Do you have experience with a Firemouth Cichlid?

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


zambize
 
Posts: 401
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:14 pm

Do you have experience with a Firemouth Cichlid?

by zambize

I read that this cichlid could be in a community tank and is relatively peaceful. Obviously probably not with something really passive and with flowy fins like a betta or something, but with thoughtfully selected community fish. Anyone have experience? I'm looking for 4"-5" community fish that are freshwater, fairly colorful, for a 55 gallon tank set at around 80 degrees.

Thanks,
Z


kelbri
 
Posts: 118
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:24 pm

by kelbri

If you don't get anyone here that knows, check out cichlid-forum.com. I want to get into cichlids, and the people there are pretty cool and seem to know what's what about cichlids.


dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

This is what I found on a couple of my fav web sites:
""For a cichlid, the firemouth is pretty easy going. The fish can even have plants in the tank with it most of the time. While not exactly a community tank fish, the firemouth will get along well with others of their size such as larger mollies, swordtails, rainbows or gouramis. Even when spawning, this fish only protects its spawning territory, unlike most other cichlids, which will try to wipe out anything else in the tank with. Firemouths spawn in typical cichlid fashion, and usually are good parents.""

""As far as sexing goes, the males are usually more colorful and possess a filament-like extension of the posterior part of the dorsal fin. Both sexes are identical when juvenile, though at about 7 cm the dimorphism becomes apparent. T. meeki spawns like many other cichlids, forming mated pairs at about a year old and laying eggs in a cave. Both parents will tend to the eggs, though one often serves as the perimeter guard. Periodically, they will move the eggs from one cave to another. The fry are free-swimming at about 4 days, and T. meeki is a model parent, caring for and defending its offspring. It is safe to remove them when they attain about half a centimeter in length.

There are varied opinions as to whether T. meeki is suitable for the community aquarium, and there is no doubt that when at full size (15+ cm), it is not a good tankmate for most tetras or other small fish. Though it is not an agressive cichlid, T. meeki is a cichlid nonetheless, and can be quite unpredictable. I personally have kept specimens up to 8 cm in a tank with Paracheirodon axelrodi, and I did not lose a single one. They do, however, have large mouths capable of swallowing all manner of things.

T. meeki is by nature a territorial fish, and though the displays it puts on to ward off attackers and other cichlids are impressive, and chase is often given, little actual damage is ever done to the fish themselves. It is really all for show, with the flaring of the gill covers and the erect posture of the fins more a technique for intimidation or a statement of hierarchy than anything else. ""

Here are some personal experiences:
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_meeki.php


fishkeeper90
 
Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 2:49 pm

by fishkeeper90

i think you can bc people always say that firemouths r sooo agressive but they r really not escpecially if they rnt the first fish in the tank


cedricandcandy
 
Posts: 134
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2008 1:36 am

by cedricandcandy

I've got two firemouths at the moment and have had others in the past also. Firemouths are fine as a community fish unless you have a breeding pair and they want to breed. They good parents and as such can be quite agressive during breeding time. Other then that they mind their own business and are very peaceful fish. If you want them in a community I would suggest having two girls, or two boys or just one fish. They will also uproot plants during breeding time; so don't put them in a planted tank.


a70m1c
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2008 3:39 am

by a70m1c

i also have fire mouths.
My 2 (m & F) live in a community tank (4 foot) with 2 electric yellows, 1 electric blue, 2 hump heads, bristle nose catfish and a colony of shell dwellers (neolamprologus)

The electric blue dominates the 2 firemouths.

The Fire Mouths fights with shell dwellers a little. when i put the firmouths in the tank the shell dwellers where bigger than the firemouths. now the fire mouths could eat the shell dwellers.

They dont thou, and its quite funney watching a 3 cm fish chase off a 10cm firemouth from his terrotry.

on the other hand my friend who has a single fire mouth called "Agro" he lives in a 8 foot community tank with 4 malawi eye bitters, 2 plecos and 2 green terrors.

The fire mouth tries to fight everything.


zambize
 
Posts: 401
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:14 pm

by zambize

Hmmmm, sounds hit or miss, but worth a try. Thanks for your time everyone!

Z


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

Why not consider central/sa cichlids instead Z? Apistogramma and all varieties of rams are gorgeous, and most are less hit-or-miss-ish than any african.

I have a male GBR that pesters the hell out of everything when he's in a mood, but his bark is 1000x worse than his bite---since I've seen no evidence he's hurt anything including the striped raphael cat I have which took a 5 minute onslaught from the GBR without blinking. lol

I have no experience with them but I glance at all the stock at petsmart frequently and on my last visit there was a tank with 3 firemouths and one was missing his/her entire dorsal and several large chunks of flesh..


zambize
 
Posts: 401
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:14 pm

by zambize

T - that's a thought. How big is your GBR?

Z


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

Nearly adult between 2.5 -3". I have two and have yet to determine whether the other is female despite the fact that the dorsal spike is about 1/4" smaller...I've seen them lock lips so to speak and flash bright colors when fighting several times. Either the other has spent too much time pretending to be a female (thus the smaller spike) or it really is and the male is unsatisfied...or confused?

Apistogramma would be slightly larger, and bolivian rams are also a bit larger than german blues.
Last edited by Tmercier834747 on Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

Do you have experience with a Firemouth Cichlid?

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