They're one of the few Central American cichlids I would trust in a community tank. I've kept single fire mouths as a centerpiece fish along with robust schoolers like tiger barbs, Australian Rainbowfish, and swordtails and also in cichlid communities with others of similar temperament (Rainbow Cichlids, Honduran Red Point, Sajica, and Blue Acara are good examples)
Love your guys videos, also got the new sweatshirt 😁 I also have a question for you guys. After watching your last few videos, I want to setup a 75 with the classic trio (Jack Dempsey, Firemouth, and Convict) however I’m not sure what else I should put in with these guys, I was thinking about an Electric Blue Acara because I love the blue color or maybe a Severum. Would that work or would there be a better tank mate or tank mates?
Awesome! Love to hear it. Either the EBA or the Severum would work well! In a 75, I would suggest the EBA over the Severum since it doesn't get quite as big. A different option would be the Nicaraguan or Rainbow cichlids.
Managed to pick up a Pasionis a few weeks ago and I'm blown away by it. I've kept Thorichthys species before and found them to be, generally, quite peaceful. That is unless they are spawning. They are actually a really good Central American alternative to geophagus as they sift constantly. Just got to try and get an all M/F group.
Firemouths are one of my favorite small-medium sized cichlids. If I ever start an American Cichlid tank I will adding those again along with the Salvini and Comvict.
I had to rehome my fire mouth cichlid, he locked lips with my 2 blue acaras, and kept attacking my Sajica cichlid, was super aggressive to literally all of my fish, saw him kill some of my other fish as well, the only fish he couldn’t do damage to was my Raphael catfish, I heard they were more a ‘bluff’ fish, but my one like…fully attacked everything
I had a firemouth that I got for $3 as a fish in cycle fish. He thrived and lived with my Oscar and Texas cichlid in my 75. He actually paired off with my female Texas and began to terrorize my Oscar a bit. I rehomed them both. I like the firemouth a lot though. Great list
My bro in law has one with a jack, GT, severum and an eba. The firemouth is by far the smallest by alot but he's also the most feisty always trynna take the jack on. Just around his territory tho
I just purchased a 75 gallon and am really hooked on your content as I dream up how I will stock it! Do you think firemouths could work with geophagus tapajos? If so, in what numbers? My guess is “no” since they would both occupy the bottom but I can’t decide between them! 😂
awesome video i have a 75 gallons tank what can i put in sevrums 1 green sevrum and 1 red spotted sevrum i was thinking to go with green terror but I'm worried about aggregation
Can you keep zebra and yoyo loaches with this fish? I have an empty 125 gallon and was considering 18 barbs, 12 loaches, 6 zebra, 6 yoyo and maybe 2 to 4 firemouth as the center piece, heavily planted. I'm still in the research phase of my project so I'm not going to be doing anything just yet, as I don't want to get fish that will drive each other crazy. Or overstock the tank. I've normally kept species tanks in the past, this is my first potential community tank. Thanks for the help.
I also absolutely love the jack Dempsey cichlids they are stunningly colorful. if you get real personable with the fish you will be able to build a fulfilling relationship with understanding the species. Because of this I've had lai for almost 9 years. I want to cross him with a platinum parrot cichlid. I will call the species the midnight mystic parrot cichlid.
I must have the most timid fire mouth ever!! My oscar is super chill, never starts any issues. My green terror and silvani are the most aggressive…. Definitely an interesting soap opera 😅
Way back when I kept fish, my Convict and Firemouth were about the same size and loved to spar over & over again. They weren't biting each other or nipping fins so much as locking their jaws and flaring their gills, flashing their gorgeous colors. It's the only time the red on the FM would really show. Otherwise it seems kind of drab. Unfortunately for the FM it got bit in half the 1st night I threw a Red Serpent into the tank.
Have tried keeping a firemouth in my community tank and it was terrible, he took over the entire tank as his own personal space. After a week I donated
could you help me with this question i have in a 55g 2 greenterror eb acara hybrid both under 3in a 4 inch eba and a 3 inch ebjd so all the fish are quite small could i add a 3 inch convic chiclid to this tank its either that or my briother takes it back to the fish store
I kept a striped Raphael with various cichlids in the past. They work incredibly well since they're nocturnal and very well armored. Even the largest, most aggressive firemouth wouldn't be able to put a dent in one of those big spiky lunkers.
rainbowfish might be good tankmates for firemouths. I have 2 [ had more but they perished from an illness] with my jack Dempsey and acara that do pretty well.
I think that also Swordtails can match Firemouth since I've seen a video taken in the wild where there were Firemouths, Convicts and Swordtails (and they are not hardy at all)
I just added a group of 4 fire mouth babies to my tank, that has a mated pair of really large angles, a single large adult male kehole cichlid. 2 adult flag cichlids, 4 pictus cats, and 3 mee's catfish. I have 4 other tanks to separate everyone if things get spicy. This is my 100 gallon community tank.
I’ve kept a firemouth together with a convict and a Jack Dempsey as well, along with an Oscar. The four of them lived together happily for years. It’s a good combination.
I had firemouths and ellioti and geophagus pindare in my tank and the firemouths would terrorize the rest so badly i just brought them to a fish shop to get rid of them, So they are in my opinion not a fish to put in with other medium agressief fish, i would put them in a tank with agressief fish
I would just add a word of caution with Convict Cichlids: Both species can hybridize and the offspring is not pretty, I learned it the hard way, I have a large group of young adult mixed fish that managed to survive in my community aquarium. They are bland grey fish with neither the beautiful stripes of the convict nor the red throat of the fire mouths.
minimum of 55 gallons isnt nessessarily true with tank mates. ive kept them with rainbow cichlids in 40 breeders. kept multiple of the same species in 30 long and 20 long.
Smaller the tank, the less likely you are to have success is the point being made. Many times people say firemouths are overly aggressive and then the tank size is 40 gallons. Also, long term for a solo Firemouth, you do need at least a 40 breeder
@@CichlidBros thats simply untrue. 20 gallon long is fine for solo firemouth with mixed tropicals , its essentially the same size as a 29 tall without the height and besides you wouldnt want to keep one alone anyway how you gonna tel me when ive been keeping firemouth since a kid , my dad kept em and so did my uncle.
@@unkownperson9250 maybe I’ll add “recommended” minimum to that. And maybe a Firemouth can survive in a 20, but arguing against a better life and larger tank is an odd stance. But do you 🤷🏻♂️
@@CichlidBros im not arguing against a better life and a bigger tank.. im simply stating the fact that 55 gallons isnt the minimum tank size for the species however i do love your videos and not trying to argue everything else you said has been accurate and i understand from a fish keepers perspective that we often reccomend larger tanks and also it is very true that 55 gallons is a great size for firemouth with tank mates however from my experience there are alot more factors that contribute to cichlid aggression than just tank size
Links to some great food choices for the Firemouth cichlid:
- Xtreme Krill Flakes - geni.us/iTAWsN
- Xtreme Nice Pellets - geni.us/6ADcc
Loving all the uploads lately
Thanks for watching!
They're one of the few Central American cichlids I would trust in a community tank. I've kept single fire mouths as a centerpiece fish along with robust schoolers like tiger barbs, Australian Rainbowfish, and swordtails and also in cichlid communities with others of similar temperament (Rainbow Cichlids, Honduran Red Point, Sajica, and Blue Acara are good examples)
Awesome list! The Nicaraguan and Rainbow Cichlids are often overlooked. I own both and they have great color. Great content, thanks
Love your guys videos, also got the new sweatshirt 😁
I also have a question for you guys. After watching your last few videos, I want to setup a 75 with the classic trio (Jack Dempsey, Firemouth, and Convict) however I’m not sure what else I should put in with these guys, I was thinking about an Electric Blue Acara because I love the blue color or maybe a Severum. Would that work or would there be a better tank mate or tank mates?
Awesome! Love to hear it. Either the EBA or the Severum would work well! In a 75, I would suggest the EBA over the Severum since it doesn't get quite as big. A different option would be the Nicaraguan or Rainbow cichlids.
@@CichlidBros sounds good thanks for the help 👍
Managed to pick up a Pasionis a few weeks ago and I'm blown away by it. I've kept Thorichthys species before and found them to be, generally, quite peaceful. That is unless they are spawning.
They are actually a really good Central American alternative to geophagus as they sift constantly.
Just got to try and get an all M/F group.
Firemouths are one of my favorite small-medium sized cichlids. If I ever start an American Cichlid tank I will adding those again along with the Salvini and Comvict.
Agreed!
I had to rehome my fire mouth cichlid, he locked lips with my 2 blue acaras, and kept attacking my Sajica cichlid, was super aggressive to literally all of my fish, saw him kill some of my other fish as well, the only fish he couldn’t do damage to was my Raphael catfish, I heard they were more a ‘bluff’ fish, but my one like…fully attacked everything
Awesome video, congratulations from México 😎🇲🇽
Fire mouth was my first introduction to cichlids back in the early 80's .
I had a firemouth that I got for $3 as a fish in cycle fish. He thrived and lived with my Oscar and Texas cichlid in my 75. He actually paired off with my female Texas and began to terrorize my Oscar a bit. I rehomed them both. I like the firemouth a lot though. Great list
My bro in law has one with a jack, GT, severum and an eba. The firemouth is by far the smallest by alot but he's also the most feisty always trynna take the jack on. Just around his territory tho
I just purchased a 75 gallon and am really hooked on your content as I dream up how I will stock it! Do you think firemouths could work with geophagus tapajos? If so, in what numbers? My guess is “no” since they would both occupy the bottom but I can’t decide between them! 😂
awesome video i have a 75 gallons tank what can i put in sevrums 1 green sevrum and 1 red spotted sevrum i was thinking to go with green terror but I'm worried about aggregation
Can you keep zebra and yoyo loaches with this fish?
I have an empty 125 gallon and was considering 18 barbs, 12 loaches, 6 zebra, 6 yoyo and maybe 2 to 4 firemouth as the center piece, heavily planted.
I'm still in the research phase of my project so I'm not going to be doing anything just yet, as I don't want to get fish that will drive each other crazy. Or overstock the tank.
I've normally kept species tanks in the past, this is my first potential community tank.
Thanks for the help.
I also absolutely love the jack Dempsey cichlids they are stunningly colorful. if you get real personable with the fish you will be able to build a fulfilling relationship with understanding the species. Because of this I've had lai for almost 9 years.
I want to cross him with a platinum parrot cichlid. I will call the species the midnight mystic parrot cichlid.
I must have the most timid fire mouth ever!! My oscar is super chill, never starts any issues. My green terror and silvani are the most aggressive…. Definitely an interesting soap opera 😅
I love my Jack Dempseys I have 3 beautiful ones
👊🏻👊🏻
I saw some quezal cichlid on your tank ,I think you dont have any review about them?if I'm not mistaken.
Way back when I kept fish, my Convict and Firemouth were about the same size and loved to spar over & over again. They weren't biting each other or nipping fins so much as locking their jaws and flaring their gills, flashing their gorgeous colors. It's the only time the red on the FM would really show. Otherwise it seems kind of drab. Unfortunately for the FM it got bit in half the 1st night I threw a Red Serpent into the tank.
Have tried keeping a firemouth in my community tank and it was terrible, he took over the entire tank as his own personal space. After a week I donated
could you help me with this question i have in a 55g 2 greenterror eb acara hybrid both under 3in a 4 inch eba and a 3 inch ebjd so all the fish are quite small could i add a 3 inch convic chiclid to this tank its either that or my briother takes it back to the fish store
Spotted Raphael catfish would be money
I kept a striped Raphael with various cichlids in the past. They work incredibly well since they're nocturnal and very well armored. Even the largest, most aggressive firemouth wouldn't be able to put a dent in one of those big spiky lunkers.
rainbowfish might be good tankmates for firemouths. I have 2 [ had more but they perished from an illness] with my jack Dempsey and acara that do pretty well.
Agreed!
I think that also Swordtails can match Firemouth since I've seen a video taken in the wild where there were Firemouths, Convicts and Swordtails (and they are not hardy at all)
Yeah green swordtails and common mollies naturally occur with the firemouths, and most livebearers go well with firemouths
I’m against mix breed fish but I think Salvini and Jack Dempsey mix would make a beautiful fish
I have never seen such colourful Geophagus.
Maybe a stupid question but can you match a pair of blood parrots with a pair of firemouths?
Big platies work very well too
I have 4 firemouth I’m growing out with my African cichlids
Would lemon tetras be good? They're more of a medium size tetra
Would likely work out
Would tiger barbs or Denison barbs work?
Both would likely be okay
I just added a group of 4 fire mouth babies to my tank, that has a mated pair of really large angles, a single large adult male kehole cichlid. 2 adult flag cichlids, 4 pictus cats, and 3 mee's catfish. I have 4 other tanks to separate everyone if things get spicy. This is my 100 gallon community tank.
I’ve kept a firemouth together with a convict and a Jack Dempsey as well, along with an Oscar. The four of them lived together happily for years. It’s a good combination.
Agreed!
I have a 125 gallon and keeping a Severum only tank. At adult size, how many can go in this tank?
You could probably do 4-5 comfortably
@@CichlidBros Thanks.
did you try it? every time i try more than 2 in my 125, as soon as a pair formed, the others were screwed and stressed out
Wish we could share pics. Lol dangit.
Sounds like you guys need another Nicaraguan cichlid and some Rainbows
Very true!
can i keep Fire Mouths with tetras?
R u sure ?
The larger species I mentioned, yes it can be done
@@CichlidBros ok..thanks for your reply...
Ellioti cichlid is the best for him
I had firemouths and ellioti and geophagus pindare in my tank and the firemouths would terrorize the rest so badly i just brought them to a fish shop to get rid of them, So they are in my opinion not a fish to put in with other medium agressief fish, i would put them in a tank with agressief fish
I would just add a word of caution with Convict Cichlids: Both species can hybridize and the offspring is not pretty, I learned it the hard way, I have a large group of young adult mixed fish that managed to survive in my community aquarium. They are bland grey fish with neither the beautiful stripes of the convict nor the red throat of the fire mouths.
In my 30 years of experience with central Americans the salvini another level of aggression when compared to the thorichthys genus.
In a large enough tank it’s usually manageable. But also why the Salvini was low on the list
Firemouth 7-10$,blue acara 40-50$,blue jack Dempseys 20-25$, I have a 225 gallon worth more than my car lol😅
Firemouths are jerks!!! Beautiful fish, but any that I have kept are trouble.
I just put a jack in my 75
Nice
Only tank mate dat guy need is a firemouth female in my opinion ijs
Might just have to get him one
Firemouth Cichlids are not that Bad…. A Small Female Flowerhorn Would end him if she didnt like him & wanted the Aquarium all to herself..😆
I think the flowerhorn would end just about anything
@@CichlidBros One Day Lord’s Willing I want one Flowerhorn From A Baby & Im gonna have him A Tank all to himself..😄
Can I keep an oscar and green terror in one tank...
I'm about to try
If it’s a 125 sure not a 75 that’s the minimum for just a single Oscar
My Jack Demsey killed my beautiful Firemouth. 😢
Dang sorry to hear it
SALVINI NUMBER ONE 💯‼️
minimum of 55 gallons isnt nessessarily true with tank mates. ive kept them with rainbow cichlids in 40 breeders. kept multiple of the same species in 30 long and 20 long.
Smaller the tank, the less likely you are to have success is the point being made. Many times people say firemouths are overly aggressive and then the tank size is 40 gallons. Also, long term for a solo Firemouth, you do need at least a 40 breeder
@@CichlidBros thats simply untrue. 20 gallon long is fine for solo firemouth with mixed tropicals , its essentially the same size as a 29 tall without the height and besides you wouldnt want to keep one alone anyway how you gonna tel me when ive been keeping firemouth since a kid , my dad kept em and so did my uncle.
@@unkownperson9250 maybe I’ll add “recommended” minimum to that. And maybe a Firemouth can survive in a 20, but arguing against a better life and larger tank is an odd stance. But do you 🤷🏻♂️
@@CichlidBros im not arguing against a better life and a bigger tank.. im simply stating the fact that 55 gallons isnt the minimum tank size for the species however i do love your videos and not trying to argue everything else you said has been accurate and i understand from a fish keepers perspective that we often reccomend larger tanks and also it is very true that 55 gallons is a great size for firemouth with tank mates however from my experience there are alot more factors that contribute to cichlid aggression than just tank size