I have a 40 long tank sitting in my room with one 3.5-4" green sunfish. Little Firemouthmouth chichlids are at my pet store for 3.50$. I really like the looks of these guys. I read they are peaceful and only get to ~6". WOuld they make ok tankmates for my green sunfish? If not how big of tank would they need?
I'll go back tomarow to get them if it'll work!
Will this combo work? Chichlid-sunfish
Started by
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, Jul 31 2008 09:26 PM
17 replies to this topic
#2
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 31 July 2008 - 09:33 PM
I have a 40 long tank sitting in my room with one 3.5-4" green sunfish. Little Firemouthmouth chichlids are at my pet store for 3.50$. I really like the looks of these guys. I read they are peaceful and only get to ~6". WOuld they make ok tankmates for my green sunfish? If not how big of tank would they need?
I'll go back tomarow to get them if it'll work!
Everything smaller than a Green Sunfish is Green Sunfish food... in this case it seems like a rather expensive meal.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#3
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Posted 31 July 2008 - 09:50 PM
Everything smaller than a Green Sunfish is Green Sunfish food... in this case it seems like a rather expensive meal.
I have a tank partitioner if I need to use it. Is a 20gallon section big enough for 2 of them to grow large enough? Anyone have experience with bullying cross species?
#4
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 12:09 AM
I HIGHLY suggest against combining natives and SA/CA cichlids. First off - SA/CA cichlids require different water parameters. Secondly, as stated, they will most likely become lunch. Even when the Firemouths are big enough - they will probably be bullied to death.
#5
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 06:19 PM
i wont pretend to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination...but i currently have blue spotted sunfish, angel ram, neon rainbows. bamboo shrimp, knight goby, and a couple other small chiclids in a 30 long lightly planted, and lots of hiding places with driftwood, this setup has been running for several months with no fatalities or anyone being beaten up, i think the key is they get plenty of food, and they all are small and will stay that way. i also have a 40 breeder with a couple of red spotted sunfish, 2 different geophagus species, a talapia, small one, and a few more small chiclids, again planted with lots of hiding places , this set up also has a couple of multipunctatus catfish. Hmmm maybe the key is keeping ALL the fish in the same size range, and lots of hiding places, I also ALWAYS steer away from agressive africans or other very agressive species
#6
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 08:01 PM
Ok, as sad as it makes me I'll leave fluffy as the only resident in the 40L. He probably only wants rosys and ghost shrimp for company anyways.
#7
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Posted 01 August 2008 - 11:28 PM
I HIGHLY suggest against combining natives and SA/CA cichlids. First off - SA/CA cichlids require different water parameters. Secondly, as stated, they will most likely become lunch. Even when the Firemouths are big enough - they will probably be bullied to death.
Well I personally don't believe that SA cichlids need different requirements from natives as mostly cichlids are bred in out "tap" water these days and so are some hardy natives.
#8
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Posted 03 August 2008 - 05:25 PM
I agree with butch, i mix and match all kinds of fish as long as the size range are the same, or unless im trying to breed some, but ive had fish breed in water not even close to what they are used to in nature
#9
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Posted 03 August 2008 - 08:28 PM
So, if I want to, I COULD introduce them to my tank? One 3.5-4" sunfish ooccupying a whole 40gallon is kind of boring. I really want perch, but I don't know if my tank is large enough for more then one, as they are schooling fish.
#10
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Posted 04 August 2008 - 06:44 AM
Ive found firemouth to be semi agressive in their own right, or at least dont take much bullying before they fight back. chiclids in general are territorial, in larger numbers they become less aggressive because, they cant fight with everyone, and become it almost seems confused or they just give up on taking over the whole tank and settle for less or no specific territory at all. before you put them in rearrange any hiding places, rocks driftwood etc. this puts everyone on a level playing feild, also you might consider adding a few more inhabitants, maybe convicts which are also interesting and not at all timid.
#11
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Posted 04 August 2008 - 01:34 PM
Ive found firemouth to be semi agressive in their own right, or at least dont take much bullying before they fight back. chiclids in general are territorial, in larger numbers they become less aggressive because, they cant fight with everyone, and become it almost seems confused or they just give up on taking over the whole tank and settle for less or no specific territory at all. before you put them in rearrange any hiding places, rocks driftwood etc. this puts everyone on a level playing feild, also you might consider adding a few more inhabitants, maybe convicts which are also interesting and not at all timid.
ok, I'll give an update in this thread if I decide to do it. I'm really debating if fluffy needs friends, or if they'll just end up as victims 4+ in his serial killing spree(he's killed every tankmate that he's had, I figured non-sunfish would be a better choice, but I don't know really).
#12
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Posted 04 August 2008 - 03:06 PM
Ive found firemouth to be semi agressive in their own right, or at least dont take much bullying before they fight back. chiclids in general are territorial, in larger numbers they become less aggressive because, they cant fight with everyone, and become it almost seems confused or they just give up on taking over the whole tank and settle for less or no specific territory at all. before you put them in rearrange any hiding places, rocks driftwood etc. this puts everyone on a level playing feild, also you might consider adding a few more inhabitants, maybe convicts which are also interesting and not at all timid.
As an avid cichlid keeper, the more you keep the less aggressive they are rule really only applies to lake malawi cichlids. With south/central american cichlids, size is everything. Very rarely will you find a smaller cichlid be dominant over a larger one (with the exception of the extremely aggro breeds (convicts,neets, dovii, jags, red devils, etc.) The fire mouth would be out competed for food by the more agile and aggressive green sunfish. I think if you REALLY wanted to try a cichlid species in there, go with the Texas cichlid. They are (kind of ??) native to here in the U.S., and tend to be a little more aggressive than the firemouth, but with a brute fish of the same size, could be very compatible. Stay away from convicts. They breed like rabbits and once they breed (mature at 2") the pair can take over a tank easily. I had a pair of cons ( @ about 2-2.25") in with two jaguar cichlids (about 4.5-5") and the con pair cause serious problems to the jags, so I sold the cons to a friend who wanted fry as feeder fish. Cons are great feeder producers, most of my tanganyikan cichlids eat those fry (altolamprologus calvus/compressiceps, neolamprologus buescheri, and neolamp. leleupi all eat the young fry.)
Hope this helps a little,
NV
#13
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Posted 04 August 2008 - 10:16 PM
As an avid cichlid keeper, the more you keep the less aggressive they are rule really only applies to lake malawi cichlids. With south/central american cichlids, size is everything. Very rarely will you find a smaller cichlid be dominant over a larger one (with the exception of the extremely aggro breeds (convicts,neets, dovii, jags, red devils, etc.) The fire mouth would be out competed for food by the more agile and aggressive green sunfish. I think if you REALLY wanted to try a cichlid species in there, go with the Texas cichlid. They are (kind of ??) native to here in the U.S., and tend to be a little more aggressive than the firemouth, but with a brute fish of the same size, could be very compatible. Stay away from convicts. They breed like rabbits and once they breed (mature at 2") the pair can take over a tank easily. I had a pair of cons ( @ about 2-2.25") in with two jaguar cichlids (about 4.5-5") and the con pair cause serious problems to the jags, so I sold the cons to a friend who wanted fry as feeder fish. Cons are great feeder producers, most of my tanganyikan cichlids eat those fry (altolamprologus calvus/compressiceps, neolamprologus buescheri, and neolamp. leleupi all eat the young fry.)
Hope this helps a little,
NV
If I can't keep firemouths, then I'm not very interested. Them and peacock bass are the only chichlids I'm interested in at this point. And no way is a peacock bass living in a 40gallon aquarium.
edit: is there a difference between a peacock cichlid
http://fish.mongabay...ck_cichlids.htm
and the peacock bass. conflicting information.....
2nd edit:
nevermind that, I figured it out all on my own
. pretty close to what my green looks like too. Too bad I've never seen one.
Edited by Zephead4747, 04 August 2008 - 10:38 PM.
#14
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Posted 05 August 2008 - 10:37 AM
Keep in mind too that your 4" green will become a 10" or 12" green in less time than you might think. Unless you are planning on seriously upgrading the tank or getting more tanks in the near future, don't get him a bunch of tankmates.
#15
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Posted 05 August 2008 - 07:25 PM
Maybe the Green Sunfish simply agrees with Casper "As i've been told... "To really know a fish you have to eat it". He just wants to develope a close relationship with his tank mates.Keep in mind too that your 4" green will become a 10" or 12" green in less time than you might think. Unless you are planning on seriously upgrading the tank or getting more tanks in the near future, don't get him a bunch of tankmates.
#16
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Posted 05 August 2008 - 07:58 PM
Keep in mind too that your 4" green will become a 10" or 12" green in less time than you might think. Unless you are planning on seriously upgrading the tank or getting more tanks in the near future, don't get him a bunch of tankmates.
I honestly doubt he'll grow that large. He's from a pond that's 20'x20' with about a bajillion of his brothers and sisters. I've had him for well over a year. He lives in clean water and gets live food once a week. He hasn't grown past this point, and has been this large for months.
#17
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Posted 13 September 2008 - 06:35 PM
I honestly doubt he'll grow that large. He's from a pond that's 20'x20' with about a bajillion of his brothers and sisters. I've had him for well over a year. He lives in clean water and gets live food once a week. He hasn't grown past this point, and has been this large for months.
Ive got roughly 15 tanks now, was up to 30 at one point - and I keep primarily cichlids.
I would not put a firemouth with him. In terms of full-grown size, think of putting a minnow in with your fish now. That's what the size compatibility would be like.
As a poster above mentioned, I would try a Texas cichlid, or a Jack Dempsey. Both of them put up a good fight and would be similar size.
You could always go the Flowerhorn route too.
#18
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Posted 13 September 2008 - 07:02 PM
My green sunfish lives with a severum and a convict. My spotted sunfish live with keyholes. My red devil lives with a longear and the list goes on. Cichlids and sunfish differ little in terms of behavior, diet and water parameter requirements. What you have to worry about the most is possible aggression. It really is hit or miss with both families of fishes. One combo might work and another might not. Above I mention that my red devil lives with my longear, it works out nicely. On the other hand if I were to put my convict with the longear they would fight constantly. My point is that it may work and it may not. Greens tend to be aggressive, firemouths not so much and the tank is a 40g so the green will take up considerable space by itself. The only way to know is to try. You know your sunfish better than I do, if its overly aggressive and has killed other fish in the past it might not be worth the risk.
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