firemouth cichlid?

Question

can you put a firemouth cichlid alone in a 5 gallon tank i think no but my brother insints it will fit perfectly and will be very happy ad cool looking

and i dont want sugestions for what to put in the tank i want to know if the cichlid will go good in one and i cant keep bettas my water isnt good enough even with conditiar

the pet store has a dolphin cichlid in a 5 gallon and its bigger then a firemouth and its pefectly happy in there

Answer 1

The answer is simply no
Just because a petstore has a dolphin in a 5 gallon doesn't mean that it's happy in there
And you have also to consider that they don't keep that fish in there forever because somebody will buy it
Ever heard anything about stunting a fish? here is an explanation in detail
http://www.epinions.com/content_3185614980
And this isn't just for goldfish, it counts to every other bigger fish as well

Anyway, here is some info on what your cichlid would needs
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1956&articleid=2551
If I read correct, you need a minimum of 30 gallons, right?


Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 2

The Minimum size for even one Firemouth is 20 gallons. You can keep one alive in a 5 gallon tank, if you don't mind cramming a fish into a tank in which it can do nothing at all but float in one spot all its pathetic existance.

edit - you can't use a fish store as an example, they don't do everything right and need to save space. You think the 'dolphin cichlid is 'happy' in there? What makes a fish that would normally swim around and be plenty active, a fish that in nature would live socially in groups of its own kind, be happy stuffed alone into a glorified fish bowl? And how will this cichlid, still a baby if it even fits into that tank, grow to full size when its full size should be almost as large as that whole tank? I don't care if the fish store is doing it - if they keep it up they will kill the fish.

Stuffing large fish into small tanks is selfish and cruel, and there's nothing we can do to stop you from doing it. You seem like you've made up your mind already despite the opinions.

If your water isn't good enough for betta's, how can it be good enough for other fish? Betta's are very hardy fish.

Answer 3

No, cichlids are aggressive fish that need to be able to establish territory in a tank, if they are not given room to establish this territory the get stressed very easily.

If you want a cichlid of any kind you are going to need a much larger tank than the one you have. I would stick to small tetras or guppies, if you need algae control, go with shrimp or some kind of snail.

If you want something that will look cool go with a few neon tetras, or a betta. there is not much else that you can put in there, the tank is too small.

Answer 4

Not a chance! They get around 6 inches and will be miserable in a 5 gallon tank. They would not have any room to move. In a 5 gallon, stick to Guppies, Neon Tetras, and Bettas.

Nosoop4u

Answer 5

a betta would LOVE your 5 gallon tank but a chiclid is just too big. He would be ok for like a little bit but would probably die from lack of space. I mean would you have liked to grow up in a closet? lol well... just tell your mom that for the sake of the fish, buy a bigger tank or settle with something smaller like a betta fish of some fancy guppies.

Answer 6

okay i disagree with the min tank size needing to be 20 gallons i have a single firemouth in a ten gallon tank and he is very healthy and happy. he is almost 3 years old.