Firemouth advice anyone?

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blackghostknife

blackghostknife

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Sep 24, 2010
1,315
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Hammond, Louisiana
Anyone got advice for a guy getting his first firemouth? I'm new to cichlids but not fish and my 30 gallon is sitting empty so I though why not? It's got an Aqueon Quietflow 55 on it, bare bottom with a flowerpot on the side and a small sponge filter. I might add some driftwood to it.

I'll be feeding a mix of freeze dried bloodworms, cichlid flakes, and hikari cichlid pellets. Anyone see any problems with this?


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How many are you getting? Sounds good to me but if you are gonna get more than one you might want to add another few hiding oppurtunities.
 
These fish are what's known as a substrate sifting cichlid. In the wild they sift sand for algae and bugs. They appreciate a sand bottom. I might advise against bloodworms as a primary part of diet, these guys need a more algae based diet. Also they don't mix well with other more aggressive SA/CA cichlids. They are actually pretty chill fish. Maybe mix in a few swordtails as a dither fish.
 
Get yourself a few youngsters and raise them together or if you're lucky find an adult pair.... 30 gallons is large enough for two adults. A male and female will show better together (with breeding colors) - Firemouths are what I'd call a sociable species. They do best in groups or pairs - Their gill flaring is design for communication, afterall.

Heres a pair I had in a 50 gallon tank... the male was 7" long!!

[video=youtube;Yy0Yl_u4xYA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy0Yl_u4xYA[/video]

To keep them healthy you need to do at least two water changes a week as Firemouths hate Nitrate build ups. ;)

Finally, if you're want to pick a quality male + features include a LOT of red in the face (especially the cheeks) and fins and long trailers :)
 
When I had firemouths I found that they preferred spot lighting as opposed to full tank lighting; gave them shaded areas at the sides of the tank to chill out before venturing into the middle.

Looks great too, if its something you might consider

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Spot lighting is not something I considered but have always wanted to try. Ya know where I can pick up some quality lights?


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blackghostknife said:
Spot lighting is not something I considered but have always wanted to try. Ya know where I can pick up some quality lights?


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Click to expand...

I don't know the answer to that one I'm afraid, I made do with clip on lights; the brand was aquael or aqueon, not the best quality though.

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Cyberman said:
Get yourself a few youngsters and raise them together or if you're lucky find an adult pair.... 30 gallons is large enough for two adults. A male and female will show better together (with breeding colors) - Firemouths are what I'd call a sociable species. They do best in groups or pairs - Their gill flaring is design for communication, afterall.

Heres a pair I had in a 50 gallon tank... the male was 7" long!!

[video=youtube;Yy0Yl_u4xYA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy0Yl_u4xYA[/video]

To keep them healthy you need to do at least two water changes a week as Firemouths hate Nitrate build ups. ;)

Finally, if you're want to pick a quality male + features include a LOT of red in the face (especially the cheeks) and fins and long trailers :)
Click to expand...

Easy some on here will tell you that you need a 210-300 gallon tank for a pair of firemouths...lol
 
crash83 said:
Easy some on here will tell you that you need a 210-300 gallon tank for a pair of firemouths...lol
Click to expand...

No you need a 300 gallon tank for a pair of Rams with Fluval FX6
 
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