General information – The Firemouth Cichlid found mostly in Belize

(Central America) but also can be found in Guatemala and Yucatan

Peninsula. This beautiful relatively peaceful cichlid knows how to defend

itself if necessary. The Firemouth Cichlid is a good beginner's fish; it can

be extremely hardy and will tolerate a wide range of water parameters.

They get their common name "firemouth" due to the display of the males

in breeding and spawning time, at this time, the males develop a red

coloration on the bottom side of the body and the gills become red in

order to warn other fish.  

Common Name - Firemouth Cichlid

Scientific Name – Cichlasoma (Thorichthys) meeki 

Family – Cichlidae  

Origin - Central America 

Size – Up to 6 inches (15 cm) 

First discovered - Brind, 1918 

be fed a well balanced diet of algae, pellets and flakesIt can also be feed with live or frozen food such as

Mysis, Bloodworms, Krill and Brine shrimps.  

Behavior – peaceful  

Maintenance and care – The firemouth cichlid can be kept in a community tank with non aggressive

American cichlids. The tank should be decorated with plants, woods and rock as hiding places.

Flat rocks can be used as spawning sites also.   

Water Parameters – Temperature: 68F-81F (20C-27C), PH: 6.5-8.2, DH: 4-20 

Breeding - The female will lay between 250- 300 eggs on a flat surface. These eggs will be fertilized by

the male.After the fertilization the male will guard for any predators while the female fans the eggs with

her fins. The eggs will hatch after 2-3 days. After 4 more days the fry will become free swimmers.

The fry can be feed newly hatched Brine Shrimp or with fry food.