Firemouth Problem

[martin99uks]

Hey guys

I done my research and decided to buy ONE firemouth cichlid with some other compatable fish.

We to my LFS and the member of staff recomended TWO firemouths...
I just went for his advice as he sells fish all the time.

6 months later and one of my firemouths has grown to 2.5-3" and is rather territorial. This is not a problem for the small pleco and tetras I have because the can hide and get away from him however the other firemouth is now looking sickly and spends all of his time at one small corner of the tank. I try my best to get him food but the larger firemouth is especially aggresive during feeding and is quite greedy.

Is there anything I can do?

Any advice would be appreciated.
I have a 110L tank.

 

[charliebankston]

I keep lots of cichlids. Ime when one has established dominance in the tank, it doesn't stop. It will prob continue to bully the lesser one until it leaves his perceived territory or leaves by dying due to stress. FM are generally not aggressive as far as causing damage, but they can be very territorial and bossy, and will challenge even much bigger fish than them. At this point I'd say rehome/remove the subservient FM

 

[charliebankston]

The fish store didn't necessarily tell you wrong, it's just that all cichlids have different personalities. What has worked for one person may not for you and vice versa. It's always a gamble with semi aggressive or aggressive fish like that on how they will cohabitat.

 

[Brookster123]

The fish store may have been hoping they sold you a m/f pair. If that were the case they probably would have been fine together. As charlie stated, cichlids are a gamble, you're best to remove the victim and rehome otherwise it will most likely die in that tank.

 

[charliebankston]

The fish store may have been hoping they sold you a m/f pair. If that were the case they probably would have been fine together. As charlie stated, cichlids are a gamble, you're best to remove the victim and rehome otherwise it will most likely die in that tank.

Yeah, that's prob what they thought. But it's almost impossible to tell at that bought size of they are m/f. About the time you can vent and look, the male is already growing out his long flowing fins so then you know, lol

 

[martin99uks]

I think I am going to rehome this fish. It's a shame really he has the best colours out of the two but it is what it is.

In regards to the store I bought it from. It's a generic chain pet store and I was hoping to avoid any of these problems by just buying one but the member of staff insisted I buy two of them and wouldn't sell me one because they "need to be kept in groups larger than 1"

Thanks for all your advice.

Can anyone make recomendations for fish that would be compatable with the problematic firemouth? I have a small pleco and 3 small tetras. In a semi-planted 110l tank with driftwood branches and rocks that have gaps for the pleco.

 

[charliebankston]

Prob any fish he doesn't see as a big threat. So avoid other cichlids, and it'll prob be fine. Top swimmers would be best bet