Firemouth Cichlid Information

The Firemouth is a popular aquarium fish due to their fiery red color and hardy nature. It is native to Central America and it is distributed in Río Tonalá system near Coatzacoalcos, on Mexico’s Atlantic slope, the states of Veracruz, Chiapas, Tabasco, the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize and northern Guatemala. It inhabits typically shallow, slow-moving rivers, lagoons, wetlands, ponds, canals, roadside ditches and streams over soft sediments with pH of 6.5-8.0 and water temperature of 70-75° F. They stay close to vegetation near the shore where they feed on algae along with some meaty foods within sandy or muddy bottoms.

The firemouth is a classic cichlid which is very popular amongst aquarium fish keepers. It was first described by Brind in 1918. It belongs to the family Cichlidae under order Perciformes of class Actinopterygii. The most noticeable characteristics of this fish are its throat and breast area coloration, which ranges from bright fiery red to brick red and it, gives the common name ‘firemouth’. The meaning of the genus Thorichthys is defined by Meek as a leaping fish and the species name meeki was given to the honor of American Icthyologist Professor Seth Eugene Meek. At present this species is not listed on the IUCN Red List.

The Firemouth Cichlid is one of the most popular cichlid due to its vibrant red coloration. It requires a tank of a minimum of 30 gallons with a fine sand bottom for burrowing and plenty of open swimming room. The tank should also have available rocks, leaves or submerged wood to hide among the rocks and roots. It is a great choice for the beginner cichlid keepers due to their adaptability to a wide variety of environments. They require good water movement along with strong and efficient filtration. The aquarium water should have good water quality with a pH of 6.5-8.0 and hardness of 8 – 15 0 dGH.  The Firemouth Cichlid is peaceful fish and it should be kept with similar tank mates and temperament.   Suggested tank mates include Cichlasomines, other South American cichlids, Loricarids, Pimelodids, large Characins, Hemichromis, Tilapia etc. At least 15% water changes should be done each week to make the aquarium environment healthy.

Check out recommended plants for Firemouth Cichlid

The Firemouth Cichlid is a benthic omnivorous fish and in wild condition it mainly eats detritus, mollusks, copepods, cladocerans, insects, algae and plants. In captive condition it takes wide variety of flake, fresh and live foods. It also takes prepared and frozen foods such as freeze-dried bloodworms, Tubifex, brine shrimp and plankton. Besides these, vegetables such as blanched spinach and cucumber should also be offered regularly. To maintain the good health of fish a certain amount of natural food in the diet is still needed. Feed should be supplied 2-3 times a day.

The Firemouth Cichlid is egg layers and regularly breeds in captive condition. It becomes territorial, especially during spawning. During breeding period, the tank water should be maintained with a pH of 6.5-8.0, hardness of 8 – 15 0 dGH and the temperatures should be between 70 and750 F. The female lays 100-500 eggs on cleaned rocks. The female fans the eggs while the male guards the territory. The eggs hatch in 3-4 days and the fry becomes free swimming in about a week. The fry should be fed with newly hatched brine shrimp and finely crushed flakes.

It is easy to make differences between male and female. Males are generally larger than females of the same age with brighter and redder coloration around the throat. The male also have more pointed dorsal fin, anal fin and genital papilla. The females are less brightly colored than the males and have a blunt genital papilla.

The Firemouth is a very beautiful fish with lots of personality. It is readily available both online and in fish stores with moderate price. Look below online vendor and you may order it to buy from this online shop that I would recommend from.

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