[ian16]

Hi there -
I have a 29G that currently has 1 small Firemouth [< 2"], 3 panda cories and 3 tiger barbs.Everyone gets along great and my water parameters [nitrate, nitrite and ph] are all fine. I do regular water changes weekly and only feed about twice a week. I know that I will eventually need a larger tank for the Firemouth...but until then what do you think of my stocking? There's not much activity in my tank since there are so few fish, so I go back and forth about if I should add anything more to it.
Just looking for some second opinions.

Thanks.

 

[LJ]

I've heard that one firemouth can live in a 29 gal, but if you are planning on a larger tank anyway, larger will of course be better.

As far as tank activity, I'd add a school of some sort of tetra. I tend to like them better than barbs. Danios are another option, and they are very active. My firemouth used to spend a lot of time hiding, but since I've added some floating cover he seems to venture out more. I use floating hornwort.

 

[Big Vine]

As the tank's only cichlid, the firemouth should be okay long-term.
But as LJ said, a bigger tank is always better...then you could think about other cichlid tankmates. Possibly even pairing him up and trying breeding at that point, if you're interested? (personally I wouldn't try it in anything less than a 3 ft. tank)

29G that currently has 1 small Firemouth [< 2"]

...only feed about twice a week.

I would definitely step up feedings for a fish that young.
Personally, I'd do twice daily feedings until he hit closer to 3 inches or even slightly more, and then I'd offer once a day until he's hit closer to 5 inches. After that, you could scale it back if you wish.

BV

 

[ian16]

As far as adding a few more fish into the tank - I am hesitant to add tetras since the barbs can get nippy. Would i be better off just getting more tiger barbs? Or other barbs?

What do you guys recommend ?

PS: Danios don't interest me

 

[ian16]

PS: Thanks for the tip about the feeding. I will step it up until he gets bigger. :thumb: I feed a mix of flake, bloodworms and sinking shrimp pellets. Anything else I should introduce ??

 

[BKConvict]

What's the advantage to feeding only twice a week? Seems kind of cruel to me , I'm sure it would reduce tank cleanings but any benefits to the fish?

 

[ian16]

Yes - less tank cleaning and just the fact that they don't need to eat every single day like the food manufacturers want you to believe. Been doing it for years based on several experts advice. They aren't starving, don't worry.