Breeding pair or a single Monster?

[DaveyOZ86]

Hi all, after years of keeping planted tanks, rainbowfish, shrimp etc I'd like to get into keeping Cichlids.

Here are the 2 types of setups I'm trying to decide between.

40g breeder or 55g for a breeding pair of Firemouth

or

75g for one single fish like GT or something of similar size.

My question to people is from their experience what is more enjoyable? Breeding or concentrating on 1 monster growing big in the tank. Just interested to get some points of view to help me make a decision on what I should start out with.
Cheers
Dave

 

[Rodders02]

Hi all, after years of keeping planted tanks, rainbowfish, shrimp etc I'd like to get into keeping Cichlids.

Here are the 2 types of setups I'm trying to decide between.

40g breeder or 55g for a breeding pair of Firemouth

or

75g for one single fish like GT or something of similar size.

My question to people is from their experience what is more enjoyable? Breeding or concentrating on 1 monster growing big in the tank. Just interested to get some points of view to help me make a decision on what I should start out with.
Cheers
Dave

I haven't bred cichlids other than convicts, but What I've heard and what many other users will till you is that breeding is a lot of maintenance. If you want a single 'monster' aka aggressive wet pet, I'd think of getting another fish such as a Midas/red devil, flowerhorn, jag etc. and eventually a bigger tank in the future. Green terrors will get reasonably sized, 10-12" ish, but not very aggressive and so much a 'monster'. A good fish for a 75gal imo would be a Cuban, salvini, maybe istlanum, or possibly a grammodes (never kept istlanum or grammodes but heard they can be nasty). The best option would be a red devil or Midas but you would need IMO a bigger tank in the future for one of these.

 

[Finagain]

Breeding. Lots of fun. Lots of work. Another tank if you're going to remove the young for sale. Can you sell or trade the young you produce? Just to enjoy, I vote single wet pet. GT is nice for a 75. I had one years back. Not monster mean when alone, if that's what you're looking for, but it fits my definition of a wet pet. Beautiful fish too. There are a LOT of 12 inch or so cichlids that can do well alone in a 75 gallon tank. Take your pick.

 

[magpie]

Breeding fish are amazing to watch but as mentioned, there is work involved. Plus some fish can get aggressive to each other during those times which can be stressful. (Don't know about firemouths though.)

No matter what you decide on fish, I would choose a 75 gallon tank. It gives you a lot more flexibility down the line should you decide to go a different path later on. Also, you could add more than just one fish - some dithers or a bottom feeder or something.

 

[ehh]

Just use the 75 gallon for the fire mouths.

 

[DaveyOZ86]

Thanks all for the replies. I'll be going with the 75g for sure. I'm really leaning towards keeping a single bigger fish. Now the hard part of deciding what species to go with. I think it's best and he or she will be part of the family for life.

I think maybe Texas or Trimac to make a short list.
Any other fish of around that size I could look into?

Cheers guys

 

[kewpiefishypewpie]

Thanks all for the replies. I'll be going with the 75g for sure. I'm really leaning towards keeping a single bigger fish. Now the hard part of deciding what species to go with. I think it's best and he or she will be part of the family for life.

I think maybe Texas or Trimac to make a short list.
Any other fish of around that size I could look into?

Cheers guys

I wouldn't keep either one of those in a 75 gallon, especially not the Trimac. I've heard a shoal of Firemouths can be very entertaining though

 

[axs377]

For a 75 the green terror, or a carpintas (green Texas) are good choices in my opinion. Also a jack Dempsey could work nicely. Ideally in a 75 I wouldn't want a fish that is going to really exceed 10"

 

[Finagain]

Of course bigger is always better but I don't see anything wrong up to about 12 inches with the 18 inch turnaround that a 75 gives you. Trimacs can exceed that though and are also a tall thick fish. I would go with a 5 foot tank but at least a 90 gallon if you really want to squeeze one into a 4 foot tank. Salvini have some of the same features of a trimac but in a smaller package. You can easily keep a single salvini in a 55. Maybe a loisellei for a 75?

 

[Stanzzzz7]

It's all just a matter of opinion at the end of the day.What one deems acceptable another will not.
I am of the opinion that no cichlid that gets more than 8 inches should be kept in a 75 for life.
Personally I find the idea of one fish in a tank a little boring, but that's just me.
I Think a small group of thorichthys like the firemouths would have a much longer appeal.
They are full of character, they are interesting in a group and their breeding behaviour is interesting to observe.
They also are kinder to your aquascaping attempts and won't wreck a nice planted or well arranged tank.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and many members here like to keep a solo wet pet but that's my 2 cents.
As Rd pointed out on another thread recently, if your looking for pet like fish with character, have you considered a fresh water puffer.They are extremely owner responsive and great little characters.