Red tailed Shark and fire mouth

[Moopoo]

So I had bought a red tailed Shark and of course after a few months he had to moved to a separate tank. I got a fire mouth to keep company but he even harassed him even though he probably is the best match. I noticed that my 2 gold fish are so oblivious to everything else around them so I wondered if this might change the atmosphere of tank again and added them to this tank and it totally has. The fire mouth comes out more and hangs around the goldfish and the shark has stopped harassing.
On another note, In my original tank my 2 Bolivian rams are now exploring their tank more that the gold fish are not there... Finding all this behavior very interesting

 

[PorshaF]

I'm not sure if that's a permanent solution as all fish except the goldfish are tropical and goldfish are cold water, living in too hot or too cold of water stresses fish out making them susceptible to illness and it can even shorten their lifespan

 

[Ichthys]

Also Firemouths are a social cichlid that should be kept in a group, and they occupy the lower levels which makes them a bad choice for a RTBS.

 

[itiwhetu]

Some RTBS are just little shits and nothing will change that, others are wonderful community fish. I have had both types. I still love them despite their personality disorders.

 

[Dephea]

If your shark is not suitable for your tropical community tank consider rehoming it. Do not mix tropical fish with goldfish.

Temperature aside, goldfish are poop machines, they really change the water quality. I know, I made that mistake too. Please, please - do not mix tropical fish with goldfish.

 

[Moopoo]

I'm not sure if that's a permanent solution as all fish except the goldfish are tropical and goldfish are cold water, living in too hot or too cold of water stresses fish out making them susceptible to illness and it can even shorten their lifespan

I've found that they adapt well to different temps

 

[Dephea]

I've found that they adapt well to different temps

For 6 weeks lived in a house that didn't have a kitchen because I was replacing it. Did I adapt to it? Yes, I did. Did I thrive in it? Absolutely not. Just because a fish is surviving doesn't mean that it should live like this. I might be wrong but I thought we were supposed to let our fish thrive, not just survive.

Things to consider:
- Goldfish will always eat. Warmer water increases their metabolism, which in turns makes them more hungry. Likely you will be overfeeding your tropical fish or underfeeding your goldfish
- A hungry goldfish will try to grab all the food it can which can result in injuries in other fish
- Goldfish are poop machines as I stated in my previous reply. Feeding them more to accommodate them in a warmer water will affect the quality of your water. Tropical fish are more sensitive to ammonia
- Higher temperatures will reduce the lifespan of your goldfish
-Also a quote from fishkeepingadvice.com : Goldies are a sociable fish and they enjoy the company of other goldfish, so keeping them with different species of fish could cause them stress and wouldn’t provide them with the correct environment to thrive.

Just consider if mixing fish that are not compatible and forcing some of them to live in bad conditions is the right thing to do. In the end your fish cannot just jump out of the tank and tell you that it's unhappy

 

[Moopoo]

Point taken

 

[Moopoo]

I.hsve given the goldfish a home of their own so lesson learned there. I had consulted about a firemouth before buying and was advised a good companion as his dominant behavior for being with the shark. Everything I had read about having more than one firemouth was against it as they are as someone above said, little shits and this one is too!
I have moved the duo into a bigger tank and so far so good.. I'm still a keen learner and want to do the right thing by my fishy friends.
There does seem to be a lot of conflicting advise which doesn't help.

 

[Dephea]

Conflicting information is out there about nearly everything, sometimes you need to experiment to learn. I can promise you the goldfish move was a good decision, I made the same mistake in the past and I saw a massive change in my goldfish behaviour whe I moved them to a cooler tank.

I can't comment on the firemouth as I never had them, but I do have a single red tailed shark. He's only a juvenile, less than 2 inches long. I keep him with 4 bala sharks and 3 clown loaches, but those are growing big so you need to be able to either rehome then when they outgrow your tank or be ready to upgrade it. They have 4 caves, plenty of plants and hides and so far 0 issues with aggression.

 

[Moopoo]

Conflicting information is out there about nearly everything, sometimes you need to experiment to learn. I can promise you the goldfish move was a good decision, I made the same mistake in the past and I saw a massive change in my goldfish behaviour whe I moved them to a cooler tank.

I can't comment on the firemouth as I never had them, but I do have a single red tailed shark. He's only a juvenile, less than 2 inches long. I keep him with 4 bala sharks and 3 clown loaches, but those are growing big so you need to be able to either rehome then when they outgrow your tank or be ready to upgrade it. They have 4 caves, plenty of plants and hides and so far 0 issues with aggression.

Hi my RTS is now over 3inches... They both have plenty hiding places and although they are fake, plenty plants and now in a bigger tank, so we shall see how they go.. they both do seem to be a lot more settled so maybe just needing a bit more elbow or fin room .. thank you

 

[Moopoo]

I'm not sure if that's a permanent solution as all fish except the goldfish are tropical and goldfish are cold water, living in too hot or too cold of water stresses fish out making them susceptible to illness and it can even shorten their lifespan

Have thier own cold water tank

 

[Moopoo]

Albert here has the most stunning electric blue through his fins..