Does any one know anything about firemouths

[deathspike63]

i want to get some fire mouths but i need some info and how many should i get

[scott]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.cgi?db=fresh&uid=default&ID=0348&view_records=1

[AikidoGuy]

i recently lost a Wild male meeki and an F1 Thorichthys aureum. it is belived that the cause was bloat. I spoke with Juan Miguel, and Don Danko over at The Cichlidroom Companion about the losses and both agreed that the fish are highly suspectable to catch parasites and other infections that other fish wont. They also both said bloat is very common with the species. it was recomended to me to feed them mostly greens and keep the high protiens to a minimum. Also, it was recomended to me to keep the water cooler than normal. 76-78 is ideal for the species. I spoke with Jeff Rapps after these two guys and he agreed on everything they told me.
I had been feeding mine freeze dried krill, meal worms cichlid sticks and some spirulina(apparently not enough). I had also been keeping the water at 80degrees. Turns out that was all no good for the species.. learned something new.. too bad it cost me some $$ though.

[Tiger15]

I also had bad experience with F1 or F2 Thorichthys areum which I lost about a dozen of them in two different rounds to bloat and bacterial infection. Now I have none left. I kept them in an African tank with pH 7.4, GH 12 and temperature 76F. These are the water parameters Thorichghys species came from and theorectically the right water chemistry. I didn't feed them special vegetative diet, only general cihlid pellets high in protein . Most of the African cichlid tankmates are the peaceful type like peacock and Haps and the Throichthys were never bothered. But the fish load, like most African tanks I have, are on the high side. It turned out that Thorichtys species are more suseptable to bloat than Africans which I always thought the other way around was true. I think the newness of their domestication is the reason for their sensitivity the same way Africans were when they were newly introduced.

[andruboz]

i had a pair that claimed the space under a stump and would fight off all tresspassers. then i shuffled everyone around and they ended up in a quarantine tank for a few days. bad idea. 2 -3" firemouths will not share a 10g tank even for a few days. so i was down to one.

my original one is almost full grown now. some say a spot on the dorsal fin indicates female. i picked up another hoping to get a pair but it looks like i have 2 males. the first one is now about 5" and got along fine with the new one 3". but the new one is always eating and has a slight pot belly on him. might be the start of bloat the other guys are talking about.

ive had them in tanks from 74 to 84 degrees. ive had them under cheap lights and they looked washed out. now they are under good lights, and the blues and irridescent colors are popping nicely on them.

feeding them mostly frozen blood worms, generic flakes and chilid attack sinking pellets. i think the bigger one pics off guppy fry sometimes.

not a bad fish. a little aggressive. personality wise it has 2 modes- shy and angry. some of my other fish have more complex personalities. but firemouths can fill a niche by not getting bigger than 6" and being able to take care of themselves in hostile company.