Goodeids, Red Points and 40g's of Water.... Oh My!

[RipariumGuy]

Hey PTF!

I will be stocking my new(er) 40g breeder with some fish that I need some info and help with. What are they? Goodeids and cichlids baby!

• Ilyodon frucidens - 12x
• Honduran Red Points - 1x

And after talking with a member here, I will also be trading some of the goodeid fry for the fry of another speices of goodied. Xenotoca eiseni. (Featured in TFH last month).

So over all the stocking plans would look like this.

• Ilyodon frucidens - 12x
• Honduran Red Ponts - 1x
• Xenotoca eiseni - ?x

How does that sound?

The spec's for the tank are:

Tank: Aqueon 40g Breeder w/black trim
Filter: Eheim Classic 2213 w/Maxi Jet 404 powerhead - Will be upgrading to 365GPH SunSun w/UV
Heater: 50w Tetra - Will be upgrading to Hydro Inline 200w
Substrate: Pool filter sand
Lighting: 24" T5HO hydroponics light fixture w/24w 6,500k bulb
Stand: Homemade
Riparia Flora - Echinodorus Cordifolius 'Marble Queen'
Baby panda bamboo (Poceana spp.)
Pilea grandifolia
Peace lilly (Spathiphyllium spp.)
Tahitan Bridal Veil
Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia spp.)
Basket Grass (Oplismenus hirtellus?)
Ruellia spp.
Aquatic Flora - Vallisneria spp.
Photoperiod: 10HPD with 2 hour seista period
Fertilization: Dry fertilizers 1 per week
CO2: None
Decor': Driftwood, oak leaves, river rocks

[F22]

i think that red point may present a problem dude...

[RipariumGuy]

Originally Posted by F22

i think that red point may present a problem dude...

Bullying wise?

Both fish will grow to 2-4in in length, and I remember reading that they where a little on the tame side as cichlids go. So I wasn't sure.

[F22]

i think its gonna eat fry.. probably gonna bully too

[RipariumGuy]

Originally Posted by F22

i think its gonna eat fry.. probably gonna bully too

Hmmm... Thanks for the input. I will have to see how he/she turns out. If he/she is a cranky dude, I will have to move him.

Thanks again for all the help!

[RipariumGuy]

Bump!

[hydrophyte]

Hey Jake this is a quick response.

So long as you have several of the I. furcidens to disperse aggression the Honduran red point will be fine with them. They are mainly only feity with fish that look real similar. And they do not eat fry much in my experience.

It is generally best not to combine two or more goodeids int eh same setup because there is a chance of hybridization. If you want to add another livebearer I think that a wild-type molly would be a good choice. I can hook you up with some Poecilia chica. That is a cool fish.

Remember that theose livebearers are more demanding than you might think. If you want big, colorful fish you have to feed them a lot. And that means lots of water changes to maintain favorable conditions. They also benefit from having the live plants in there.

[RipariumGuy]

Originally Posted by hydrophyte

Hey Jake this is a quick response.

So long as you have several of the I. furcidens to disperse aggression the Honduran red point will be fine with them. They are mainly only feity with fish that look real similar. And they do not eat fry much in my experience.

It is generally best not to combine two or more goodeids int eh same setup because there is a chance of hybridization. If you want to add another livebearer I think that a wild-type molly would be a good choice. I can hook you up with some Poecilia chica. That is a cool fish.

Remember that theose livebearers are more demanding than you might think. If you want big, colorful fish you have to feed them a lot. And that means lots of water changes to maintain favorable conditions. They also benefit from having the live plants in there.

Thanks for the response Hydro'!


I was not sure about the hybridization of the goodeids. I was pretty sure that because they where in different genus' they would not interbreed. Oh well. My mistake!

As far as water quality, I do a weekly 50% water change with tap water treated with Seachem's Prime. (I was amazed when I first used Prime... I have barely made a dent in the thing and have used it for several months. It is 1000% better and cheaper then the 'usual' dechlorinators out there). As you know, I will be feeding them Kens fish food (veggie flakes, and two types of granuals) along with the occasional frozen treat. For filteration, I think the SunSun with UV (365GPH) will be enough. If the flow is not strong though, I could always add a Nano Korolia.

Do you think that will be enough to keep them happy? I can if needed step up the water changes. I do not mind doing them (even with no Python!).

What live plants do you think would work? Lots of vals and a couple swords? I was also thinking of getting some Mexican Oak leaf(?) plants as well.

I was not too worried about agression, as I knew that you have kept the Hondurans with smaller fishes in the past.

Thanks for the offer on the wild mollies! I think my tank will be fine (ehem... for now) with the Ilyodons and the Red Point. I do not want to over do it at the moment.

Again, thanks for all the information!
Warmest Regards,
Jake

[RipariumGuy]

Last bump to see if anybody else has anything to say on Goodeids!

[robxc80]

i agree. your HRP's will mostly ignore the goodeids. I used to keep the smaller central american cichlids with swordtails and platy's as dithers and had zero problems. given that the goodeids are a little more rough and tumble than your typical livebearers, you'll be fine.

i do want to suggest trying out the other cryptoheros like cutteri, spirilum, nanoluteus, or sajica.

[RipariumGuy]

Originally Posted by robxc80

i agree. your HRP's will mostly ignore the goodeids. I used to keep the smaller central american cichlids with swordtails and platy's as dithers and had zero problems. given that the goodeids are a little more rough and tumble than your typical livebearers, you'll be fine.

i do want to suggest trying out the other cryptoheros like cutteri, spirilum, nanoluteus, or sajica.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with them. It is much appreciated!

I will deffinatly try out other cichlids as time goes on.

[robxc80]

awesome good luck. you're tank will be awesome.