Firemouth Questions

[bobross]

Hello everybody,

I just had a few questions regarding the firemouth cichlid. Tomorrow, a friend of mine will be picking up one at a LFS for me. Now, from talking to the guy at the LFS, he was telling me that the FM's they have now are only an inch long. At that young of an age, can they be sexed? I know what males & females look like when mature, but can I spot the difference at such a young age?? The reason I ask is because I was looking for a female.

I would like a female firemouth since I already have a m/f pair of parrots & a male severum. I was thinking that if it were a female, there wouldn't be as much introductory aggression since I have two male fish already.

When I get this fish, I currently have a empty 10g quarantine tank the fish will be in. I understand that it's not that big and the fish will grow out of it rather quickly. However, I have no other place to put this fish until it gets bigger.

Once the little one is a little bigger, he/she will be added to a 55g with my sev & blood parrots. Now I already realize that a 55g isn't big enough for any of these fish once they reach maturity, but the 55 will serve as a grow out for them until they are bigger.

My severum is five inches, and both parrots are around four inches long. I was thinking I could add the FM once it was bigger - because at 1", wouldn't it be a snack for the other fish? Also, if the fish were bigger, maybe it stands a better chance of defense once it's bigger if there are any problems with introducing it later on.


So, would it be better to grow the fish out before introducing it in my 55g? Or, should I add it to the 55 once it's been quarantined? Either way, the fish will be in the 10g for a few weeks for quarantine. I just don't know if I should put it in the 55 right away or let it grow out a bit. Does all of this make sense to anyone else.


I'm sorry if my way of writing is confusing and a little bit scattered. I would appreciate some responses as I can't really find the answer to my questions on the net.

Thanks in advance,

BobRoss

P.S. just thought of something - can I even have a FM with two BP's and a sev? I'm finding a lot of contradicting info and can't seem to understand. As of right now, the only fish that shows any aggression is my male Bp, but it's minimal. most of it's directed at my female bp.

If anyone is curious, this tank has been running since June of last year. Water stats are spot on(finally got that sorted).
I run a Rena XP2 & a Aqua-tech 30-60 hob. & do 20-30% water changes every four-five days.

 

[Tobigara]

if it were me i would put the FM in a grow out tank first. After that there is no garantee on whether or not the other cichlids will accept it. you can always try it and if it doesn't work remove it. i'm not an expert yet so you might want to wait til someone with more experience shows up. either way i'm sure it'll work out.

 

[bobross]

if it were me i would put the FM in a grow out tank first. After that there is no garantee on whether or not the other cichlids will accept it. you can always try it and if it doesn't work remove it. i'm not an expert yet so you might want to wait til someone with more experience shows up. either way i'm sure it'll work out.

Thanks for the response Tobigara,

See, that's where I am confused. Regardless of what option I chose, the fish is going into quarantine. From that point, I'm confused. I look at it one of two ways. I add the fish in a few weeks and I end up with a $7 treat for my other fish. Or I wait a couple of months and add it. It's the possibility that the other fish won't accept it at the point that's get's me thinking.
If they don't accept it at that point, I'm prepared to get another tank for it, if that's the case.

I'm not worried about the severum, he is pretty docile...as of now. He locked up with both parrots when I first got them, but after the initial squabbles, they are fine. It's the parrot I'm worried about. My female is also rather docile, but my male can get protective of his space. Especially when they attempt to spawn.

(On a side note: The parrots claim one lower corner of the tank as theirs. In the middle & right side of my tank, is free reign for everyone else. My idea was that if the fish initially accept the FM, that the 'open' part of tank could be shared with my sev & FM.)

So hopefully I can get some more info before tomorrow(the 12th) since that's when I get the little one.

It's crazy. I've been thinking about the whole idea of owning a FM that for so long that I can't sleep. I'm so excited to get it!! I just wish I could get some pics of my tank. my cell phone pics suck and are too bright or washed out. I just posted a couple of crappy pics so so guys can look at what I'm talking about. click here...now.

FYI, Allen usually doesn't show all of his vertical stripes. But he does change color quite often. When these pics were taken, I had to feed them to get him to sit still.

BobRoss

 

[jayjay]

If you're worried for the fire mouths safety add hiding places which are only small enough for it to fit in. Tubes which the parrots and sevs are too tall to fit in would be a good idea.