Right thing to do??....

[DCOWBOYS]

I recently got a 2.5 " Umbee,i have a 4"or close to Firemouth,the firemouth has been a pain in the butt since i got him nipping all my other fish when they werent looking(4" Dovii,4"Texas,5"Dempsey)usually the other fish would turn around and chase the Firemouth a couple of inches then let it end,but he started picking on the umbee last nite when i 1st put him in the tank,but the umbee turned things around and whupped on him so bad that he has been staying up in a corner all day.But here is the thing,the umbee leaves the Firemouth alone but if the umbee should come within a few feet of the Firemouth the firemouth charges at the umbee and gets his butt whipped again even my grammode has started nipping back at the Firemouth(the firemouth had totally been making the grammode miserable).Should i remove the firemouth or do you guys think things will work out??Having a tank loaded with aggressive fish who would have thought a Firemouth would be the biggest jerk!!I dont think i will ever buy another Firemouth again,Nick.C.

 

[Sarah88]

i would just get rid of the FM its the least colorful of all the fish anyways and isnt as personable as them either, sounds like hes just causing strife in your tank so id find a new home for him

 

[DCOWBOYS]

Heres the thing,my other tank has a Flaftail and other peaceful fish(they are way to expensive to lose to a Firemouth)none of the local LFS's want it even for free because they all say they have plenty of them and not too many fishkeepers in my nieghborhood,so it looks like only 1 thing left to do(but i dont know if i can bring myself to do it).

 

[Sarah88]

oh well if thats the case i mean i definitely wouldnt put down a healthy fish, just post ad on craigslist for free FM or something im sure somebody will come get it

 

[Freshwaterpredators]

Lol poor firemouth but its pay back and it was only gonna be a matter of time, I think next is gonna be the Tex and Dempsey and end up with dovii and umbees going at it. Good luck finding new homes. I had to do same thing with my firemouths for exact same reason. I can't be cruel and let them pick each other off either and I can never kill a healthy fish. So I feel ya but might start looking ahead for what u Have left or Maybe get another tank.

 

[dlp40]

Why not seperate the firemouth until you find it a new home with a tank divider? they wouldn't need much room and this way he woudn't nip anyone or be killed.

 

[DCOWBOYS]

I will have an indoor pond in my cellar this spring 300 gal i think??Was planning on just keeping the Umbee and Dovii in there,and keeping my other fish in my 125 gal tank.When it comes down to deciding on one fish(hope i dont have to but if i do have to i will will make that decision)Dovii's get larger than Umbee's correct??

 

[CClump]

i believe they are pretty close to growing the same size. somewhere around 2 ft. although i only hear stories of the mystical 21" umbee someone had once and never once took a picture of...
And same goes with dovii rarely if ever see someone with one over 17" and even that seems pretty rare