# 40 gallon breeder stocking



## GopherWacker93 (Feb 8, 2010)

Hey guys i have a 40 gallon breeder and im wondering what other fish preferably cichlids i could keep with a breeding pair of firemouth cichlids that i hope to get through group selection. Their will be lots of rocks of corse and caves. Thanks for any help.


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

I'd let the pair be. Good luck with the breeding! :fish:


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

You could get some Swordtails with the pair. I think that would be beautiful  . Good luck with the breeding! :thumb:

Firemouths are beautiful and fun CA's.


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## GopherWacker93 (Feb 8, 2010)

You really think that the swordtails would be ok with them during breeding?


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Yeah they will go great together. In fact in the wild they co-exist together. Not to mention this is a 40 gal breeder and has a lot of room for the swordtails to swim. All you need is a lot of plants and floating plants and you should be good. This will give the tank more color and more action. When keeping breeding pairs it is best to keep dither/target fish to help the pair bond grow and will give you more and healthy fry. This will also keep your cichlid pair busy by keeping their aggression distributed so they aren't busy on each other. Firemouths are very shy and skittish. Having swordtails or other smaller fish in the tank will help them come out more.

You could also use Giant Danios, Black Skirts, or Red Minor or also called Serape Tetras. You could also keep goodeids with them as well. Such as Ameca splendens.









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If you are interested in the Ameca splendens PM me I have TONS :lol:


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## a7oneal (Dec 30, 2004)

CiChLiD LoVeR128 said:


> Yeah they will go great together. In fact in the wild they co-exist together. Not to mention this is a 40 gal breeder and has a lot of room for the swordtails to swim. All you need is a lot of plants and floating plants and you should be good. This will give the tank more color and more action. When keeping breeding pairs it is best to keep dither/target fish to help the pair bond grow and will give you more and healthy fry. This will also keep your cichlid pair busy by keeping their aggression distributed so they aren't busy on each other. Firemouths are very shy and skittish. Having swordtails or other smaller fish in the tank will help them come out more.
> 
> You could also use Giant Danios, Black Skirts, or Red Minor or also called Serape Tetras. You could also keep goodeids with them as well. Such as Ameca splendens.
> 
> If you are interested in the Ameca splendens PM me I have TONS :lol:


 :lol:

I'm having a bit of a chuckle. . . I was thinking about my 2 40-breeders, and for the stocking for one of them, I wanted to have a pair of cichlids, either nanolueus or panamensis, with livebearers and/or tetras.

Great minds think alike, huh? 

In reality, the thing that's causing me to hesitate on heavier cichlid stocking is the 36'' length. . . it's between the 30'' of 20-L and 29-g (which I would recommend one pair of cichlids like the ones that the OP and I were both considering) and the 48'' of the standard 40-g (where I think you could keep two different pairs of cichlids. . . depending on the species). What the added volume actually does, though, is allow for stocking of other fish, like the ones suggested.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

> I'm having a bit of a chuckle. . . I was thinking about my 2 40-breeders, and for the stocking for one of them, I wanted to have a pair of cichlids, either nanolueus or panamensis, with livebearers and/or tetras.
> 
> Great minds think alike, huh? Grin


 :lol:

That's awesome! 

Great minds think alike for sure


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

> I'm having a bit of a chuckle. . . I was thinking about my 2 40-breeders, and for the stocking for one of them, I wanted to have a pair of cichlids, either nanolueus or panamensis, with livebearers and/or tetras.
> 
> Great minds think alike, huh? Grin


 :lol:

That's awesome! 

Great minds think alike for sure


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