Photo: Bloopityboop, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Firemouth cichlid
Thorichthys meeki
12 cm
Adult size
140 L
Minimum volume
2
Minimum group
8 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Thorichthys
- Diet
- omnivore
- Social life
- pair
In the wild
Overview
The firemouth cichlid, named after the ichthyologist Seth Eugene Meek, is recognised by the bright orange-red underside of its head, more pronounced in adults. Facing a rival, it flares its gill covers, marked with a black spot, to look bigger. Almost all fish in the trade are bred for the hobby.
- Scientific name
- Thorichthys meeki Brind, 1918
- Classification
- Cichliformes › Cichlidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
Atlantic slope of Mexico (from the Río Tonalá to Yucatán), northern Belize and Guatemala; naturalised in Hawaii and Puerto Rico
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It lives in very varied lowland habitats, calm or with a moderate current, shallow (under 1.5 m), clear or muddy, fresh or slightly brackish: cenotes, lagoons, pools, ditches, streams, over sand, mud or limestone, with or without plants.
Behaviour
Not very aggressive, but territorial when breeding, and it may eat much smaller fish. It lives with Central American cichlids of similar size, provided each has its own territory, and with peaceful surface fish such as mollies and swordtails. A foraging omnivore, it sifts the sand: fine substrate and varied sinking food.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth