Cheekband eartheater

Geophagus taeniopareius

Also known as Taeniopareius eartheater, Cheek stripe eartheater

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 77–84°F (25–29°C)
pH: 5.5–7.2
Adult size: 6.7 in (17 cm)
Minimum tank: 106 gal (400 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Orinoco basin
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

The cheekband eartheater is a sand-sifting cichlid that should be kept in a group of several, ideally five or more, which spreads out the squabbling that breaks out among just two or three. It spends its day taking mouthfuls of sand and sorting out the edible bits, so a soft sand floor and sinking foods are essential; sharp gravel can damage its gills. It is generally peaceful toward other tankmates and mixes well with sturdy midwater schooling fish, though it can be pushy with its own kind at spawning time. Give it a long tank of around 400 liters with open sand and some wood.

In the wild

It comes from the upper Orinoco in Venezuela and Colombia, including fast, sandy stretches near rapids. The water there is warm and soft to slightly acidic, so aim for a pH between 5.5 and 7.2 and a temperature of about 25 to 29 C. The single most important thing you can provide is a deep bed of soft sand for natural sifting, backed up with driftwood, some rounded stones, and tough plants like Anubias fixed to the wood rather than rooted in the substrate.

Good to know

Geophagus taeniopareius belongs to the family Cichlidae and reaches around 15 to 17 centimeters. Its name means banded cheek, for the dark stripe that runs from the eye down across the gill cover. Unusually for the genus, it is a substrate spawner rather than a mouthbrooder: a pair cleans a surface, lays a couple of hundred eggs, and guards them where they were laid. Good water quality is key to bringing it into breeding condition.

Did you know

Most eartheaters carry their eggs and young in the mouth, but this species does not. It lays its eggs on a cleaned surface and guards them in the open, one of the few members of its genus to raise a brood the old-fashioned way.

Tank mates

Cheekband eartheater is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.