Blackgullet firemouth

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a larger, yellow-toned relative of the common firemouth, and it keeps the family's mild manners and showy threat display. It forms pairs rather than groups, so keep it as a single fish or a bonded pair. It stays near the bottom, sifting sand and grazing, and is peaceful for a cichlid, though it defends a spawning site, so choose tankmates with some caution: small to medium Central American cichlids or peaceful South American fish work well. Feed quality pellets plus frozen and live foods such as bloodworm and brine shrimp to keep its color up. Give it a sandy tank of at least 250 liters with wood, flat stones, and hiding places.

In the wild

It lives in slow backwaters and channels of the Usumacinta system in southern Mexico and Guatemala, over sand and among sunken wood. Recreate that with warm water of 24 to 29 C and a neutral to hard chemistry around pH 7.0 to 8.2. A soft sand floor lets it sift naturally, and driftwood, roots, and flat rocks give it the cover and spawning surfaces it uses.

Good to know

A member of the cichlid family, it reaches around 18 to 20 cm, larger than the common firemouth. Its name pasionis comes from the Rio de la Pasion, the river where the first specimens were collected. Where the common firemouth flashes a red throat, this species shows a dark, blackish one, the source of its blackgullet name. It is a substrate spawner that forms pairs, with moderate breeding difficulty.

Did you know

Like other firemouths, it defends itself with bluff: it flares its gill covers and throat outward to look far bigger than it is. On this species that display shows off a dark throat rather than the blazing red of the common firemouth.

Common questions

Related species

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• 

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• 

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• 

  Firemouth cichlid

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