platy ben

Ok im really stressing myself out about this question.

Yesterday i walked into my LFS and was looking at the fish when i came across a small pair of fire mouth cichlids (one is about 1 inch the other is about 1 and a half inch).

They looked really bad and unhealthy so i asked the nearest employee what was wrong with them, he said, some one put them into a tank and they got attack by an oscar so they brought them back.

I lookedb ack in the tank at the little guys and new they wouldnt work in my 65G with my convicts and they would probably be killed, i stood there for around 10 mins watching them and thinking how beautiful they would be if i could recover them, and i couldnt resist, so i bought them.

Im wondering if i done the right thing though because the only place i have to keep them is my malawi 38G .
Does anyone think this was the right or wrong thing to do?

Allie

Hello impulse buy, a huge no no in fish keeping. Never buy new fish and put them right in a tank. You could be passing parasites. The Fire Mouths have different water requirements than Malawi cichlids. Your heart is in the right place, but if you don't have a proper set up for them you shouldn't have got them.

platy ben

im going to buy them there own tank soon but it will only be small, 20 gal, max.
They seem ok at the moment and are getting on ok with my african cichlids.

Allie

They are all babies right? When mature, cichlids especially Malawi cichlids get REALLY aggressive during breeding time. 20g is fine for them.

platy ben

Yup they are all about 1-2 inches long, yeh 20G is the max but im thinking more 15G untill they get bigger because i havevnt got much money at the moment

MissMTS

Just remember that firemouths get to be 6 inches long. They would do best in a 30 gallon when they are fully mature. A smaller tank would be fine for now though. I would definetly get them out of the tank with you malawai cichlids though.

platy ben

im going to try my best to make some money and get them a 20 gal or something but im not sure

Barbrella

Sometimes our hearts rule our heads and I'm sure it's happened to all of us.

But you must ask yourself if bringing a particular animal home is going to significantly improve it's life and if you have the means to care for it properly.

Bringing these Firemouths home if you can't provide them with what they need is not doing them a favour. Putting them in with African cichlids is not helping them.

If they were okay in the tank at the petstore and not being attacked, it might be best to return them and hope that someone who does have the means to care for them properly will buy them.

This is not a criticism - just something to think about!

platy ben

Ok i have been thinking about this all day long and have decided the fire mouths in the malawi tank and the 2 angels and pearl gourami are going back to the fish store.

The firemouths are simply in the wrong habitat with the wrong fish.

The marble angels and pearl gourami are constantly being harrased by my convicts.

hopefully they will refund me with some weed or a couple of malawi cichlids.