Firemouths and GBR's

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SHIFT_Unique

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Sep 12, 2006
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148
My rams are a little intimidated by the Firemouths, so they are always flareing their fins and occasionally chasing them off.

Im assuming it will tone down a bit once they get used to them. I just put them in the tank yesturday.
 
Very bad combo. The GBRs will never be able to hold their own against such an aggressive species. My advice is to seperate them as quickly as possible.
 
They are not agressive at all. if anything arrises, and when they get too big, i will move them to another tank.
 
Firemouths are notorious for being VERY aggressive. GBR's on the other hand are more docile. The GBR's should NOT be in the same tank as firemouths. The GBR's will be under a lot of stress which may lead to their demise.
 
SHIFT_Unique said:
My rams are a little intimidated by the Firemouths, so they are always flareing their fins and occasionally chasing them off.

Im assuming it will tone down a bit once they get used to them. I just put them in the tank yesturday.

Sorry, but I agree with the others. You won't see this behavior tone down anytime soon. I suggest you put the rams in another tank. No way that the firemouths will learn to tolerate them, unless you have a tank holding 500+ gallons.
 
i have a semi aggressive tank. everyone gets along, because its heavily planted with lots of driftwood, and hiding places.
 
I keep both species, and I agree with everyone else. The rams are just too docile. My firemouth flares up and chases everything that moves in the tank. I would never dream of putting my rams back in that situation (I also had the two together, and took the boards advice when everyone told me the same thing they are telling you). The firemouth is just TOO mean for the GBRs. A better choice would be a convict or something along those lines (depending on the tank size). Just make sure it is the same sex as the firemouth if you go with a convict, otherwise you might end up with firecon fry. And only get one convict, unless you want a bunch of fry (they breed like guppies)
 
SHIFT_Unique said:
i have a semi aggressive tank. everyone gets along, because its heavily planted with lots of driftwood, and hiding places.

Well, rams don't belong in a semi-aggressive tank. Aside from convicts, you could get away with having some Archocentrus sp. like the Flyer cichlid. They would stand a greater chance of survival against a Firemouth.
 
Well, even if everyhting continues at the status quo, the growth of the firemouths usually tops off around 5-6 inches. At that size, they will assert their authority over those GBRs and they will be slaughtered. I
 
the gbr's chase the firemouths all the time. i dunno, maybe i got weenie firemouths. the firemouths dont flare up at anything.
 
how big are the rams compared to the firemouth? how long has each been in the tank?
 
my gbr's are the most colorful GBR's i have ever seen. so i dunno. i guess i will donate my firemouths to another good friend.
 
I got another tank so I could have a few firemouths. It takes them a few months, but they will get after it when the start maturing.

I had the same thoughts that you are having. I think my FM would have been fine for awhile with the GBRs, but not after he got to 3 inches long.
 
Agreed. The GBRs will be toast. They will either succumb to an outright attack, or just to stress.
In my short experience, a stressed GBR will be a deceased GBR shortly...
...exactly. If your GBRs make it to the point where the FMs hit sexual maturity, then it's over. Donating them is probably a good idea. My FM is by far the most aggressive fish I have ever kept.
 
I agree with everyone else. My FM is 4-5" right now, and he is not a docile fish, by any means. I would get rid of one of the two fish, as as the FM grows, he most likley will no longer tolerate the rams, and he WILL try to kill them at this point.
 
they are still together and doing well. the gbr's dont chase the one firemouth i have left. the other died because of a internal perisite from the LFS

the firemouth shows no aggression to anyone, my most aggressive fish seem to be, my 2 gold barbs, and my two silver tip tetras,but they only run after my dwarf rainbows and smaller fish that get in their territory
 
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