[jeffro79]

I have just lost 2 of my 4 Firemouth Cichlids. I have around 20 other types of fish in the tank and i test the water once a week which the readings show as ok although my PH has increased from a 5 to 6.5 over 3 months ( which i have been aiming for). The tank i am running is a Juwel Vision 260l with a Fluval 306 Filter, i also have an air sponge filter running. One of the Firemouths started breathing heavily and stopped feeding it was also hiding out of the way near to the substrate but the other 3 where fine. The next day another of the Firemouths experienced the same symptoms. For 3 days they didnt eat but carried on breathing heavily. I added another air stone as i have read that a lot of poeple had experienced this through lack of oxygen and purchased a Herbal additive from microbe called artemiss but in the end it was too much for them.
I was just interested to hear if anybody else has experienced similar problems with these fish as i was really looking forward to keeping just Firemouths but this has given me doubts.
Thanks
Ste

 

[willow]

hi
my female went like that,and shortly after the male followed,i was gutted,
i don't know what was behind it either.
so i can empathise with you.
hope someone can shed some light.

 

[Myrox]

I have lost fish in this way in the past...do u have water test results this could help. Don't get discouraged firemouth are very cool fish.
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[henningc]

I can't say what the problem is but pleasekeep trying. Firemouths are shy so in a bare tank they get really stressed. I have not had any problems with mine. As somebody else said they are beautiful fish and worth the hassle. I got mine from Consolidated Fish Farm.

 

[willow]

i had mine in a very well planted tank,they were my show fish,they were
awesome parents.

 

[jeffro79]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I must of had a disease in my tank as it took out 2 of my angel fish the exact same way
It has been a couple of weeks now and there are no signs of any illness in the tank so either its lying dormant or the medication I used has worked but at the cost of 4 of my finest fish.
However the other 2 Firemouths are doing great and are developing fantastic colours especially with the addition of the vitamins.

 

[willow]

glad to hear everything is good :-D

 

[rsskylight04]

I've kept firemouths they are great fish. Sorry for your loss. Sounds to me like you must have have ammonia or nitrite spikes that killed your fish. If theproblem is gone now it could be that a bacteria have colonized the tank and are regulating your levels now. You could try adding salt to keep away parasites andfungus but you will get conflicting advise on that. Just saying south american cichlids like firemouths tolerate salt very well, andparasitesand fungus do not. Might help if you get in trouble again . Good luck in your future fishkeeping!