Firemouth Breeding

[wiggywhitetrash]

I lost my Jack Dempsey last week and have been wondering what to replace him with. I have a male (I think) firemouth in the tank and thought maybe I'd get a female and try to breed them. Read a few articles online and from what I've read they don't seem to need a lot of work to get them breeding. A couple of questions...

First off, I'm pretty sure I have a male but I'm not 100%. Took a video of him tonight, what do you think, male or female?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq0xV4A8844

He looks pretty pale in this video but his colour varies a lot - his chin and belly are often very red (as they should be). What is likely to be causing this?

I also read that throwing in one of each sex won't guarantee you a pair and it's best to start with a group and watch them pair off. Don't really want to overstock the tank so ideally, I'd like to get a single female. Would it be wiser to get 2 or 3 females?

He shares a 65 gallon with 3 pictus cats and 2 plecs (1 bristlenose, 1 green phantom).

Any input would be appreciated.

Cheers

Steve

 

[GrantA94]

IMO, you have a female. I have a definate male from a breeding pair (female sadly died). And he has far more red to his throat plus his trailers are much longer (not always a reliable source of sexing). The easiest way for me to sex was the indifferent growth rate (males much faster) however without another FM to compare to it becomes difficult. I started with 6 fish, all from different stores to keep the bloodlines purer and ended with two pairs. I kept the best pair. Shortly after the female passed.

However, i think with the stock you have in the tank. Buying 4 or 5 more wouldn't be too bad. If i were you i would just up the water change routine, keep an eye on the params and go with 5 or so more FMs until you get a pair. It shouldn't take too long. Then once pair form remove the rest and you're good to go.

 

[wiggywhitetrash]

Thanks for the reply Grant, might buy a few more next weekend, my LFS has some in. A little dissapointed it might not be a male though. The reason I thought he was male was becuase he's very agressive, even more so since I lost my JD. He spends a lot of time chasing the catfish away from one corner of the tank. Also, he has growth has been pretty good, he was starting to catch up size wise with my JD. Regarding the colouring, the vid is a poor example - after eating live brimeshrimp this afternoon, he was very red underneath. Water changes - I currently do 1 60% change per week, would you suggest upping this?

Cheers

Steve

 

[GrantA94]

If its a male and its sexually mature 3-4"+ it will display what looks like a backwards pointing spur (very narrow point) in front of the anal fin. If its a female, it will either display nothing or what looks like a tube.

I would keep an eye on your water params and if they start to rise more than normal try doing two 40% w/c every week. I personally only do 30-40% every fortnight. But i have a 180.

 

[wiggywhitetrash]

he / she is not quite 3" yet, although almost. The water params are always fine, but I do the 60% a week anyway because I heard it's good for the fishes growth

 

[GrantA94]

I just realised you're from the UK. You could have my lone male . Shame i am in cumbria. So its quite the treck. Here is an old picture of my male. Not the best picture, he is much more red now with huge trailers on his dorsal, anal and tail fins. He is prolly around 4.5" TL now.

 

[aiezzi]

From the looks of it it looks like you have yourself a male. From everything I have read online and learned working at fish stores. A easy way to tell is the elongated fins. Males pectoral find usually come to a point and a females Are more rounded. I'll post some pics of my firemouth which have paired up I believe.


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[aiezzi]

The first pic is what I believe to be my male and the second is one of the 2 females in my tank.


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[GrantA94]

The first pic is what I believe to be my male and the second is one of the 2 females in my tank.


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Granted you have a male and female. But i am confident the OP has a female. If you look at how red the underside of your male vs the OP's. Also, the tail fin on your female is rounded, as it is on the OP's. The body shape of the OP's also suggest female, as its belly protrudes.

However, you both have some nice looking FM's!

 

[aiezzi]

Thanks and now that I took a closer look at that video I would have to go with you on that.


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