What to do with my FM and JD?

I'm trying to decide my stocking for my 40g. It's a 3 foot tank and I've had it for years, but I plan on upgrading to a 4 footer when/if the need arises. I've never had a reason to yet as my initial cichlid (a firemouth) taught me that firemouths are incredibly slow growers.

Right now, it has 5 colombian tetras, a bristlenose pleco, and 2 male cichlids, a firemouth and a JD. They are now just under 4". The firemouth has been with me for almost 2 years (got him at under 1"), and the JD I just got about 2 months ago at ~3".

My FM has always been pretty peaceful with his various tankmates over the past years, so I decided to add the JD that was similar sized so my FM wouldn't be bullied. Turns out I should've went bigger, as the JD is the one being bullied. It has never once been to the point of damage, as I've never seen a nipped fin, just a lot of chasing every now and then. The FM keeps to the bottom, and the JD will roam the upper half. I'm aware this wont last forever either as the JD will outgrow the FM. Seeing how the FM is now though is giving me hope that he can hold his own with the JD when he matures.

With that in mind, seeing as how young the JD is I want to get this situated sooner than later. I'm stuck between 2 options: Re-home the FM, and find a female for the JD (not interested in breeding, just for compatibility) or keep the FM/JD as they are? I'm sure there will be some aggression either way, but which will give the least headache?

Montelboom said:

Had the same problem with a male firemouth and a female jack dempsey in the end the jack saw through the firemouths 'bluffs' and I assume killed it. But now I have two male firemouths with the jack and everything is alright. I'd keep an eye on them for now to make sure nothing gets out of hand.

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I see, thanks for the input. What size tank was that in, and what are the sizes of your fms and jack?

I've noticed the JD is starting to get that way, as sometimes at night I'll get to see the JD near his plant that he likes to sleep at. The FM will come flaring and the JD just sits there. Yet, in the daytime and when the lights are on anytime the FM swims in the JD's direction he darts off.

pops said:

sex of the JD?

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Male.

convict360 said:

Your JD will grow another inch and a half then mutilate your FM, trust me

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Yeah, I'm starting to feel that will happen. I'll probably end up taking the FM back, and either leaving the JD alone for a while or upgrading and putting in 2 female convicts.

Montelboom said:

A 40b currently and the JD is 4 1/4 inches and the FMs are 3 1/2 inches.

Can u take a pic of the two?

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This is them 2 months ago:

Montelboom said:

Since your Jack is a male I think you have three options.

1.) Wait a while and if the JD starts to be hyper aggressive get rid of it.

2.) If the JD turns out to be peaceful keep them as is.

3.) Or add a female/male FM and see if they pair up so if the Jack goes either way aggression is a little more spread.

Those are my opinions I know some people wont agree but I did the last option and its working but it'll come down to your JDs attitude.

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The idea of spreading aggression is appealing to me. What about re-homing the FM, and adding 1-2 female cons? I had a female con with the JD/FM for a while and she did well. Mostly ignored by the FM, but she was feisty enough to challenge the JD from time to time.

The only reason she's out is because she's acting as a dither for my small flowerhorn, which suddenly became skittish. The flowerhorn has returned to its previous character so I can probably move her back soon, and 2 small cons seem like they'd do well with the JD. Small enough to not be a threat, but tough enough to hang with the JD.

Cichlidss said:

+1

Although adding more fish will not really workout long term.. The size of the fish and bio-load will be to much for your size tank.
So if you are going to upgrade, you should definitely add 1 or 2 more cichlids to spread the aggression.
I'm not surprised your firemouth is chasing the jack...they can be real mean
Loving the firemouths color!

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Yeah, 2 medium sized fish like FM seem like it'd be much, compared to 2 small fish like the female cons I'm thinking of instead.

Thanks, it does seem that I have a oddity. I always read about them being peaceful (and this one is, as hes fine with tetras) but anything that is similar sized he goes crazy. The only thing he didn't challenge was a 7" GT I had with him temporarily. Definitely fits the all bark no bite though. He's never beaten a fish up or nipped fins. Just chases.