What if my firemouths spawn?

[Bensparky]

Hello,

I currently have a 72 gallon bowfront aquarium that is cycling. I have decided on firemouth cichlids (one or two pairs?), and a bristlenose pleco (One or two?) But i just realized i will probably end up with a male and female. I want to have spawining in my aquarium , it is fun and interesting but what am i going to do with all the fish! I have a few questions , please help!


1.One or two pairs of firemouths?
2.One or two bristlenose plecos?
3.How many eggs do firemouths lay?
4.What are common ways to get rid of the fry (IM NOT KILLING THEM)
5.Any comments or concerns? Tips would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Bensparky]

May i also add something.

1.How many eggs will the bristlenose pleco lay?
2. How much of these two fishes fry will survive?

 

[Wolfsblood]

You could put the fry in a separate grow out tank and when they get big enough sell them to a mom and pop fish store or trade for some store credit. You could probably get a buck a piece for firemouths.

 

[Bensparky]

Thanks for the advice , i have heard that many times. Will a petco take these fish for store credit?

 

[Wolfsblood]

No, petco will take them off your hands and adopt them out. They wont give you anything for them though.

 

[Bensparky]

Okay , that can be my backup plan. Can you answer any of the other questions above?

 

[Wolfsblood]

I have never kept firemouths but have heard of people keeping 2 pairs in a 75 gallon. It should also be fine to keep 2 Bristlenoses.

 

[Bensparky]

Cool , thanks for all the help!

 

[Cichlid-dude]

I dont keep firemouths, but my buddy has a 90 gal with 2 pairs and they do fine. I would just have plenty of hiding spots and breaks in line of sight. You would also be fine with the bristle noses.

 

[5x5]

Hello,

I currently have a 72 gallon bowfront aquarium that is cycling. I have decided on firemouth cichlids (one or two pairs?), and a bristlenose pleco (One or two?) But i just realized i will probably end up with a male and female. I want to have spawining in my aquarium , it is fun and interesting but what am i going to do with all the fish! I have a few questions , please help!

1.One or two pairs of firemouths?
2.One or two bristlenose plecos?
3.How many eggs do firemouths lay?
4.What are common ways to get rid of the fry (IM NOT KILLING THEM)
5.Any comments or concerns? Tips would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I've just recently had a firemouth spawn in my 180 gallon tank.

1 - if you want a high likelihood of spawning I would pick up 4 - 6 Firemouths to increase the odds of getting a pair. You can always return some of the non-pairs to the fish store.

2 - BN plecos will help eliminate the fry, so you may want to get two of them. I'm assuming when you say you don't want to kill them, you are talking about culling the eggs yourself vs nature taking place in your tank?

3 - anywhere from 50 - 200 depending on the size of the female and environmental conditions. Not all will be fertilized and maybe will die in the wriggler state.

4 - the most common way to ensure little to no fry survive is to stock with some other fish that will make short work of the fry. I have a small sveni pike in my 180 and he would regularly snatch up the fry. My large pleco would also eat them. If you want them to survive, you pretty much have two options. You can donate them to a local fish store (very unlikely you would get a penny for your troubles) or sell them on locally on Craigslist...etc.

5 -I enjoyed spawning firemouths and they are not too aggressive during the process. I used a clay flowerpot on the side of the tank, which reduced the territory disputed during spawning. It was a slow process to get them to mate for me. I had them for about a year and they were 4 inches before the breeding tube appeared.

 

[HUKIT]

Congrats on picking the Thorichthys genus as that's one of my favorites, but have you considered others in that genus as well? There are quite of few that are breathtaking and far surpass the meeki(not being negative here as I have all of these including the firemouth).

Some of the ones I'm keeping are pasiones, aureum, mixteco sp.gold, and macullpinnis. They all have relatively the same temperment as meeki but with better coloration, plus a couple of them actually school in large enough numbers.

 

[Bensparky]

Hmm i think i will get some other fish for my tank. Can i get a list of all the New World Cichlids?

 

[HUKIT]

Can i get a list of all the New World Cichlids?

That's a big list! Id look into Amatitlania, Cryptoheros, Aequidens, and the Thoricthys genus as they can all be kept easily in that sized tank. This will at least get your research started.

 

[Bensparky]

Do you think i could keep firemouths with convicts and blue acaras peacefully?

 

[HUKIT]

Do you think i could keep firemouths with convicts and blue acaras peacefully?

Convicts and acara's as in plural then no, but you may get away with one of each depending on the convicts personality.

Did you look into the genus's of fish mentioned above? There are so many to choose from, I'd spend a little time googling those and see what you think.

 

[Bensparky]

Ok , thanks.