.
Swordtails,mollies,Mexican astyanax tetras can all be found with thorichthys as are many other cichlid species.










Breeding

 

[Stanzzzz7]

I think you could do about 15 if you don't have too many males.
In fairly large tanks 6 will be more aggressive than say 15.
They have entertaing stand offs with each other but nothing ever to worry about.
Males will average 6 or 7 inches in most cases. Some male thorichthys have grown a little larger but it is not that common.Females remain much smaller.

 

[Lilyann]

I think you could do about 15 if you don't have too many males.
In fairly large tanks 6 will be more aggressive than say 15.
They have entertaing stand offs with each other but nothing ever to worry about.
Males will average 6 or 7 inches in most cases. Some male thorichthys have grown a little larger but it is not that common.Females remain much smaller.

Thank you! Looks like this will be the better option!