I have several firemouth cichlids in an 80l tank and would like to breed them. I have flowerpots in the tank for spawning and feed a high quality food but they are not spawning. The flowerpots are clay and on their sides. The substrate is gravel and the temperature is 24c. Where do theee cichlids like to spawn? I always thought they did so in flowerpots.
How to breed firemouth cichlids
- Thread starter BO17
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80L is a very small aquarium for these fish, unless you have a separate and much larger aquarium to use as a grow out I would heavily recommend you avoid trying to breed them. This is before any trials such as trying to rehome potentially a couple hundred young cichlids. In that size aquarium you would likely end up with a spawn and the pair would kill off all of the others but down the line you might not even get the pair to coexist and could lose one of them most likely the female if there is a large size difference. I have a dozen firemouths growing out in two four foot aquariums atm and struggle to picture such a large fish living in so small of an aquarium with any success long term. If I was you i'd try to either sell them before you get into issues or trade them in for a smaller species, many true dwarf species would be far better options. Try to pick something that won't exceed more than a couple inches SL. What is your water chemistry at home and do you use RO, rainwater or any mix? Knowing what you have to work with will make if much easier to suggest alternative species.
I plan on moving them into my 180l tank. This is just temporary accommodation until they grow too big and I move my goldfish from the 180l into a pond
They can be kept as a colony with moderate ease though breeding is greatly reduced. Would you be happy with a pair of firemouths, a shoal of large bodied tetras and a small number of bottom feeders? This being the permanent stocking for your 180L? The tetras would help keep the number of fry to a manageable number so you don't get stuck with hundreds and hundreds of fry that you can't get rid of.
These are a fun one to breed. In the family room of my home I have a large 220 gallon (832 liter) planted 'natural' show tank that has a colony of wild, F1 & F2 T. meeki. These are my pets. Yep the owner of TUIC has firemouths at home lol. They will start to spawn at around 2.5-3" so your 80l will be too small. These do best in groups, prefer higher pH, hard water. I keep them at room temp year round. So they are kept cool. typically 68-75 depending on the time of year. They share the tank with several dozen wild type X. helleri, snails(that they eat), and a group of astyanax. Its a 'natural' style tank in terms of its live planted with real wood, rock and tons of leaf & stick litter. 24 hr continuous cold drip into a 50 gallon sump. While they do not get large and they like the company of their own kind. They still need space for pairs. Your 180 liter will be better and would be full with a pair or maybe a m/f/f trio with some type of medium growing characin to chase and keep them occupied.
I’ve ordered multiple times and I’ll be honest Meeki wouod Not have been on my bingo card of cichlids that you keep. Very cool as I as others would love to see pictures.