Looking for 1 Cichlid in my 29 Gallon (First Cichlid)!

[charliebankston]

2 males will fight for territory too, but prob not fatally. You could buy several and then when 2 pair off rehome the others

[charliebankston]

I try to keep all my meaner cichlids either alone or with same sex. Tbh I don't want to have a bunch of fry, or deal with the spawning aggression. I have 31 African cichlids together, all male, and a 215g with new world cichlids, all male. A 45g convict only with all female. Seems to work out better for us

[charliebankston]

The problem with new world cichlids is that it's hard to tell m from f until they're older. Africans have tell tale signs pretty young, but some others it's hard to know until the lay eggs. My wife has a red devil alone in a 75 named Tom. Recently discovered after almost a year, Tom is actually Tomina, lol

[Crabcake]

Originally Posted by charliebankston

The problem with new world cichlids is that it's hard to tell m from f until they're older. Africans have tell tale signs pretty young, but some others it's hard to know until the lay eggs. My wife has a red devil alone in a 75 named Tom. Recently discovered after almost a year, Tom is actually Tomina, lol

Thanks for the replies! Yeah, I don't really want to deal with getting a few and then waiting until they pair off and having to sell the rest, but I'll take that into consideration.

[rlederer]

I don't agree. I had several Firemouths in a 40 gallon, including two males. They flare at each other and fight mouth to mouth but there were never any injuries. And both bred successfully in the same tank. They just need hiding places.

[Crabcake]

Originally Posted by rlederer

I don't agree. I had several Firemouths in a 40 gallon, including two males. They flare at each other and fight mouth to mouth but there were never any injuries. And both bred successfully in the same tank. They just need hiding places.

Hmm, okay. So if I were to just put a ton of sieryu stone all around the place to create territories, how many do you think I could put?

[rlederer]

In a 29 Gallon? Two Pairs or a male and three females

[charliebankston]

Originally Posted by rlederer

I don't agree. I had several Firemouths in a 40 gallon, including two males. They flare at each other and fight mouth to mouth but there were never any injuries. And both bred successfully in the same tank. They just need hiding places.

40g breeder tank?

[charliebankston]

A 48" or even a 36" tank is better for multiple cichlids imo. In a 30" there really isn't a place to get away from each other when spawning. In the wild, a challenged cichlid would just swim away to another area. But, that's just my 2 cents worth

[Crabcake]

Originally Posted by charliebankston

A 48" or even a 36" tank is better for multiple cichlids imo. In a 30" there really isn't a place to get away from each other when spawning. In the wild, a challenged cichlid would just swim away to another area. But, that's just my 2 cents worth

Yeah, I'm still deciding what is the better option. I posted this on a cichlid forum and it said that if firemouths weren't kept with other firemouths, they wouldn't get the "red" coloration. Maybe I'll look into a different species...

[charliebankston]

Oh, I dunno. Mine is with other cichlids, but no other firemouth and he's beautiful

[Crabcake]

Originally Posted by charliebankston

Oh, I dunno. Mine is with other cichlids, but no other firemouth and he's beautiful

I think the person meant other cichlids with it... Or not... I'm not sure..

[charliebankston]

That may be, I dunno. My tank is hazy cuz i treated last week for fin rot on 2 fish and it killed my cycle, but you can kind of make out his colors as he's guarding his flower pot

[Crabcake]

Originally Posted by charliebankston

That may be, I dunno. My tank is hazy cuz i treated last week for fin rot on 2 fish and it killed my cycle, but you can kind of make out his colors as he's guarding his flower potAttachment 318236

Oh haha. He was difficult to find at first lol but found him eventually. Nice fire mouth you have there!

[charliebankston]

Yeah, he's hilarious. He constantly flares at the few in there his size. He's smart enough to leave the 4 bigger ones alone. That tank was always clear and pretty until I had to do a course of antibiotics. Did a water change and filter service Sunday, and it's better, but I'm pretty sure it's cloudy cuz i killed the cycle