Lip locking

[ddiienno]

Okay so I have 2 juvenile fire mouths. My one is a little smaller than the other but has much more coloration than the other. The bigger one is a little more dominate but I have been noticing lately they flare their gills at each other, rub up on each other and even lip locking. Aren't they a bit young for these behaviors? Could they be doing this for future spawning?

 

[Fishy Smell]

I'd say they've taken a dislike to each other.

 

[ddiienno]

Should I seperate them?

 

[DragonFish71]

They will also do this when forming a mating pair. Until you know for sure whether you have two males or a male/female pair, leave them alone for now, they're still juvies. Make sure there are places for the smaller one to hide from the aggressive one. Also remember that firemouths are little snots and will flare their gills just because. My pair are past the spawning age, but still have fight in them. They flare at me all the time.

 

[ddiienno]

That's what I figured haha thanks for the reply