# What to do with my FM and JD?



## swifty (Jan 12, 2013)

I'm trying to decide my stocking for my 40g. It's a 3 foot tank and I've had it for years, but I plan on upgrading to a 4 footer when/if the need arises. I've never had a reason to yet as my initial cichlid (a firemouth) taught me that firemouths are incredibly slow growers.

Right now, it has 5 colombian tetras, a bristlenose pleco, and 2 male cichlids, a firemouth and a JD. They are now just under 4". The firemouth has been with me for almost 2 years (got him at under 1"), and the JD I just got about 2 months ago at ~3".

My FM has always been pretty peaceful with his various tankmates over the past years, so I decided to add the JD that was similar sized so my FM wouldn't be bullied. Turns out I should've went bigger, as the JD is the one being bullied. It has never once been to the point of damage, as I've never seen a nipped fin, just a lot of chasing every now and then. The FM keeps to the bottom, and the JD will roam the upper half. I'm aware this wont last forever either as the JD will outgrow the FM. Seeing how the FM is now though is giving me hope that he can hold his own with the JD when he matures.

With that in mind, seeing as how young the JD is I want to get this situated sooner than later. I'm stuck between 2 options: Re-home the FM, and find a female for the JD (not interested in breeding, just for compatibility) or keep the FM/JD as they are? I'm sure there will be some aggression either way, but which will give the least headache?


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

your tank is too small to house the types of fish u have in the long run, which im sure you are aware of. i wouldnt suggest getting the jd a female. most likely they would pair up to breed and kill everything else. try rearranging tank or get some good dither fish. do the tetras swim around and act as dither or just stay in one area? i've also found that sometimes feeding a diet thats a little higher in protein, or a good frozen food once a week can help curb aggression hopefully this helps. good luck


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I think the need has arisen for a 4' tank. Definitely a 75 gallon.

A cichlid kept alone for almost it's entire life will most likely not welcome a lone newcomer, and you're experiencing that. Things will only worsen in the confines of a 40 gallon. Your current tank is not suitable for a pair of JDs, or even a lone mature fish.


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## swifty (Jan 12, 2013)

sumthinfishy said:


> your tank is too small to house the types of fish u have in the long run, which im sure you are aware of. i wouldnt suggest getting the jd a female. most likely they would pair up to breed and kill everything else. try rearranging tank or get some good dither fish. do the tetras swim around and act as dither or just stay in one area? i've also found that sometimes feeding a diet thats a little higher in protein, or a good frozen food once a week can help curb aggression hopefully this helps. good luck


Yeah, when they get bigger (5-6") I will upgrade, but since they're still young I'm putting it off for now. I think I'm not going to try the female in hopes of avoiding the pairing up. The tetras do a little of both. They'll school up tight when I get near the tank, but other then that they'll either be treading water in the center or swimming around when the FM/JD swim near them. I already feed frozen bloodworms 2x a week as well. Should I increase to 3x or 4x? I've already tried the temperature change. They were at 78, and have steadily dropped it to 72 over the past week.



Iggy Newcastle said:


> I think the need has arisen for a 4' tank. Definitely a 75 gallon.
> 
> A cichlid kept alone for almost it's entire life will most likely not welcome a lone newcomer, and you're experiencing that. Things will only worsen in the confines of a 40 gallon. Your current tank is not suitable for a pair of JDs, or even a lone mature fish.


A 75 will be too heavy for me. It's an old house on a raised foundation, and I'm not comfortable getting anything larger than a 40 long or standard 55.

When I had introduced the JD it was with another female con. The con isn't in there with them now because I have her in another tank atm. She was mainly ignored by both (only 2") but would occasionally try to start a fight with the JD. I think I'll end up just upgrading when the JD reaches 5-7", re-homing the FM, and for now move that female con back and get another female con.


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

i agree with iggy on the 75. if u cant have a 75 then u cant keep them together. do not increase feeding of frozen food as it is very easy to foul your water quality by overfeeding frozen. the tetras are not acting as dither. u need something thats gonna be more active. the more active fish will take away aggression amongst the fm and jd (hopefully). the main problem here is tank size


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## swifty (Jan 12, 2013)

sumthinfishy said:


> i agree with iggy on the 75. if u cant have a 75 then u cant keep them together. do not increase feeding of frozen food as it is very easy to foul your water quality by overfeeding frozen. the tetras are not acting as dither. u need something thats gonna be more active. the more active fish will take away aggression amongst the fm and jd (hopefully). the main problem here is tank size


Yeah, looking that way. The FM is just too territorial and doesn't want to give up his space. I've tried numerous decor arrangements (I have lots of rocks and 3 large pieces of driftwood) and nothing worked. Each time the FM would get sight of the JD and chase him until the JD went to the upper region of the tank. LIke I mentioned, I'll most likely re-home the FM as he's also started picking at the bristlenose. I'll try the 1-2 female cons for something that wont challenge the JD and wont impact the bioload of the tank much.

You're right about the tetras though. They are really ignored. I had tried silver dollars a month ago, and they weren't that much of a difference either. They were much more active, which I liked, but mostly ignored by the cichlids (except the con, she hated them for some reason).


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## JackDempsey72 (Jun 17, 2014)

Eventually the jack will kill the firemouth. You need to upgrade to a bigger tank swifty


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## swifty (Jan 12, 2013)

I ended up moving the FM to his own tank with the colombian tetras. The JD is in the 40 with a convict, and 2 silver dollars. So far so good.


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