# Firemouth aggression in my tank



## Andrew157 (May 25, 2011)

Hello everyone. I recently got a 3" male firemouth along with a 4" Astatheros nourisatti for my 75g tank. I've been having problems with aggression between the two. Specifically, the firemouth has been chasing around the nourisatti to the point where he just hides in the corner all day. The first thing I did was rearranged the tank to provide more hiding spots for the nourisatti... but that still hasn't done the trick. The firemouth is still chasing him around giving him no space in the tank.

What is the best thing to do? I've run out of ideas.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Annoying when they do that, isn't it? :? 
How much patience do you have?
Here's what I would do, in your situation.
- First, you'll need two, established filtration quarantine tanks. Two 10 gallon tanks would work, but if you have larger, empty tanks, that's even better.
- Then, pull 'Mr. Nippy' out of the 75 gallon, and place him in the smaller of the two quarantine tanks.
- Get dither fish of choice, and place them all in the larger of the two quarantine tanks. A species large enough please, that won't just get eaten in there....
- Wait one month - minimum - for any sign of disease or problems to emerge and be treated in the new dither fish while they (And Firemouth) remain in their quarantine tanks.
- During the month, furnish the tank with really tall items. Fake sword plants will work. Really tall bog wood pieces, big rock stacks, plastic toy castles, etc..... whatever. The idea is to break up the sight lines in this tank with viewing obstructions. That way, if the two cichlids can't constantly see each other all the time, it will help to reduce the chasing and aggression. Plus, the dithers will provide more motion and visual distractions for your possibly bored Firemouth to play around with.
- After quarantine, stock the dithers first. Let them get used to the tank for 3 to 4 days, and establish their own pecking orders.
- After all that - then place the Firemouth back into the 75 gallon tank.
-
Enjoy.


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## jturkey69 (Jun 6, 2011)

wow...excellent instructions...do you think this type of scenario will work on most cichlids? My wifes 65g recently had an episode of the jewel picking on her firemouth, ( all 3 fish under 3.5") so I grabbed a net breeder, and netted jewel, and put it in there for 4 days as a "timeout"..lol while her JD and firemouth had control of the tank. I let the jewel back in, only to see in a few hours the jewel nip the firemouth again. We have a plethora of spare tanks cheap from craigslist due to our newfound obsession of fish...lol...so we may try this also!! excellent suggestion!! =D>


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## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

Just so you know ---firemouth are naturally aggressive and territorial esp toward conspecifics. I have kept lots of CA and SA cichlids in my day, but FM are just so homicidal that I will no longer even consider them as a possibility in my fish room.


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## Andrew157 (May 25, 2011)

Auballagh,
Thank you!!!! Excellent instructions! I'll be placing the fish in my spare 10g tanks today. In the meantime I'll add more cover for them. There are numerous caves, but not enough to block their view like you mentioned. I'll keep my fingers crossed! Worst case scenario, I can always find the firemouth a new home.

Bruce Haynes, 
Wow, thats incredible! When I got my firemouth I spent a good amount of time looking at the tank seeing who was and wasn't aggressive... I intentionally got one that in my observation was 'peaceful'... Wow was I wrong! I can only imagine how nasty some of these things can be.


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

My experience with FM is that they are agressive, especially when Alpha in the tank. I have not had luck calming them down.

....Bill


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

Bruce Haynes said:


> Just so you know ---firemouth are naturally aggressive and territorial esp toward conspecifics. I have kept lots of CA and SA cichlids in my day, but FM are just so homicidal that I will no longer even consider them as a possibility in my fish room.


I have also found this true w/astatheros sp. and they are extremely aggressive to thorichthys too. I have an a. robertsoni that I kept in a 55g w/ a FM and in a 72g w/ a t. ellioti. Both never worked out w/ the aggression. I also had 2'' a. rostatrus and a. altifrons in a 75g and the rostratus killed the altifrons. I didn't think it would be a problem since both fish weren't sexualy mature.


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

MonteSS said:


> My experience with FM is that they are agressive, especially when Alpha in the tank. I have not had luck calming them down.
> 
> ....Bill


+1 My male firemouth that I had in my 90 gallon was alpha and he picked fights with ANY cichlid in the tank that he deemed a threat, including my 4" bellycrawler pike, even though he lost the fights. They think they're much bigger than they are


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Individual temperment will definitely apply, and some Firemouth's, just like a lot of individual cichlids, can be quite the knuckleheads in an aquarium. :? 
The A. nourisatti has this thing called SIZE in its favor, long term, though. Though they are generally pretty laid back, males can grow out to close to a foot in length. One day, the A. nourisatti will be dominate over the Firemouth.
In the end though, it all depends on how much you like the Firemouth, and how patient you are with trying things in the tank to make it work out.....


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## Andrew157 (May 25, 2011)

Thanks again everyone for your opinions! Tonight the aggression reached a new level and I just about had it.... I've made the decision to purchase another tank specifically for the Firemouth. Will a 30ish gal tank work for him and a few dither fish? The specific one I'm looking at is 30L by 18H and 12W. 
Currently I have him in my back up 10g tank... The Nourisatti is MUCH happier now... his color has brightened right up and he is much happier in the tank! I'm quite pleased!


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Awesome!  
It's what makes you able to deal with it in the end, that really counts here. If your blood pressure is getting too high with the aggressive situation - as is?
Then I agree, it's time for a change! :wink: 
-
Firemouth..... this is an extremely cool cichlid to watch when paired off. A 33 gallon long tank would be ideal for a pair. But, for the same 12"X48" 'foot-print? A 40G would be better, and the 55G would be the best. But, you gotta do what works for you. Place a 6 to 8 member school of dither fish in this new tank with your Firemouths, and you're in business!


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## jturkey69 (Jun 6, 2011)

My wife went and got some dither fish for her tank,(8 buenos aires tetras), all of a sudden, within 15-20 minutes, the JD, Jewel, and Firemouth were swimming all over, and not hiding anymore.
glad to hear your going to set up a seperate tank for your firemouth....and because you only have one, I would say the tank you are getting is fine? I could be wrong though.


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## lil_gold_ram (Mar 1, 2011)

I just gave a firemouth back to my lfs because it harassed my geos so much they would run into the glass and I was afraid they would get hurt. It was the second firemouth I tried. The guy at my lfs keeps telling me they aren't usually aggressive.....ugh.....ooookkk


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## Elijah (Mar 30, 2011)

All this talk about aggressive firemouths. Mine isn't even small, probably a bit over 4 inches, yet the only aggression I've seen out of him is chase my rainbow shark and tiger barbs a little, but not too often. I've had him for over a month, and he's still frightened of me! If he's swimming and I look in the tank, he immediately stops and stares at me from the side, and very quickly darts in his cave.


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## lil_gold_ram (Mar 1, 2011)

Elijah said:


> All this talk about aggressive firemouths. Mine isn't even small, probably a bit over 4 inches, yet the only aggression I've seen out of him is chase my rainbow shark and tiger barbs a little, but not too often. I've had him for over a month, and he's still frightened of me! If he's swimming and I look in the tank, he immediately stops and stares at me from the side, and very quickly darts in his cave.


 I really think its hit or miss with them....I've seen some that hide behind plants all day and are afraid of their own shadow and others I've seen will beat the snot out of anything that looks like them.


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## sjwrx (Apr 15, 2009)

The Firemouths i have kept were pretty aggressive, they'd chase my JDS of the same size till they ran into things, had to remove them both times. only time i've had success is when i put them with something bigger and much more aggressive. My Argentea seems to keep them in check quite well without nipping them. But like someone else mentioned they are hit and miss like with most cichlids.


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