75 gallon Firemouth species only Tank
- Thread starter FiremouthGem
- Start date
Even though these aren't considered true earth eaters, the Andinoacara below and many Central and South American cichlids spend a lot of time digging for small edibles,
So traditionally thought of "bottom feeders" are really not necessary.
And these cichlids(even though they, and their mouths are fairly large), prefer to eat smaller size chunks, larval snails and mollucs in nature, and expel non-edible particles through gill openings.
Big chunks of gravel, or large pellets if swallowed whole can often cause blockages, or hurt gill membranes.
I have had 10" Geophagines prefer tiny pellets and even flake food, compared to even medium size pellets
So traditionally thought of "bottom feeders" are really not necessary.
And these cichlids(even though they, and their mouths are fairly large), prefer to eat smaller size chunks, larval snails and mollucs in nature, and expel non-edible particles through gill openings.
Big chunks of gravel, or large pellets if swallowed whole can often cause blockages, or hurt gill membranes.
I have had 10" Geophagines prefer tiny pellets and even flake food, compared to even medium size pellets
I will feed smaller pellets then thank you again! Would what I’ve been feeding the swords do or would flake be better and more palatable? I feed Imperial Tropical’s small crumbled fish food, i also bought the same company’s small pellets.
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never tried their brand foods, but for that size cichlid even as adults, i feed 1-3mm pellets or even vibra-bites. the mini size in hikari cichlid gold is about as big as i go for fish under 12"
less mess less waste.
less mess less waste.
My shipment of plants came and i am very pleased, the firemouths are all doing well and the bristlenose just keep on growing. Couple of updated pictures, had a small algae bloom but it doesn’t look horrible and everyone seems to be thriving. 
I plan in putting some carbon in and some filter floss to clear up the cloudy look.
I plan in putting some carbon in and some filter floss to clear up the cloudy look.Firemouths look great! Often overlooked b/c its common in the hobby, but a really pretty fish with great behavior, reasonable adult size & low aggression. The thorichthys family is overlooked as a whole. I just picked up a 75gal at PetSmarts Black Friday sale as a gymnogeophagus tank, but thorichthys tank was my back up plan. Also good choice going with Imperial Tropicals.
Correct me if i am wrong but i think that the firemouth i call Sharko (the biggest one) is a male. Got a couple of pictures of him and his vent. Pardon for the phone pictures, my old nikon isn’t working.
