What other fish live alongside the Firemouth cichlid, Thorichthys meeki, in the wild? Central American cichlid expert Juan Miguel Artigas Azas explains.
Thoricthys meeki, the Firemouth, is a cichlid with a large distribution and a wide tolerance for environmental conditions and, as such, is a fish that can be found with many other species.
I have personally found them inhabiting together with Thorichthys pasionis, Thorichthys helleri, Astatheros robertsoni, Parachromis friedrichsthalii, Petenia splendida, ‘Cichlasoma’ salvini, ‘Cichlasoma’ urophthalmus and Vieja heterospila.
In additIon there was Vieja bifasciata, Vieja synspila, Cryptoheros spilurus, Rocio octofasciata, Herichthys pearsei, Poecilia mexicana, Poecilia sphenops, Poecilia petenensis, Poecilia velifera, Gambusia sexradiata, Gambusia yucatana, Belonesox belizanus, Astyanax aeneus, Phallichthys fairweatheri, Dorosoma petenensis, Hyphessobrycon compressus, Heterophallus milleri, Gobiomorus dormitor, Rivulus tenuis, Cathorops aguadulce and Ophisternon aenigmaticum.
There are probably many more fish too that escape my mind at the present!
Of course, I would not suggest that Thoricthys meeki can be kept with all of them. Some may actually be too aggressive if the aquarium is not large enough to house them and some may actually predate on them, or be predated by it!
This item was first published in the November 2009 issue of Practical Fishkeeping magazine. It may not be reproduced without written permission.