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Firemouth Cichlid

Family: CichlidaeThorichthys meeki

   One of the most popular of the cichlids, the Firemouth Cichlid has a distinctive shape and fiery red colors. It is an extremely beautiful fish and fun to keep!

   The Firemouth Cichlid is so named because of the fiery coloration on the under side of the mouth. It has a vivid red throat and belly, starting at the base of the tail and extending to the mouth. The body is generally blue-gray with several black blotches and it has brown fins streaked with blue. There are coloration differences, however, depending on each fishes place of origin.

   The Firemouth Cichlid is peaceful with tankmates except when spawning. During breeding they are aggressive towards other fish and especially towards smaller members of their own species.

During spawning, the male Firemouth Cichlid displays an impressive bluff, an aggressive stance where he inflates his fiery red throat sac and gill covers. It has been discovered by ethologists that the red coloring itself is intimidating to other fishes!

   They like a tank bottom of fine sand and plenty of hiding places among rocks and wood. Plants are also appreciated by the Firemouth Cichlid. Place hardy plants, such as Sagittaria, around the inside perimeter leaving an open area in the center for swimming. The plants should be potted to protect the roots.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Distribution:    The Firemouth Cichlid was described by Brind in 1918. They are found in Central America; Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. They inhabit the middle and bottom areas of slow moving rivers, ponds, and canals with sandy or muddy bottoms. They stay close to vegetation near the shore where they feed on algae along with some meaty foods.

Status:    This species is not listed on the IUCN Red List.

Description:    The body of the Firemouth Cichlid is strongly compressed laterally with a sloping forehead. The color is is generally blue-gray with several black blotches and it has brown fins streaked with blue. They are named for the coloration on the under side of the mouth. It has a vivid red throat and belly, starting at the base of the tail and extending to the mouth. There are some coloration differences, but is dependent on each fishes place of origin. Male have a more pointed dorsal and anal fins and are more intensely colored, especially during breeding.
   All cichlids share a common feature that some saltwater fish such as wrasses and parrotfish have and that is a well-developed pharyngeal set of teeth that are in the throat, along with their regular teeth. Cichlids have spiny rays in the back parts of the anal, dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic fins to help discourage predators. The front part of these fins are soft and perfect for precise positions and effortless movements in the water as opposed to fast swimming.
   Cichlids have one nostril on each side while other fish have 2 sets. To sense "smells" in the water, they suck water in and expel the water right back out after being "sampled" for a short or longer time, depending on how much the cichlid needs to "smell" the water. This feature is shared by saltwater damselfish and cichlids are thought to be closely related.

Size - Weight:    These fish get up to 6 inches (15 cm).

Care and feeding:    Since they are omnivorous the Firemouth Cichlid will generally eat all kinds of flake, fresh, and live foods. To keep a good balance give them a high quality flake food or pellet everyday. Feed brine shrimp (either live or frozen) or blood worms as a treat.
   A minimum 20 gallon aquarium is suggested for a pair, though a larger tank would be needed if keeping several. They need good water movement along with strong and efficient filtration. Provide a bottom of fine sand and plenty of hiding places among rocks and wood. Plants are appreciated but should be hardy, such as Sagittaria. Place the plants around the inside perimeter leaving an open area in the center for swimming. The plants should be potted to protect the roots.
   The Firemouth Cichlid can be rewarding specimen for a beginning aquarist as they are relatively easy to keep. Do water changes of 15 to 20% a week depending on bio load. They are subject to infections as well as other diseases that ail all freshwater fish.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:    These fish will swim in the middle and lower areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:    Hardness: 8 - 15° dH
   Ph: 6.5 - 8.0
   Temp: 70 - 75° F (21 - 24° C)

Social Behaviors:    The Firemouth Cichlids can be a good community fish and are not usually aggressive except when spawning. They should be kept with similar sized tankmates. In a large tank several pairs can be kept. They are monogamous and will pair off, developing a strong nuclear family. They get territorial when spawning and also may burrow, damaging plants at that time. They are, however, very good parents.

Sexual Differences:    The male has a more pointed dorsal and anal fins and is more intensely colored, especially during breeding.

Breeding/Reproduction:    The Firemouth Cichlids are egg layers A monogamous cichlid, they form a nuclear family. The female spawns 100-500 eggs on carefully cleaned rocks. The fry are protected in pits by both parents.

   See the description of how these fish breed in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Availability:    The Firemouth Cichlid is readily available both online and in fish stores and will run about $10.00 - $20.00 USD.

Author: David Brough, CFS

Lastest Comments on Firemouth Cichlid View all 30 comments on Firemouth Cichlid Add Your Comment

Tammy - 2012-05-21 I have a 90 gallon tank. I have many chiclids. Two of them are firemouths. They recently had babies. I got a divider to keep the other chiclids away from them. What I am wondering is how much room do I need to give these mom and dad? And how long before the babies are big anough to be with the other fish? And will the mom and dad eat the babies? Jeremy Roche - 2012-05-22 Depends on how big the parents are. As long as the fry have places to hide you should be fine. The fry will grow at different speeds so some will be able to move before others. Reply

sherry croteau - 2012-03-30 Hi, I have a 55 gallon tank. Do I have to have two of each of the same fish , or can I have 1 JD, 1 peacock, 1 convict etc. etc ? Jeremy Roche - 2012-03-30 They should be fine. The convicts are good to keep in groups and easily breed. Reply

jessica - 2011-11-09 Hi! A couple of years ago I had a convict cichlid and a firemouth together in a tank. They ended up having babies... I only have one left that is about 4 inches long and has the distinctions of both cichlids. At first I was told that it was impossible for them to mate, then I was told it's very rare. I was just wondering if it is rare? And if it is...is this fish worth anything? Greg Jones - 2012-01-15 Hi Jessica, please don't crossbreed cichlids. Although not rare by any means in the confined space of an aquarium, it's ill advised if you plan on selling or giving these hybrids back to the fish store. Somewhere down the line, it will be forgotten that they were crossbred and/or they will be resold by the store as a pure breed firemouth or convict. That's simply not fair due to the innate differences in temperament between the 2 fish. Convict cichlids are notoriously aggressive, more so than most other central american cichlids. Whereas Firemouth cichlids are generally more peaceful, even around some community fish. Reply

nobuck27 - 2010-03-22 I have a 55 gal. tank with a 5,4 and 3 inch firemouth, two 6 inch bright orange african cichlids, 5 and a 3 inch angel fish, two 5 inch rainbow sharks, a 4 inch convict cichlid, (which is the most awesome fish you should see him mouth up to the firemouths I swear he thinks he is one)there is also a 10 inch catfish, 8 inch alge eater, 2 4 inch gold gourami's, my two new cichlids I got 5 months ago are electric blue and an albino. I've had the tank a year and a couple months since then I've got two other tanks 40 gal with about 6 other kinds of fish a nice 6 inch jack dempsey and a 3 inch 1 (they're bff)2 buchari (got like 4 k9 teeth and yellow eyes) amazing they're not too happy where they are. 1 hides and the other hangs on 1 side of the tank there's 3 blue older gourami's that I adopted at petco they love to eat out of my hands have a 1 inch beautiful angel that doesn't seem to be growing it had to be seperated from the other 2 they did not like him also there's another 9 inch alge eater in this tank all together I have about 40 fish and they are all so awesome to watch. Geoff - 2010-04-28 All together you have too many fish in both tanks and you don't say anything about the firemouth where you posted this? Anonymous - 2011-03-31 Your 40 gallon isn't even big enough for your Jack Dempsey alone, much less everything else. I'm surprised anything is alive at all. Reply

Katelyn - 2011-12-16 I have a 75 gallon tank with one baby oscar in it. Would I be able to have some firemouth or other chichlids with it? If so what type, how many and what size should I get to keep up with the oscars growth rate? Charlie Roche - 2011-12-17 A baby oscar - might be OK but the Oscar is going to get BIG and he is going to see the others as food. Reply

john - 2011-10-30 Hi, I was wondering how many firemouth cichlids I could keep in a 20 gallon without over crowding. If it would be a bad idea to keep 2 in it would there be a way to fuse two 20 gallons together safely so I can have a 40 gallon? I am thinking of breeding them so do you have any breeding tips or ways to tell if a firemouth cichlid is a boy or a girl quick and easy? Charlie Roche - 2011-10-31 They get about 6 inches in length. If you scroll the article above you will see that it is recommended that a minimum of a 20 gallon tank be used for a pair. I don't know of any economical way to fuse two 20 gallon tanks together. Reply

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