Firemouth and acara

I have a young Firemouth in my tank and I have just introduced a new blue acara, the Firemouth already has its own territory on one side of the tank and the acara seems to stay around an area with a few pieces of bog wood on the opposite side of the tank, I have noticed that the Firemouth has been very shy and stays in his cave since I’ve had him but he has now started to go and chase the acara, is this a normal reaction from firemouths to new fish or should I keep an eye on him and think of removing him?

 

That's completely normal cichlid territorial behavior. Fortunately a Firemouth's bark is far worse than its bite.
Depending on the size of your tank, Fire
mouths do better in groups. They aren't schoolers, but do form a social heirarchy.

 

That's completely normal cichlid territorial behavior. Fortunately a Firemouth's bark is far worse than its bite.
Depending on the size of your tank, Fire
mouths do better in groups. They aren't schoolers, but do form a social heirarchy.

The tank is a 40 gallon breeder

 

Maybe add three more juvenile FM's.
As things progress consider upgrading the tank.
I've kept Firemouths at several points over the years. One of my favorites.

 

Maybe add three more juvenile FM's.
As things progress consider upgrading the tank.
I've kept Firemouths at several points over the years. One of my favorites.

I am thinking of getting a bigger tank in a few months, other people had suggested getting a few more FM so this could be an option, only problem is my LFS is struggling with deliveries at the moment because of the virus.