Firemouth dilema

powellmacaque

AC Members
Feb 16, 2005
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St. Petersburg, FL
Right about now I have a 55 set up with 2 firemouths (one male, one female) and 4 cories... When I originally bought the tank (transferring the firemouths from seperate 10 gallons to the 55), I bought two angelfish to put in the tank. One of the angels died (it didnt really like the ride home) and the other got beaten up by one firemouth.

I then got a parrotfish, figuring that it would probably be able to hold its own better in a 55 with a firemouth, considering it was about the same size, and could swim easier than an angelfish could. About a week or so later, the parrotfish was all bloody, so I put him in one of my rescue 10-gallons for the time being (until i can afford to get a bigger tank).

My firemouths never come out from their rocks, so now I'm stuck with a 55 that really has no activity at all. What could I do to these tanks to liven them up? The two firemouths never seem to fight, but I'm afraid to add anything else to the tank. I was thinking about maybe adding a slightly grown JD or something more agressive... But it sounds like an accident waiting to happen... Any advice would be appreciated.
 
I would go with the larger tank as in your other thread.
 
How much cover or hiding places do you have? I've never kept FMs (planning to, however) but I know for other "shy" fish, the more cover you provide, the more active they become. I'm guessing the more hiding spots, the more cover they can get to if they get spooked. If not enough spots, they may just stay there to avoid getting caught in the open.

Just saw this thread is over two months old :)
 
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Right about now I have a 55 set up with 2 firemouths (one male, one female) and 4 cories... When I originally bought the tank (transferring the firemouths from seperate 10 gallons to the 55), I bought two angelfish to put in the tank. One of the angels died (it didnt really like the ride home) and the other got beaten up by one firemouth.

I then got a parrotfish, figuring that it would probably be able to hold its own better in a 55 with a firemouth, considering it was about the same size, and could swim easier than an angelfish could. About a week or so later, the parrotfish was all bloody, so I put him in one of my rescue 10-gallons for the time being (until i can afford to get a bigger tank).

My firemouths never come out from their rocks, so now I'm stuck with a 55 that really has no activity at all. What could I do to these tanks to liven them up? The two firemouths never seem to fight, but I'm afraid to add anything else to the tank. I was thinking about maybe adding a slightly grown JD or something more agressive... But it sounds like an accident waiting to happen... Any advice would be appreciated.
If you have a 30 gallon tank I would move the firemouth pair there. Also a divided 20 long could work too.

If you want Angels, you should be able to have them with a school of non-edible tetras. Or another combination could be a school of barbs and rainbow cichlids.
 
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