What Do You Think?

[Gaz_S]

Do you reckon a pair of firemouths and a pair of blue rams will be fine in a 125 litre set up with eheim 2215 external filter? 15% water change every week. I think I may be pushing it a little. I know the temps do differ but i have no choice with the hot weather at the moment and my small apartment with the temp pushing 30C whether this is a true reading of the water i do not know how accruate the lcd thermometers are. Ill get the multimeter from work and try this out.

Cheers!

 

[Wills]

Yeah the heat cant be helped Im the same at the moment my Nic is suffering a bit - I have seen 2 Bolivian rams and 1 FM work in a 30 before but if the FMs are breeding not sure if the blue rams will be able to withstand them.

Wills

 

[Gaz_S]

Nice quick reply cheers! Yeah i see what your saying the FM will be just under 2" whats the growth rate like? I am taking my community fish to a lfs girlfriend will kill me but im liking cichlids too much. Its quite planted the tank which im hoping will help if they become a problem i have a good lfs that are happy to rehome fish.

 

[Wills]

Well since they are CA I would imagine quite quick Ive not kept them before but based on the other CAs I have kept they grow typically faster than most SAs so they could have the potential to be adult in a year - but if at 2 inches now you will be able to sort out issues between them and the rams but I do think you will eventually be left with just the FMs in a 30g.

I can understand what your saying but if you want cichlids for a 30 gallon why not stick to dwarf cichlids? If you like red fish how about Laetacara Dorsigers they get pretty big as adults at a chunky 3.5 inches you could have a pair of them and a trio of cupid cichlids and keep your rummy noses and panda cories.

Im terrible to speak about getting big cichlids and then upgrading because I do it all the time haha but I wish I hadnt sometimes

Wills

 

[Gaz_S]

Yeah i see what your saying if i manage to get the FM to pair off i would eventually just keep them in the tank. When i move to somewhere bigger i will upgrade i will bribe the girlfriend with something probably a fish with purple colouring lol. ive gone with the FM because they seem to be the most recommended cichlid for begginers and easiest to breed. Also £2.50 from a lfs! Love the jewel cichlids but after reading up on them i thought they were abit out of my experience.

 

[Wills]

Levels of aggression dont really come down to experience but yeah jewels would just take out your rams pretty quick. FMs are good and readily available but not 100% if these are the best choices for this tank to be honest. But it could work.

Wills

 

[Gaz_S]

Ill just have a long think about it tonight i may end up changing my mind. Thanks for your help!

 

[shroob]

I wouldn't advise FM with rams, especially a pair. FM can pair up quite small as well so you may have less time than you actually think. I would stick to the safe side and not risk it personally.