Will they get along?

[ChronicChaos84]

Howdy. Can anyone think of a reason why I shouldn't keep these fish together? I am rearranging some tanks and am thinking of putting these together in a 40 until my 46 is setup nicer.

3-4" Firemouth
1" Green Severum
2× German Blue Rams (female)

My biggest question is the temp. Every website I see has different temps for the Firemouth and Severum. I know I have to keep the GBRs around 82-84°.

They all seem to be good tempered right now. The Firemouth lives with male guppies and corys and had never done anything to them.

The GBRs and Severum live with a couple of female guppies and Cherry Shrimp, and they all love peacefully on their own sides of the tank.

I for sure need to move the GBRs and Severum because the temp and I have fry coming in a few days.

Any suggestions?

Any ideas on other fish to add or replace some that won't work out?

Thanks!

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[VickiK]

I don't know squat but I'm sure anxious to see what the more knowledgeable peeps say.

 

[ChronicChaos84]

I don't know squat but I'm sure anxious to see what the more knowledgeable peeps say.

Lol. Me too![emoji2]

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[sir_keith]

My $0.02. They may get along- for now- but as they grow, the Microgeophagus will be constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering when the big guys are likely to have a go. And make no mistake, it will happen eventually. The firemouth is currently only half his adult size, and the severum will get even bigger, and while they may ignore little fishes that they don't recognize as competition (e. g. guppies), sooner or later you will discover that dwarf cichlids and full-size neotropicals are not a happy mix. Especially for the dwarfs. Good luck.

 

[ChronicChaos84]

Thanks. That's good to know. I will probably start to look for a new home for the GBRs. Them and the Severum where given to me. I mostly just want the Firemouth. I will keep an eye on the Severum as he grows to see how he does with the Firemouth.

Any ideas what else I can put with them. They are going in my living room. I do plan on getting a bigger aquarium when they need it.

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[sir_keith]

Thanks. That's good to know. I will probably start to look for a new home for the GBRs. Them and the Severum where given to me. I mostly just want the Firemouth. I will keep an eye on the Severum as he grows to see how he does with the Firemouth.

Any ideas what else I can put with them. They are going in my living room. I do plan on getting a bigger aquarium when they need it.

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The Severum and the Firemouth should be OK together, if that's what you like, provided you have a big enough tank. Other mellow neotropical cichlids might work as well, like any of the smaller/mellower Acaras. Otherwise, any schooling, non-cichlid tankmates that are too big to eat would work well, e. g. rainbows, but I would avoid really active schoolers like giant danios, which seem to make the Firemouths nervous. Think of Firemouths as just big dwarf cichlids, temperment-wise, and you will be on the right track. Good luck.

 

[lloyd378]

Temperature wise, you'll be fine, but the firemouth would kill the Rams fairly quickly. He might even bight the fins of the severum right now.

Sevs are on the mild side of the cichlid aggression scale . I wouldn't say firemouths are crazy aggressive, but once they claim a territory, they will defend it to the death. The Rams , in my opinion are so peaceful that I wouldn't even put them in the scale.

Now if you had a 75g, I'd say add a chocolate cichlid in with the severum and you should be golden for tankmates.

I keep cichlids that are on the aggressive side of the spectrum and thus have only dabbled in the milder cichlids .

But in the long run, I'd say if you put them together you'd be down two rams, with tattered fins on the sev and the firemouth ( depending on the day)

 

[Olyshrimper]

A question to the group about this tank. Would geophagus, instead of the severums, be good with the firemouths?

 

[sir_keith]

A question to the group about this tank. Would geophagus, instead of the severums, be good with the firemouths?

Depends. Geophagus is a fairly diverese group, with very diverse needs and behavior, so some might work, and others, not so much. But I think that in general, this is not such a great idea.

 

[lloyd378]

I wouldn't add any geos but instead add some more thorichthys but I would vary them.....

Maybe some mexitico gold ( I have a contact for a guy up north that has some available) or possible some mexitico blues .

Either of these would work with temperament and give you a slightly different look to your tank.

I have done the golds with the firemouths before and really enjoyed them. I've always wanted the blues, but never been able to get them.....

 

[Madness]

Lloyd stole my response haha. A 40 or 46 for that matter is not a very big tank when it comes to a community of cichlids.

 

[ChronicChaos84]

Thanks everyone for your awesome suggestions. I setup the tank and moved my Firemouth in it. I setup 2 other tanks to get there other fish away from my guppies. I will most likely find a new home for my GBRs and I'm going to try growing out my sev on his own tank then see how he does when here is a bit bigger, if that doesn't work out I do like the thought of an acara or another fish you guys have suggested, or maybe just keep the Firemouth by himself with a few rainbows.

If I keep the Firemouth by himself with a few other fish, at what size should I switch him over to the 75?

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[FishBeast]

Agree with what has been stated above... good to move the GBRs out for sure. I am surprised at how aggressive my firemouth has been though. I have it with a chocolate, electric blue acara, spotted sev, Jack dempsey. He is the tank boss for sure... Rainbows are a great idea to defuse and diffuse aggression.

 

[sir_keith]

[QUOTE="I am surprised at how aggressive my firemouth has been though.[/QUOTE]

I kept firemouths years ago, and it seemed to me that their personalities were quite variable. Some firemouths were as mellow as could be, others, not so much. And I could never see a pattern that would explain the aggression, or lack thereof, not gender, size, coloration, just nothing obvious. In the end, I'd raise a small group, and pick out those individuals who had the nicest colors and personalities to keep in my colony. Worked for me.

 

[FishBeast]

[QUOTE="I am surprised at how aggressive my firemouth has been though.

I kept firemouths years ago, and it seemed to me that their personalities were quite variable. Some firemouths were as mellow as could be, others, not so much. And I could never see a pattern that would explain the aggression, or lack thereof, not gender, size, coloration, just nothing obvious. In the end, I'd raise a small group, and pick out those individuals who had the nicest colors and personalities to keep in my colony. Worked for me.[/QUOTE]
That is actually a good strategy. Did you find that any of them change behavior when they reached maturity? Mine is still a juvenile so I am hoping he mellows out eventually. Although I'm thinking when the Jack and Severum get bigger the firemouth will definitely be put in its place.

 

[sir_keith]

[/QUOTE] That is actually a good strategy. Did you find that any of them change behavior when they reached maturity? Mine is still a juvenile so I am hoping he mellows out eventually. Although I'm thinking when the Jack and Severum get bigger the firemouth will definitely be put in its place.[/QUOTE]

I did, actually. One of the nicest ones I ever had was a male who was a holy terror when he was young, but I kept him anyway because he had such magnificent colors. As he got older, he found a mate, mellowed out, and became one of the nicest fishes I've ever had. Really a sweetie.

And yes, I totally agree that the pecking order is going to change when the Jack starts feeling it. Good luck!

 

[Addicted2CAs]

I'm currently keeping 6 firemouths, a 6" male dempsey and a 3" female dempsey together in a 120gal and its working great. With firemouths, the more the better, you essentially want to make a colony, kind of like some of the african cichlids do. I would bet a single firemouth will be fairly mean along with the severum too. I kept a few sevs for a short period a few years ago and they were indeed more aggressive than most people say. Your combination would most likely work in at least a 75gal tank or better with plenty of decorations.