Need General Advice

[Murrayjane]

Hello, I am brand new to this forum and am looking for some general advice on my new Cichlid tank. It is a 55 gallon containing an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey (2"), a Firemouth (4-5"), and 2 convicts (2"). Unfortunately, I also had a Green Terror who died this morning due to the silly mistake of leaving the tank partially exposed overnight. He/she decided to jump.

The fish have been within the tank now for about 3 days and I have observed some activity. The Firemouth has a tendency to want to hide, which is understandable as I read that they needed a place to roost (nest). However, he/she does not seem to want to eat and it maintains a very docile composure. Is this normal or is this a sign of discomfort?

Also, although I intend to eventually upgrade my tank, what are good tank mates that I could add to this current tank? I am not interested in overly aggressive cichlids such as Oscars as they dispose a lot of waste and may get too big too quickly. I am open not just to cichlids, but any co-existential species. I also am looking for a fish who will aid me with algae control. Perhaps a common pleco?

Any advice is much appreciated!
Murray

(I will add pictures soon, if anyone is interested)

 

[colleen0309]

Good morning and welcome to the forum! I'm not sure a common pleco is right for your tank. These guys can reach a size of 2 feet. I always heard they reached this size, but since I didn't keep them, I wasn,t sure if it was true until I rescued one from a 10 gallon tank. He was 16 and one half inches long! What ever you decide to keep, just remember, it is your job to clean up the algea, not the fish's.

 

[Blitz]

I don't recommend a common pleco either, those suckers get rather large. What about a bristolnose pleco? Those only get about 4-6 inches. Not that big compared to a common pleco. Maybe try one of those? By the way, what size of tank are you upgrading your tank to?

 

[Murrayjane]

I was planning on a 95 gallon or more. For now, I added and re-homed a few fish so will probably postpone on that new tank.

 

[star4]

Hi welcome to the forum. I am surprised to read your firemouth is hiding when it is the largest fish in the tank! In my experience with the firemouth and mostly its cousin the elliotti, these fish will pretty much stand upto anything and be boss of the tank. See how he copes now the GT has sadly gone,see if he comes out to eat. As for something to mix with what you have, that would be trial and error, the convicts will take on pretty much anything, I had a group living with my texas cichlids. My experience with JD mine is as docile as they come. You can only experiment with other cichlids but have a spare tank in case of trouble (trust me I have 16 tanks of cichlids ) ditto the advice on a common plec, beautiful as they are they dont eat algae that much and they grow huge!! mine is near 20" now

 

[Murrayjane]

Thanks for your post star. I have now put my original male firemouth in a separate 29 gallon tank with a female. Once I introduced another firemouth, his shyness greatly reduced and although he still is not as active as what you describe, he has definitely become more settled. In my 55 gallon I have the Jack Dempsey, Blue Acara, a Jewel (who I might return due to his aggression) and a coconut convict. The pleco is still very small, if he outgrows this tank I will be sure to upgrade it along with the other fish

 

[onidrase]

My firemouths had always been very shy. They tend to sift through the sand all the time to get their food, this is what their mouth is specialized to do. I never had any issues getting mine to eat normal pellets, though. Your other fish may just be too boisterous to let him come out.

 

[star4]

Deffo get rid of the jewel! little mosters they are, plus they are african and tend not to mix too well with americans. A severum would possibly go well with that group, I have kept severums with jd, acara and convicts without problems, except the convict bred with the severum!

 

[Murrayjane]

Yeah the jewel is gone, now I just have a Green Terror (or Blue Acara), Convict, and EB Jack Dempsey in the 55 gallon.