Firemouths not pairing up

Good day all,

I got 7 juvi firemouths in a ~70 gal tank with some swordtails. Sadly 2 of the FM died from dropsy im guessing. All of the others are doing fine.

So in those 5 i got i dominant male that claimed territory in the middle of the tank.. this is kind of an issue coz hes chasing the others all over. From those 5 i think i got 2 females. The dominant male seems to be alone while the others have gotten to like each other in pairs. Will the females change thier impression that hes just lonely and not a bully?

I took the dominant FM out for a day and redecorated the wood plants etc. Hoping it would encourage the others to establish their territory. 2 of them are definatly a pair since they work as a team sometimes to chase off others. Since i got the boss back in minutes later he claimed the middle of the tank same location and began to chase the others again.

How do i make them breed? i feed them 3 times a day with variety of food (shrimps, hikari carnivore, small algea pellets) i also tried raising the temp to 82F still nothing. There are caves i made from piling rocks and wood. Ill try to add those clay pots and see.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

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keep 1 pr in the tank and move the others out.

move the cave into a corner or one side so the pr lives on one side and the rest of the tank is safe for the other fish.

feed them regularly and do weekly water changes and they will breed when ready.

You've got an odd number so you will have an odd one out. I suggest you re-home the overly aggressive one and see how it goes first. In a 70gal tank you might be able to keep 2 pairs but one is probably best.

To get them breeding I'd do as above said. Keep one pair, provide a good spawning area and do your water changes. Even doing small daily water changes with slightly cooler water may trigger them to spawn. Cooler water changes simulate rainfall and the rainy season is when most fish spawn.

Yeh im doing large water changes weekly (50%) and feeding regularly. Will try readjusting everything into one side and taking the others back to the lfs.
If 2 are spending most time together and flaring/ circling does that mean they are a pair or is that subject to change?
If so then yeh i definatly have a pair but the dominant male is bullying them.
Thnx colin.

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Demeter32 said:

You've got an odd number so you will have an odd one out. I suggest you re-home the overly aggressive one and see how it goes first. In a 70gal tank you might be able to keep 2 pairs but one is probably best.

To get them breeding I'd do as above said. Keep one pair, provide a good spawning area and do your water changes. Even doing small daily water changes with slightly cooler water may trigger them to spawn. Cooler water changes simulate rainfall and the rainy season is when most fish spawn.

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Great yeh ill keepp one pair and see how it goes. That rainfall thing makes sense too. Thnx

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If 2 of them are hanging out together and hanging around a particular area (cave or driftwood), then they have probably paired up. Have a look at their dorsal (top) and anal (bottom) fins. The males have longer pointed dorsal and anal fins and the females have shorter more round fins. If you post pictures of the fish we should be able to tell you what sex they are, assuming they are big enough. How big are they?

You don't have to take the others back to the shop just yet but watch them and see how they go over the next few weeks. When 1 pr starts breeding or chasing the others away from their cave, then move the others out.

#1 thats the dominant male
#2 thats the other male
#3 also male
#4 bigger female
#5 smaller dominant female
My guesses
As far as thier behavior nothing out of the ordinary but i do see sometimes that 2+5 chasing off 3,4 on the left side of the tank. While the dominant has almost all the tank and can chase off any. Sometimes i do see flaring between 1 and 2 if he come to the left side but mostly they dont bother each other.

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Should i stick with only keeping 2+5 together is that pairing behaivior? I may have 2 pairs but mostly what i see is 2+5 chasing off 4, once every 5 chases the dominant (1) will come behind her flaring his fins and the others back away. Im pretty sure 2+5 are a pair but not sure if 1+4 are.
Tried to capture the behavior but is not easy [emoji36]

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I would give them a couple more days together. If they are forming a pair, then a couple more days defending the tank against the others should help to reinforce the bond and when you remove the other 3 fish, they should go straight to nest. Just watch them all tho and if any look like they are being hurt, take the injured ones out.

Will do, will remove the odd one out for now and exchange it for something and keep the pairs and see.

Thnx

So what i ended up doing was i kept the non dominant pair, which i was sure was a pair coz they were fending off other FM together abd took the others to the store. Planted more in the tank did a 40% water change and hoping for the best.

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So its been nearly a month..
My observations have been so far:
Male keeps chasing the female mostly. I do see her flaring the gills to intimidate him. But mostly shes in the corner hiding behind plants. I dont know why she doesnt go to the other side of the tank though? Further away from the male territory. Could she still be small to breed?

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