Should I keep him?

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Q

Quo Vadis

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2014
912
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18
Wisconsin
I have a Firemouth cichlid who had been in a 160g tank with various other CA and SA cichlids. I am currently pulling fish out of there and making it a more focused tank for a few large, peaceful SA cichlid species. It turns out all the CA cichlids I have except the Firemouth are from Honduras, so I am moving them into a smaller tank with some green swordtails for a Honduran biotope. So I was going to just trade in the firemouth at the LFS, especially since even in the 160g he is a butthead to all the other cichlids, chasing around any cichlid that won't stand up to him. Even the larger Green Terror flees! He never damages them, but it is constant and stresses the other fish out as well as me out when I watch the tank. But now I am having second thoughts... he is by far the prettiest Firemouth I have ever seen in person, on par with the best pictures I can find online. And he never bothers any fish besides other cichlids that I have noticed.

I am in the process of setting up a planted 60g cube tank, supposed to be "Asian themed" with Botia loaches, gouramis, and barbs. When he was younger this firemouth used to be in a planted tank and didn't really bother the plants so far as I remember... so now I am wondering if I should put him alone in this tank (with no cichlids to bother), or if I will end up regretting this... With no cichlids to chase around do you think he'd turn on the other fish? Or just live happily as king of the tank?

Of course it would throw off my Asian theme, but it's not really a biotope anyway in any remotely true sense, since Asia is a huge continent and I also didn't plan to use strictly Asian plants....

Thoughts?
 
He looks like this almost exactly

Thorichthys_meeki_02.jpg
 
Put him in that swordtail tank, and hopefully things will work itself out.
 
IMO if you keep him only because you feel you should, rather than enjoying him; you'll probably end up disliking him
 
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convict360 said:
IMO if you keep him only because you feel you should, rather than enjoying him; you'll probably end up disliking him
Click to expand...

I agree with this, but you also might regret not keeping him. I would probably put him in the swordtail tank.

Also, if you think he is so good looking you could try breeding him. Pass his genetics on.
 
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I enjoy looking at him; I don't enjoy watching him terrorize any cichlid in the same tank with him... I don't think I want to put him in the tank with the swordtails, because it is only a 3ft tank and he will constantly chase the other [relatively peaceful] CA cichlids in it. He is beautiful but I think I would have a hard time selling firemouth fry around here, because they are so common. Plus if I focus on breeding anything it will be on my rare cichlids like Krobia and Astronotus Crassipinnis. So I am either going to get rid of him or put him in the planted "Asian" tank...

Anyone else kept an adult Firemouth in a planted tank?
 
I'd keep him and place him in the planted tank. I don't believe firemouth usually bother plants much. Plus if you let him go you'll probably regret it some day if he looks that good. At least give it a try.
 
convict360 said:
IMO if you keep him only because you feel you should, rather than enjoying him; you'll probably end up disliking him
Click to expand...
Yup, fish keeping should be a pleasure.

I have had Firemouths in the past and aside from a small amount of "gardening" they didn't cause too much chaos. Especially with the bigger plants which were ok.
 
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