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Red Head Tapajos – What You Need To Know
Also known as Red Head Tapajos. A small to mid sized South American cichlid that develops a signature red forehead.
Classification Info
Scientific name: Geophagus sp.
Higher classification: Geophagus
Order: Perciformes
Family: Cichlidae
Max Size:
About 6 inches (152.4 mm)
Why We Love Red Head Tapajos
We have a group of 5 Red Head Tapajos living together in harmony. They are a South American cichlid that does well in groups and get that signature red forehead after a couple of years. One of my favorite parts about these guys are the blue lines in their fins. It such a brilliant color and contrasts really nicely with the red head. The Red Head’s were the start of our venture and passion into South American cichlids. They have minimal aggression and we only see small bouts of hierarchy spats as you can see in the video below. They are part of the Geophagus cichlids which means they will sift through sand and rearrange the aquarium to their liking.
Our group of Red Head Tapajos – Suspected 3 males & 2 females
For sexing, it can be hard to tell but in most cases males will be darker in color with a more pronounced ‘forehead’ bump than the females. In the photos above, you can see how two of them are more muted in color than the others, but there is always a chance a less dominant male isn’t showing full colors which can make it difficult to tell their sex.
Red Head Tapajos are an awesome fish to start with if you’ve never kept a South American cichlid before. They are probably one of the most common types to be seen in fish stores, especially your LFS (local fish store). We haven’t seen them pop up in big box pet stores so make sure to support your LFS’s when searching for these guys.
