Nutter

I have a 4x1.5x1.5ft tank that I have given to my girlfriend to use. She would like to have a colony, (3-4F + 1M), of geophagus steindachneri in it. I'm not sure if the tank is big enough to have a colony in it without me having to remove the male every so often so he doen't beat up the females when they reject him after mating. The tank is already planted & I don't really want to be chasing the male around uprooting plants etc. Does anyone have any ideas on this subject?

Toddnbecka

Divider for the male when necessary? I suspect the plants are going to suffer regardless...

Nutter

Thanks for the reply. Haven't found a single divider of any kind or size in my town & it's a long drive to the next one. (about 200miles) The layout of the tank doesn't really allow for dividers to be used effectively anyway. She got me to do it in a multi-layer design & it would be very easy for the fish to just swim around a divider.

The plants will be ok. They are surrounded by large river pebbles right down to the glass as well as the normal gravel substrate so the geos won't be able to dig them up or do any significant damage. I've done it before with Brasiliensis & Oscars & it worked quite well so the Steindachneri should be fine as they are significantly smaller than the others.

Toddnbecka

Are you familiar with egg crate light covers? They're used in fluorescent ceiling light fixtures. They're 2'x4' plastic grids composed of hundreds of ~1" squares. One of those can be cut to fit just about any shape you need. If you measure and calculate the clearance properly a bit of bulk filter media or foam can be used between the divider and the glass to wedge it tightly in place.
On the other hand, any excuse for another tank is a good one...

Nutter

Have heard of the egg crate things but haven't been able to find any as yet but I haven't looked very hard. Can't afford another tank at the moment. I'm setting up another 6x2x2ft at the moment to add to the collection. That will give me about 18 tanks in total. I will have a good look for the egg crate stuff tommorow. If I can't find it I will just have to spend the money on a second hand 3ft. Maybe not fix the transmission in the car this week. The girlfriend has her heart set on a colony of these guys with some congo tetras up top. They are for her birthday so I better not dissapoint her. It could be hazardous to my health.

Thanks for the help.

Toddnbecka

Stores that sell fluorescent ceiling lights usually carry several different types of covers, and eggcrate is a popular style. Hardware or home improvement stores are the best bet, or look online if you can't find locally.
Good luck with the fish and the g/f.