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ok so i went into work the other day and was helpin unpack the delivery of fish. i put the bag of firemouths in the tank and to my surprise there was not the usual 2" firemouths they're was 4 or 5 HUGE ones i decided straight away that i was goin to have some. so i went into work the next day and bought two of them they have settled in nicely and now they have started nippin each other (not hard) i picked a male and female for sure but they are not actin the way i want them to. any suggestions???

6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

oh yeh i forgot to add. they are in a 55g tank witch loads of caves and big rocks in the tank.

6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

do they have any other tank mates or just the two of them?, they may just be a mixed matched pair that may need some time to get to know each other.

some dither fish may help if they are by themselves

good luck

Joe

The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an bacon and egg breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

I'd agree with freejoe. if they are the only fish in the tank, maybe add some dithers (swordtails, platys, barbs) so that it's not just the 2 of them in there. you may have more luck if you get a couple more of the large firemouths and let a pair form between them, then take back the extras once the pair is formed. also, fwiw, just getting 1 male and 1 female and putting them together will not always guaruntee a mated pair.

i know but i picked them judgin by the best specimens in the tank and these two were the best lokin ones they had really nice red mouth on then. @ the minute i have a talkin catfsih (striped raphael catfish) in they're he hiudes 24 / 7 so he doesn't get bothered. i have some guppies that i bought for my mother that i could put in they're? i thought that with them bein so big they would jsut eat the guppies tho hmm i guess ill give it a try.

6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

i have some guppies that i bought for my mother that i could put in they're? i thought that with them bein so big they would jsut eat the guppies tho hmm i guess ill give it a try.

yeah, they probably will eat the guppies. that's why I suggested something larger like swords, platys or barbs which would be more difficult for the firemouths to eat.

ok thanx for the advice im gotta go into work on thursday so ill try pick up another firemouth or two. i will get sum platy's also.

thanx for the advice.

6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

ok so i went into a different lfs earlier and got 6 platy's . they are all i nthe tank now and are gettin picked on already by the firemouths lol they are kinda workin as a team now tho its weird lol. ill keep ya updated.

6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

I had firemouths before, a very agressive little fish, not as bad as a convict, but still mean.

lol. yeh they are very nice fish my fav fish ever lol. and they are not little they are rather big and dwarf the little platy's i have in the tank now lol.

6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

firemouths are really nice. a few weeks ago while on break from work, I went into an lfs that I rarely go to and found a very nice looking male firemouth that was about 5". his colors were nice in the lfs tank so I knew once I got him into his own tank he would be stunning.

just yesterday I finally got him all set up in a 30 gallon with about 6 smaller firemouths and I think 4 rosy barbs. up until yesterday the only other fish in the 30 gallon were an albino bristlenose and another small pleco that I haven't 100% identified. I think it's either L147 or L75/L124. anyway, he always stayed hidden, but after adding the smaller firemouths and the rosy barbs he's been out a lot more and showing even better color. I'm going to keep them together until, well until pairs form and problems arise. I'll get some pics in a few days (I'm out of town for the holidays right now).

nice m8. im gonna take a few pics of my firemouths later (also the fremouths seem to be stayin together quite a bit now i think the nipping was to establish who was the boss of the tank) cause now i have the platy's in they;re they are not agressive towards each other just towards the platy's im gonna try get another 1 oe 2 big firemouths on saturday when i next go to work.

6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

Are you postive that it's a male and female? From my experiance, and what I have read, that FM's tend to be diffcult to sex. I would buy the rest of the adults and do what jason said and let them pair off on their own.

Good luck.