Firemouth with other fish?

6 Firemouths are the best answer in a 36x18 tank. 6 will insure a pair. Then remove the other 4. Not because they will be killed but because your tank is to short. Cichlids are substrate spawners that defend territories in the wild 4'x'4 square. That's 16 sq. feet!!! Your tank is 4.5 sq. feet. I like 180g and up for cichlids to do their best. Smaller tanks will work but until you but them in a 6'x2'x2' plus tank will you really say WOW to cichlids.

As far as the plec goes...The firemouths will attack the plec so get one that is cheap and expendable.

If you can sex the fish Then I would selectively breed the best colors together to get fish like this...

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rmcder, would the Honduran red points get along with some Rainbow cichlids and T-Bar cichlids (a pair of each)? Or would they interbreed with each other? I am pretty definite now on the Rainbow cichlids and the T-bar's - but don't know if I can get away with a third pair or not in my 65g (36x18 footprint) that has a Fluval 405 filter and regular gravel. My ph is 7.8.

I welcome ideas and comments from anyone on the compatibility and possible tank mates for these two species. I think firemouths are out for this tank, maybe next time! Thanks...
 
saganco said:
rmcder, would the Honduran red points get along with some Rainbow cichlids and T-Bar cichlids (a pair of each)? Or would they interbreed with each other? I am pretty definite now on the Rainbow cichlids and the T-bar's - but don't know if I can get away with a third pair or not in my 65g (36x18 footprint) that has a Fluval 405 filter and regular gravel. My ph is 7.8.
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HRP could interbreed with sajica, so mixing them might not be a good idea. I really wouldn't even consider three pairs in that tank. To be honest, I have my doubts about having two pairs. The sajica are going to become quite aggressive when breeding, and may be more than rainbows can handle. If they're both breeding at the same time, things could get really messy. For this to work out, you are going to have to pay a lot of attention to blocking the sight lines to the point where you basically physically divide the tank, and the way that rainbows like to swim around, they aren't going to be happy about that. Maybe it'll work out for you, I certainly wish you good luck!
 
Well, we ended up with a breeding pair of HRP's - but they are alone in a 65g tank :sad: I need to figure out what other breeding pair would work with them - yes it's a 65g, but it's pretty much divided (at least halfway from front to back) visually with caves and tunnels. I figure if I'm going to have little ones, they may as well be something that my LFS doesn't have tons of!

Thinking of adding rainbowfish as the dithers since they prefer the upstairs and the cichlids prefer ground floor. My tank is sorta a two story condo affair :rolleyes:

Any great thoughts on who should share the tank with the HRP pair?
 
My iniital thought is that there isn't room for two pairs. I haven't reviewed all the messages, but I suspect that has been my opinion all along. Another single, something tough but not too large would be ok, I think. You MIGHT be able to get away with a pair of firemouth, but I'm not sure if your lfs considers them saleable, or if they can stand up to a breeding pair of hrp. If it were me, I'd consider adding a single female nic or salvini (preference on the salvini in this case). They are both tough, top out at about 8", and have nice yellow/orange/red coloration which would fit nicely with the hrp blue.

As I said earlier, that tank is nice for a few singles where the aggression is lower, but a pair automatically shrinks the tank down. As soon as the hrps breed, they are going to shove everything else into one corner of the tank, and only something that is bigger and very tough is going to be ok in that environment.

What you need to keep in mind is that hrp are a milder form of convict, and a breeding pair of convicts have been known to kill much larger fish by doubleteaming them. My single female routinely chases much larger fish around the tank, so I can only imagine what a breeding pair could/would do.

Good luck with them, and please let me know how things go for you; I'm very interested in how the pair work out!
 
Well, still undecided on a second pair. Mommy HRP has wigglers now, and I'm just watching to see when it's time to feed them. I also am seriously considering putting them all (mom, dad, and fry) into a 40g breeder with a few peaceful dithers and a small cleaning crew - and making the 65 into more of a community tank (unknown what yet). I would rather have two breeding pair, but it's just not feasible, well.... The 40g breeder has the same footprint as the 65g, but is shorter, thus not as much "upper level real estate" to fill.

Any more thoughts to aid in my dilemma? If moving them is the best idea, I need to know if:
1) mom and dad won't freak out and eat them after they all get moved.
2) do I move the fry first and parents last - or visa versa?
3) what "age" should I move them?
 
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