Japes

The fire mouth is the biggest in the tank and everyone really leaves him alone. He’s about 3.5” and the convict is about 2.5”. The convict is extremely mellow. He chased the boesemanis a bit his first hour in the aquarium but now doesn’t act territorial at all. The firemouth came out for a few seconds last night and I’ve noticed today he’s peeking over the driftwood with a bit of curiosity. I’m hoping these are good signs.

Yeah…that’s the plan for now. I’ve been keeping the lights down and hoping he gets a little more comfortable over time. Hopefully the direct feeding will work and get him feeling more comfortable. The convict cichlid just carries on loving life swimming every where… and the firemouth is just as you put it “ moping” lol. Thank for sharing your experience…it encourages what I know about this hobby, “patience is key”.

I have a 55g that I’m slowly stocking up. Currently have 3 boesemanis, 1 convict, 1 Firemouth and 5 small albino corys. I added the Firemouth and boesemanis at the same time 4 days ago. The Firemouth is the largest of the group as they are all pretty young. From the moment I put him in the tank, he swam behind the scape and hid by a rock under some driftwood. He came out for a few moments later the first day but I haven’t seen him out since. He’s dug a nice bed under the driftwood and does not come out. I know this can be normal for Firemouths but my concern is that he’s not getting any food. The boesmanis and convict are very active and good eaters so very little, if any, food gets to the Firemouth. I’ve decided that today I would try direct feeding him some brine or bloodworms via a baster. He hasn’t been picked on at all and like I said is the largest of the group….any suggestions on how to get him more active in the community? Maybe add more firemouths? I’m at a loss. Thanks for any help.