why are my firemouhts so aggressive

[ronman]

i just got three firemouths from a firend ( he's was done with cichlids going back to smaller fish i guess) so i set them up in a 75g tank from the door they have been aggressive theres two that stick together and beat up on the other one full on all day and night i dont think there a mateing pair i was told they were all males so i dont know why they would be acting like that everything that i could find on them said they are peaceful but not these guys its getting to the point that im thinking about getting rid of them i tryed to put a divider in ( petmart sucks they dont carry one for 75 so i got to 20 g ones and tryed to make it work but not so good they still get around it) i need some help here thanks

[Red]

Cichlids usually do this, gain up on the weaker one, your best bet is removing the weaker one before it gets killed.

[hari-goshi]

You could use eggcrate as a tank divider until you figure out a solution.

[ronman]

i mean this is crazy ive never seen it this bad this is crazy they are just nasty do you think it could of been the move from tank to tank bc in the other tank they were fine

[William]

can you show a picture of the tank so we can see the decoration.

[ronman]

i dont have i camera right now but this is what i got at first i just had two slate caves and and a ton of fake plants along the back and down the sides in the middle i had a big piece of dirftwood. then i changed it the other day i try to cut the tank in two and added more slate right down middle and along the sides to try to give them some space were they cant see eachother and i put two pieces of dirftwood in there to give them some place go out of eachothers way but there still out for blood

[William]

from the sound of it your decoration is well done. what you could try is to divide the line of site even further with some hardy plants or floating plants.

[ronman]

yea that sounds good ill try that next thanks

[Lady Hobbs]

They can be strange. One of my males stayed in the cave all day and the female was the one out and about warding off intruders. She was far more aggressive than he was. My other pair was totally the opposite.

I think you have a problem with only having three, tho. That leaves one lone soul to take all the abuse.

[thatcichlidguy]

You have a pair, and they are going to keep giving the odd man out hell untill he's removed or dead. I'd remove him/her and then wait. you'll probably have baby firemouths in a very short time.

Firemouths can be very difficult to sex except by venting. The appearance of the two sexes has become very homogenized over the decades from commercial breeding. Unless your friend has seen them spawn(which he obviously hasn't) he really didn't know what sex they are. I'd also hold off on adding any more fish to this tank for now. Any new additions will end up in the same boat as your other Firemouth.

[ronman]

thanks for the help i did take the odd man out out of the tank last night he' s hanging out in the tank with my puffer ( with a divider) i think ill find i home for him some were

[Lady Hobbs]

Good move. He would have continued to be terrorized until he was all torn up or dead.