Firemouth Cichlids

[Savster83]

Hi, Hopefully somebody with a bit more experience in keeping fish can offer some advice for me. I am a new fishkeeper and have just started a new aquarium. It is 26 gallons, and I have 6 Albino Tiger Barbs and 2 Firemouth Cichs in there. All fish are still young and are all approx the same size, the Barbs were in the tank first and I added the 2 Cichs and all seemed well but I got home from work the next day to find one Firemouth had died. I went back to the shop and got a replacement and introduced him and he instantly hid away in a corner which I wasnt to concerned about as I thought he was just probably taking some time to adapt to his new home. Its now 36 hours later and he hasnt moved from the spot and the other Cich keep chasing and nipping him and being very aggressive even though the second fish is a little bit bigger than the original. Also the Firemouths were from the same batch in the shop so its not as if its a completly strange fish they was only apart for 24 hours. Should I leave them alone? Will they learn to live together or should I try to return one to the shop? Is there anyway I can help the situation? Thanks in advance I hope somebody can help.

[lobsternoob]

A good way to help with aggression like that is to reorganize your tank a bit when you add, or after adding the new fish. Are there plenty of hiding spaces so they can each claim their own areas? The one that was there first basically already thinks its all his territory, so reorganizing the tank kinda throws the fish a curveball since its whole surroundings change. It may take a little longer than 36 hours for the new fish to adjust, but more hiding spaces or changing things around might help. Also i would probably want a little more than 26 gallons for 2 firemouths, they're pretty chill as far as cichlids go, but still. Your best option may be to take 1 back if you can, I'm sure someone else will come weigh in their opinion on this. Oh, and Welcome to the AC :)

[Oscar_freak12321]

I would watch the more aggressive cichlid carefully, as he will eventually get back to bullying the other one. I would remove the new firemouth and just leave the less aggressive one in the tank. The less aggressive one will eventually get bolder, and much happier. If you DO want to keep both, you can try rearranging the tank like lobsternoob said.

[thatcichlidguy]

Lots of hiding places and plants to breakup lines of sight will help tremendously here . More importantly, rearange the tank. The old FM has effectively claimed the entire tank for himself in the others absence. A complete change of decor arrangement will eliminate any old territorial boundries and force the fish to establish new ones. Adding more rocks and plants help this effect and break lines of sight (cichlids are very out of sight out of mind creatures) and goes a long way to reduce aggression.

Something else to consider is that the FMs will outgrow that tank within 6Months. You should start planning an upgrade now, it's never too early to start :)

[Northernguy]

Welcome to the Fabulous AC!
How did you cycle your tank before you put the fish in?
What are your perameters?
Did you add dechlorinator?

[Savster83]

Hi guys thanks for the advice I didnt rearrange the tank when I introduced the new Cich but in future I will do that as it makes sense. Lobster, there is plenty of hiding places in the tank but the timid fish stays right in one corner behind a small plant and the other goes over every now and again and has a go. In reply to Oscar its the original fish thats aggressive not the new one, he was fine with the other FM that i bought him with and when that died I thought I should really replace him as in the shop it said the do best in pairs or small shoals? Cichguy, I did realise that the Cichs get big but you think they will outgrow my setup within 6 months :s I can start planning to upgrade and knew I would have to do this but was hoping Id have a bit more time than that if Im honest. Northernguy, I cycled the tank for 2 weeks, was bought 2nd hand so I cleaned it throughout, all new decor then filled it. I bought a product which starts of filter bacteria and added that to the filter, used de-chlorinator and done a 10% water change at the end of the first week and 10% after the 2nd week then introduced fish a couple of days after. I followed the advice from a bloke who works in the local Petshop, although since then I dont use them anymore as I have found a proper Aquatic dealer which Im happier with as the whole setup is better in their store and they specialise in fish obviously. Thanks everyone, Im really impressed with this site upto now, previously any site with a forum just seems to be a playground for people to argue and abuse eachother. I like the fact that I ask a genuine question, and get some good, helpfull advice. Great stuff keep it up :-)