Sexing Firemouths

KingOfTheDeep

All Hail The King
Nov 2, 2005
1,618
0
36
39
New York City
Real Name
Dan
i had a guy come into the LFS yesterday that was asking if anyone wanted his small pair of firemouths, i glady said yes as i have wanted a pair of these guys for a while

however, i didnt get a chance to look at them till' i got home, the male is pretty onbvious, he's about 3 1/1 inches ,long, crimson red underside, sharp dorsal and anal fins, but the supposed female is confusing me, "she" is a little lighter, and the red coloring is a little more dull, and she has somewhat smoothed out dorsal, but her anal fin is somewhat pointed, the dorsal fin does not look like it has been pecked on, infact is looks very neat, she is only about 2 inches long

since they have been in the tank i have seen no real sign of male aggression, y'know, the gill flaring, chasing eachother around, i'm just hoping she is a she..if it turns out to be a male, i will probably have to give it away and go female firemouth hunting, lol

i am not able to take any photos as of now, my batteries died, i need to get rechargeables..
 
Last edited:
Give them some time to show their real colors but it sounds like you have a pair. Males are usually larger, have longer fins, and have more red – obviously females are the opposite. Congrats! :)

firemouth_1.jpg

Found this small image of a pair, hope it helps.
 
thanks, i've been watching them closely over the past few days i'm pretty sure she is a she, lol

thanks for the reply
 
here is the best photo i could get of her
PC010009.jpg
 
AquariaCentral.com