Green Horseface 5cm - Geophagus

Green Horseface
 

The Geophagus family of fish are an incredibly popular South American cichlid for the peaceful, colourful and beneficial behaviours they offer as well. There are many common species like orange head tapajos or pearl horse face but for the aquarists that are chasing a rarer species, then the green horserace would be a perfect consideration. These fish are known to take large mouthfuls of sand and sift through it in order to find food. In the aquarium setting, this is a great behaviour as it keeps the substrate well turned over and ensures there are no detritus trapped in it. 

The green horseface has only been in the Australian aquarium hobby for a few years which is why they do have a higher price compared to other geophagus species. This fish is also especially unique in its elongated body shape and jade breed body colour. The jade green base colour is contrasted beautifully with an array of metallic blue spots and highlights that fun from head to tail along with a white underbelly. Once mature the green horseface can also develop dark green stripes across the body as well. This geophagus also have large fins that often have streamers coming off them, most notably the pelvic fin which is almost half the length of the fish. Finally comes the characteristic factor of this geophagus species which is the long, sloped head with large lips that gives a loose resemblance to a horse.  

The green horseface is a fairly easy fish to care for. Aside from the max size of 25 cm that these fish grow to which means they require a larger aquarium size, their personality is community aquarium standards. Breeding this geophagus in the aquarium is possible but not quite common in Australia. These fish are actually mouthbrooding fish where the male will dig a small pit to attract the female to lay eggs. The male will then fertilise the eggs and either the male or female will take the eggs into their mouth to safeguard the fry for around three days. Males and females do have distinguishing features where males have more vibrant colours and longer fins when compared to females. 

Tank Recommendations for your Green Horseface

Being fairly large growing South American cichlid that will reach a max size of 25 cm, the fish need an aquarium that is a minimum of 400 liters. The geophagus is a fish that prefers to be kept in groups of at least 3 or more which is why a larger aquarium is always best.

A sand substrate is always best because of the constant sand-sifting behaviour that these fish have. Having some additional materials in the aquarium such as smooth river stones and driftwood would also be great. Because the Green Horseface is a South American fish they do require softer water with a PH of around 6.0 - 7.0.

Suitable Tank Buddies

The green horseface is a relatively peaceful fish that can essentially be kept in a community aquarium setting. It is usually best practice to avoid fish that are smaller than their mouth just to be safe however there are many accounts of geophagus being kept with smaller tank mates before. 

Usually Compatible

Angelfish, Corydoras, Severums, discus, blue acara and a range of small to medium community fish.

Sometimes Compatible

Semi-aggressive South American fish such as convicts, fire mouths and similar species.  

Rarely Compatible

Large and aggressive species such as Dovii would be far too aggressive and invertebrates like shrimp would be prey for the horseface.

Feeding your Green Horseface

Like many other South American cichlids, the green horseface is a very easy fish to feed. Due to their bottom-dwelling nature in the aquarium, care should be taken in ensuring food reaches these fish before being eaten by tank mates. It is best to feed them either a sinking pellet or flake food which is supplemented with frozen foods to ensure these fish have optimal health.

A fun feeding option would be to add some live black worms to the aquarium which promotes the geophagus to naturally sift through the substrate to find their food.