THREADFIN GEOPHAGUS (Acarichthys heckelii)

Relatively peaceful in the main and will not prey on anything larger than a couple of centimetres in size. Suitable tankmates are too numerous to list but include most peaceful species enjoying similar environmental conditions. For those wishing to attempt a biotope-style community a list of some naturally co-occurrent species can be found in the ‘habitat‘ section above.

Best avoided are particularly aggressive/territorial species or those known to nip at trailing fins. Some aquarists keep this species alongside freshwater stingrays of the genus Potamotrygon which in many cases has proven successful but in others has resulted in the stingrays preying on them at night.



Unfortunately some adults appear prone to exhibit unpredictable and extreme events of intraspecific aggression which can easily result in the death of weaker individuals. This appears related to both tank and group size with problems decreasing as both those factors increase.

https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/acarichthys-heckelii/