75 gallon Firemouth species only Tank

[FiremouthGem]

Hey all, picking up a used 75 Gallon with two 306 fluval canister filters here on Saturday and i wanted to ask after i am done cycling it i wanted to know how many firemouth cichlids should i put in, was thinking 3 females 1 male. plan on getting some drift wood and using the two clay pots that are coming with the pickup as well as finding another couple as well as line of site breaking plants such as java ferns and Tiger lilies in both red and green. any further suggestions? plan on feeding bug bites and some small live foods.

 

[tlindsey]

Hey all, picking up a used 75 Gallon with two 306 fluval canister filters here on Saturday and i wanted to ask after i am done cycling it i wanted to know how many firemouth cichlids should i put in, was thinking 3 females 1 male. plan on getting some drift wood and using the two clay pots that are coming with the pickup as well as finding another couple as well as line of site breaking plants such as java ferns and Tiger lilies in both red and green. any further suggestions? plan on feeding bug bites and some small live foods.

I agree with what you have stated .

 

[tlindsey]

I agree with what you have stated .

If you wanted to add dither fish Swordtails would work as some members Would recommend.

 

[FiremouthGem]

what sort of sword tails (think there are a few?) would you recommend and how many? i’m guessing putting them in first before the cichlids (after cycling of course)? or at the same time?

 

[decoy50]

The way I would approach a 75gal thorichtys tank is to buy a group of juvies - prob 8 - with the plan to rehome 2-3 down the line after your tank hierarchy settles itself out. I'd make sure to have plenty of driftwood/rocks for sight breaks.
In regards to swordtails, any will do really as they are going to be your dither fish. It's whatever kind you like. Personally, I would try to pick up some wild types from Aquabid

 

[sevs and sajicas for me]

The wild greens are underrated as far as swords go. Montezumas are really neat. Lots of different options. Stanzzzz7 has or had an amazing thorichthys setup with some of the prettiest swords I've ever seen. The sword males can get aggressive IME so make sure you've got plenty of females in there to spread the aggression.

 

[Jexnell]

I had eight Firemouth in a 6ft 125 for a while. The males each staked claim to an area, while the females stayed in a group. So make sure there is different areas for the males to claim.
As far as the Swords go with get just one male or many. I had three males in the 6ft 125 and they fought it out till there was only one left. I would get one male and 4 to 6 females.

 

[Reiner]

I'm trying this currently with 6 juvie (1 - 1.5") firemouth in a 80 gallon tank (same footprint as a 75).
I'm starting to think I should move them into my 180 gallon tank once they grow a bit and won't be eaten by the other fish.
Currently in the 80G tank 1 fish controls the entire bottom of the tank and all others are at the top half of the tank. Not sure what my ratio is between male and females but I think I'm a bit male heavy.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Good advice given in this thread so far. I would agree with everything posted... getting group of 8 or so FM's to start, so you can pick your sexes down the line. And the swordtails, yeah the males are feisty little buggers. I'd get one male and 5-6 females. They will form a little colony after a while if the FM's don't get all the fry.

 

[duanes]

Here are some X mayae swords.

I like the natural varieties because they don't steal the show from th cichlids, like some line bred artificial colored varieties might.
Another choice might be salil fin mollies.

And I agree with either live bearer, one male and a number of females work well.
When I see gravid females, move them to a sump to give birth providing a continuous supply to the shoal.
A gravid female,

fry growing out in a sump.