I have 2 75’s that have been up and running for a while. 1 has 4 EBAs and 4 Geo Redhead Tapajos and an albino sailfin pleco, the other has 1 JD (4”) and 1 GT (3”). Both tanks do just fine and everyone gets along. I have 4 firemouths in a 40 breeder QT/grow out and was looking for “advice” on which tank might be better for them if at all. TIA
Firemouth advice
- Thread starter AR115
- Start date
The 40 gallon breeder. You’ll likely end up with a breeding pair. So rehome the other two. Your 75 gallon tanks are loaded to the max imo.
Both would become quite overstocked with the addition of the firemouths. I think a 3rd 75 gallon would be required if you want to keep all fish. If your jack dempsey was a female, I could see maybe moving the GT out and keeping the FMs with the JD.
Ya was kinda thinking along those lines. The GT and JD hide on either end of their tank and rarely come out. Was hoping maybe adding the firemouths would bring them out more. I do have a fish room with plenty of tanks to move stuff around so guess Ill have to do some thinking
If your JD and GT are males, a 75 is going to eventually be too small for both of them. Not sure how big they are right now. Whichever is dominant will likely bully the other one. Adding more cichlids could help distribute aggression; but in the 75 there won't be enough room to add the meeki. You could try maybe some other dither fish like tall-bodied tetras etc. Could also have a lot to do with the decor and how the tank is set up, if you can post a picture would give feedback.
JD are easy to sex, heavy blue "beard" on the gill plate indicates a female. If your GT is a female as well you will be in much better shape than if either fish is a male. If the GT is a male, I doubt it will share the tank forever with the JD peacefully.
The blue beard technique is for the JD, the GT's are a bit tougher to sex when small. Males will have more pronounced colors on fins, taller body/bigger head usually and bigger fish overall. Females tend to be darker.
Here is a picture of a pair pulled from the web, male in the back and female in the front.