Male and Female firemouths?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Nice bass

As far as your FM's go... the male will develop a long filament-like whip on the tail. heres a couple pics of the Big male I lost this summer to a bacterial infection (Dropsy). This should help you sex them when they get bigger. I'd say 3.5-4" you'll be able to get e pretty good idea who's male and female. Good luck with them. Wouldn't recommend any other cichlids in there, as IMO that tank is a perfect size for a pair.

The "Flare-up" is one of my favorite photo's I have of the fish I've kept...miss that guy he was really cool.

Enjoy them! :headbang2

DSCN1134.JPG

flare_up.jpg
 
do you mean the dorsal fin, not the tail?
 
klmt;1357125; said:
do you mean the dorsal fin, not the tail?
Click to expand...

Yeah think he just typo'd.

Regarding my Avatar, that was my cool little 4cm juvenile Firemouth who passed away earlier this week randomly, was my favourite little guy so I was a bit upset. Think he may have been damaged by his bigger tankmates.

8D-2.jpg


firemouth.jpg


And here's my two new Firemouth, these guys are at 5-6CM already, and there's a bit of conflict, mainly between the two of them, but they're big enough to not worry too much about it.

2fm.jpg


Hardly coloured because they've just been introduced, might have to post photos in a week or so :)
 
how do you get such good pics. do you take them at night with only the tanklight, or day, flash no flash? mine come out blurry, but my mom has a nice camera? The smaller one of mine is very colorful, his dorsal and anal fis are red lined with iridescent blue, and the anal and caudal fin also are lined with black. He/she also has an extremely firey stomach. The larger looks like the one in your first pic. p.s. sorry for the loss, they are such cool fish with unique persolalities.
 
ok so for now the larger bully fire mouth could be either a male or a female, it is just mean because it is bigger. and i will be able to tell their sex in about 4 or 5 months, or would a male and female pair before then?
 
i looked around, and it says they pair at around 2-2.5". Now the smaller one doesnt really go close to the other one. Is it possible the bigger one is a female and is territorial towards the other one. IDK i just cant wait to know
 
I think you're just going to have to be patient. Post some photo's cause they might help but i'd wait til they hit 3-4" then it should be pretty easy to sex them.

We see it a lot here...people try to post pics of juvies and ask all of us to sex them...then half say male, half say female and they end up in the same spot they were to begin with.

Sit tight and enjoy them, they're very cool little cichlids and color up nicely.

Would still love to see pics tho

One other thing I noticed in your signature is that you only have 1 cory cat. Read up on the fish you're interested in BEFORE you buy. trust me it pays and will save you money and headaches. Cory cats like to be in groups of 3-4 or more so I'd grab 3 more whe you get the time. Other than that I think your tank will be set up very well. 2 FM, 4 corys, a pleco? Tetras will soon be food for your FM's...guaranteed. The Pleco may outgrow the tank if it is a common pleco (personally I like the bushy nosed pleco's). I traded both of mine in for a bushy nose and a gold nugget (90 gallon) and the bushy nose is the best algae eater I've ever had, he cleane everything.

I assume you're all set as ar as filtration and water change schedule?

I'm rambling now...

Good luck
 
klmt;1359325; said:
ok so for now the larger bully fire mouth could be either a male or a female, it is just mean because it is bigger. and i will be able to tell their sex in about 4 or 5 months, or would a male and female pair before then?
Click to expand...

Mine are the same, not sure about their temperament to their own species but one of my two is definitely on the back foot most of the time but he/she doesn't seem too worried about it, it's just nudging and pushing akin to bullying, not trying to maim or kill eachother.

He'll generally lurk around the back of my tank between hiding spots unless it's feeding time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-50CNEQlFI

Good video of it I managed to get with a quick stint of full gill flaring :p

I take my photos with flash, using a $AUD700 Camera, Fuji Finepix S6500FD, definitely helps. Patience is the main thing, let the camera focus then snap. First pic, my POTM entry, was no flash. Tank Lights on.

Headrush gives good advice, too.
 
i know im gettin more cories
 
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