They’re (impossible to tell gender until they quite literally start breeding) pushing past 2 inches! The patterns are coming in on the dorsal and tail especially right now! They will keep growing up to ~10 or so inches, so a long road ahead! They’ll be the tank boss when they’re bigger but for now that’s left to the Angelfish and Electric Blue Acara :)

If you’re curious what an adult looks like, check out this great video by PrimeTime Aquatics (channel definitely recommended)

  • PlaidboyEnglish
    2·
    5 months ago

    Must be a big tank! Is it hard to grow plants with that kind of fish?

    Looking good!

    • Fades@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      5 months ago

      Thanks!! It’s a 75gallon for now, will be upgraded in a few years to a 90g.

      Great question on the plants, it is absolutely NOT difficult at all! My Geo seems to appreciate them a lot, swimming in and out of leaves. The key to understand Geos is in their name, Geophagus means “earth eater”. These guys LOVE to sift through sand for food and whatnot, and thus are not exactly “plant friendly”. Espeically as they age, they can get more and more particular and will move bigger and bigger things around the tank as they see fit.

      Once you understand this behavior, you can scape for it. My plants that aren’t in little baskets and are rooted in the sandy substrate have very round smooth rocks that are hard to move for a fish. This way the roots are protected while they establish themselves in the substrate. The challenge with this is when they get bigger, and I have yet to experience that battle haha.

      Here is a quick photo to show what I mean:

      As the Geo ages I will be investing in bigger rocks haha. This tank has just crossed the 3-month line so it is still stabilizing/seasoning. Plants are growing in, etc. The evolution is just beginning :)