Firemouth Gaining Fire at 5 Years

He's 5 years and worse than the stereotype. He contributed to my Convict's early demise. I had to rehome a Blue Acara because of him. He chases my filament barbs often. If Firemouths were 10" they'd be the meanest critter in the hobby. He's become redder on the face in the past 6 months. They're slow bloomers.


1-2 years ago:


3 years ago:


5 years ago:


And the Filament Barbs he chases. These guys rock. They're about 6" with the same biomass as a Firemouth.




This gang is in a 90. (I'd prefer a 6' tank and 5 barbs, but this works):

swifty said:

Wow, nice firemouth. I love the extended "trailers" on his fins, when did he start to develop those?

Also, what is your water change schedule/his diet?

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I change about 80% every 6 days. If I wait 7 days the nitrates are red. I use a few different pellets (Omega One, NLS), Ken's freeze-dried krill superba, and the occasional earthworm.

He grows so slowly I hardly notice the trailers. They've become distinct in the past two years or so.

I think FMs are a type of eartheater(?) so I should have sand instead of gravel. He doesn't seem to mind. In the future I'd like to do a thorichthys tank, with some of his less famous kin: http://www.fishbase.org/identification/SpeciesList.php?genus=Thorichthys

Filament Barbs would make for a great tank all by themselves. They make chirping sounds when they chase each other. There's so many barbs that you rarely see in the hobby: http://www.seriouslyfish.com/group/barbs-relatives/