Firefish,one? couple? odd number?

[Oliver94]

Hello!
I have been searching about the famous firefish for a while and how many can one place in his DT..

There are so many opinions :
Some say : only one by tank
others,by couple,if you were lucky to get a male and a female..
And others say that they do the best when they are in odd numbers..

Also,what about mixing red firefish and purple firefish?
Also lots of disputes to this part..
What do you think?
Thank you!

 

[cmwalters]

I have 2 red firefish in my tank. But they had been at my lfs for a while together. He said that he bought them as a trio and they killed off the third one, so my guess is that they are a male/female pair. They get along perfectly fine. Im not sure about what would happen with purple and red firefish together.

 

[Aquaph8]

Imo, they do best single or as a pair. They are really cool as a pair but sexing them is difficult and is more luck than anything

Ive had multiple colors but they didnt really tolerate each other close by, they lived on opposite sides of the tank from each other. I had the same results with a third red one.

 

[dbg]

I've got 2 in my 90gal. The lfs had a ton of them in one tank, and I waited for about a week after seeing them initially to go back in and purchase 2. I think its good practice to wait a few days after seeing fish to actually go back and purchase them (unless someone else takes them during your waiting period!) When you wait, you can go back and see the tank again to make sure they are healthy and see how aggressive they are with one another.

Mine get along perfectly, and I could have gotten lucky and gotten a pair, but who knows. Find a reputable lfs and keep an eye on their tanks before you buy.

 

[eatbreakfast]

My experiences with firefish are it is relatively easy to get a pr at an LFS. If they keep a group together you will see 2that hover above the best cover, either a rock or piece of pvc, other firefish will be near, but not as close as these 2.

Mixing purple and red firefish has had mixed results, sometimes working sometimes not, I think having the reds in before the purples, then adding small purples is the key.

 

[Oliver94]

I got advice that says,put as much as you want but introduce them all at once.. As you are saying eatbreakfast,purple ones seem more aggresive

 

[Oliver94]

Today I bought 3 red firefish,let's see how they will behave,I am planning to get purple ones soon(or not?)

 

[Tahoe61]

A trio worked well for me.

 

[Oliver94]

Hopefully in a couple of week my lfs will get purple ones,so I will get a trio also hopefully they won't open w duel in my tank..

 

[1reefluvr2]

Add the purples last. They will school together with the reds. I had a school of 18 reds and 6 purples, with 10 dungeon gobies. They all skool in the same spot in middle of tank. My tank is 42 inches deep. They all go into the same hole in the bottom of tank on a rock cave they made. They have a pair of candy cane pistol shrimps they share with. Had no problems for 2 years.

 

[erk]

I've had 3 firefish that school in the center of my 29 gal. They all sleep together as well. Been going well now for a little over 3 months. No problems between them. All are a joy to watch and have no torn fins. Definitely get a group of these guys because their schooling behavior is fun to watch.

 

[tlove]

I had 2 fiirefish for about a yr, then added 2 more, no aggression but they pair off away from each other

 

[jt17]

The first fish added to my 155 were 3 firefish 2 years ago in August. No problems for about 6-9 months, they schooled together by day and by night all slept under the same rock. Then one day the largest of the 3 didn't come out. I didn't see it for a few day and when I finally did it was all beaten up. I never saw it after that. I would say keep them individually, in a pair, or in a large school.

 

[Oliver94]

Upp for the topic.
Anyone maintaining them by big groups successfully? By big groups you mean how many? 5 and above?
I got 3 but they were all beaten and killed by my dottyback
Thank you guys!

 

[Dreamaster]

six happy firefish

Hello all, i have 6 of them and they are really happy. Also a 6 lines but doesnt mess with them. A coral beauty loves to scare them. Greetings