firemouth cichlid

[sebastian2345]

Is a 37 gallon tank enough for a fire mouth cichlid?

 

[LayzorBeams]

People have kept them in 20 gallon long tanks, so as long as its alone or its a breeding pair youre fine. I dont know the mesurements of that size tank but it has basically 40gallons which should be enough space to distribute nitrates, and you bioload should be ok.

What do you want to keep it with? Alone or paired would be best, as said above. And very few tankmates as well, if any...


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[sebastian2345]

It is 30"L 12"W 22"H and I was planning on having it with a school of serpae tetras.

 

[LayzorBeams]

Serpae should be aggresive enough to get along.

I think that would be fine.


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[sebastian2345]

Can a fire mouth cichlid be kept with a krib or a blue ram?

 

[sebastian2345]

Ir a firemouth cichlid and pictus catfish

 

[LayzorBeams]

You could go with an FM, a smallish school of Serpae, and one of the smaller Pictus varieties. They prefer schools but i don't think you have room.

No GBR or Kribs


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[sebastian2345]

And I just realized that I didn't mention that I have a BN pleco so would a pictus catfish overcrowd the bottom

 

[LayzorBeams]

Choose between a BN Plec or a Pictus, unless you have good filtration and a lot of hiding places.

The Pleco will need a bit of driftwood as well...


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[Rivers2k]

It is 30"L 12"W 22"H and I was planning on having it with a school of serpae tetras.

Great plan. I would say no to the pictus just keep the BN pleco.

Firemouths are fantastic fish (one of my favorites) and they don't start going psycho until they breed so its best to keep a single one in a tank that size.

 

[Aqua crew]

All of these responses have been on point. I'd hold out on the pictus because of how big it'll get and the mouth it will eventually have.


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[sebastian2345]

Could I have a school of cories on the bottom or would the firemouth bother them?

 

[LayzorBeams]

Ok, heres the deal.

Firemouth is not a super aggressive fish. It doesn't have a huge mouth like a Jaguar or an Oscar. It doesn't have a habit of eating all other fish.

However, it can be aggressive as im sure you know. If you have fish that are bothersome to the Firemouth, you can expect that at some point they will die. This doesnt only mean that they nip or bite him, but they take his space. In that size tank the FM might feel invaded, and adding more small fish has both pros and cons.

Adding more means more targets to distribute aggression, so each individual fish takes less damage from an attacker.

However, it increases the crowded feeling and adds bioload. Both are unhealthy things in most circumstances. (Bioload always is, overcrowding can be good.)

So, i would personally either do a bunch of either Cories or Serpae. Or do a school of only about 8 Serpae and like 4 Cories and get rid of the Pleco, as it could be territorial to the Cories and is also a high producer of bioload.

However, adding in a school of Serpae, Cories, and an FM with the Bristlenose CAN be done. I stress "can". Its not a great chance when the FM and Pleco are full grown.

But, in the end its up to you.




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