Firemouths with Africans?

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Dark Rose

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 27, 2013
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United States
I've read conflicting opinions in other places, some people say they've had no problems, other people say don't do it...

Thinking of adding a Firemouth to my all-male Hap/Peacock/Mbuna tank... Will it work or not? Right now nothing is over probably 2.5", and the biggest bully I have is my Dragons Blood Peacock, he and my Venustus are the two largest fish in my tank, they might be pushing 2.75", hard to measure them reliably... Just looking at adding some color/pattern I don't have, and I can get one locally...

75g tank, 12 assorted Africans, no single aggression target, and no one getting beat up yet, just occasional chasing...

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A lot of people will rule against it, but it might, might not work won't kno till you try. And it's a new world cichlid.

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Well my sis knows I've gotten back into keeping fish, so I got a gift card for Petco for my birthday, so the cost will be free or minimal for me to try it...

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I've never tried it, but my guess is the FM would get DESTROYED! Pound for pound, mbunas (which is what I have) are the toughest fish around. They are small but pack a punch. FM are listed as semi-aggressive, but I found them to be rather weak. I had a pair that were dead within a month of getting them in my CA tank with a bunch of slow moving fish. Mbuna are 10x as fast and they usually don't take too kindly to new additions. I'd save that gift card for something more compatible or set up a CA/SA tank.
 
Yes, you can keep FM with the more peaceful Africans. The water requirments and size of FM are comparable to Africans. I had kept FM with Africans before and am currently keeping Thorichthys ellioti, a close relative of FM, with my haps and peacock. They get along and don't bother one another. Your Mbuna are problem though because they are too aggressive for not just FM, but also for your more peaceful haps and peacock. The reason your dragon blood peacock is super aggressive is that it has mbuna hybrid blood.
 
Well at the moment, my FM has come out of his slump, colored back up, no longer hiding, and no more fin damage. The red zebra mbuna causing the most problems in the tank is no longer in there, and so far, the white and yellow zebras are not picking up his slack, so everyone is getting along pretty well right now.

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