When I first took care of firemouth cichlids, I noticed that they were taking their time to grow. With my experience taking care of them, I better understand their growth rate and size.
In this article, I am going to share what I know about firemouth cichlid size and growth rate. From their slow growth process to what helped me ensure that they get the most help possible to make sure that they live to be healthy fish for a long time.
Firemouth Cichlid Size: How Big Do Firemouth Cichlids Get?
The Firemouth Cichlid is one of the smaller Central American cichlids when it comes to size. They are known to grow 6.5″ (17 cm) in the wild, and tend to be smaller in captivity, with a male Firemouth cichlid will grow to be 5″ (12.7 cm), while females reach up to about 4″ (10.15 cm).
To help Firemouths grow to their potential, you must take care seriously from day one by maintaining the right water conditions, offering high-quality food, and giving them a little bit of room. Even so, they do not reach their full potential in home aquaria.
How Fast do Firemouth Cichlids Grow?
Unlike some bigger CA cichlids that grow faster during the first year, Firemouths are relatively slow growers, especially in a smaller tank. Not mentioned that they have a long lifespan, about 10 – 15 years.
To reach their full size, it would usually take up to 4 to 5 years of making sure that everything from tank condition to nutrition is conducive to helping them grow, whether male or female.
Some fishkeepers have claimed that some specimen grows fast, but that hasn’t been the case in my experience of taking care of a moderately sized Central American cichlid.
Regardless, the growth rate will depend on a variety of things, including diet, genes, and environment, to name a few.
How to make Firemouth Cichlid Grow Faster?
In my experience, we need patience and time when it comes to growing Firemouths. I have three Firemouths (1 male and 2 females) in my 72″ long 210 gallon CA cichlids aquarium, and it took me 12 months to grow them from 1.5″ to 4″.
As a breeder, you want to do everything in your power for your fish’s healthy and timely growth. You can start by:
Maintaining Proper Tank Conditions
These Firemouth cichlids are pretty manageable for any aquarium enthusiast due to their adaptability in many different types of environments.
Poor water quality inside a fish tank would cause sickness and stunt their growth. Keeping the environment at optimum condition is paramount for your fish’s overall wellbeing.
One of the most important aspects of promoting your Firemouths’ growth is routine water changes. Poor water quality is a major cause of infection and fish stress; regularly changing a portion of the aquarium water is the easiest way to reduce it.
As a general guideline, I advise doing a 10-20% water change weekly in a small tank and a 20-30% change in a larger aquarium once a week.
Some hobbyists prefer doing a 40-50% larger change every two weeks, but I believe this can be harmful since the dramatic chemistry changes will stress the fish.
Providing a Balanced Diet
If something is critically important to your Firemouth Cichlid’s growth rate, then the diet is a crucial factor.
The diet should contain the right balance of nutrients to ensure they grow to their full potential. The color formation process will also be assisted by what you feed them!
The Firemouth Cichlids are omnivorous eat all kinds of flake and live foods. In addition, offer them a variety of vegetables like cucumber and carrots as it helps cichlids grow.
If you’re looking for a way to enrich the diet of your Firemouths, adding in some protein-rich snacks like brine shrimp or blood worms is an excellent choice.
The foundation of Firemouth Cichlid Food, Hikari Cichlid Gold is my favorite. I love the color enhancers in this food which help bring out the natural beauty and proper form!
Upgrading to a Larger Tank
Although the size of the tank is not the determining factor that can limit a Firemouth Cichlid’s ability to grow properly, it can exacerbate other problems.
When it comes to small tanks, pollution can become a big problem. Nitrate or other pollutants will build up more quickly. As such, the level of those elements can have detrimental effects on Firemouth cichlids by stunting growth potential and stressing them out-making these fish act more aggressively.
A minimum 30 gallon aquarium is recommended for a single Firemouth with no other fish. Go with a minimum 75g tank for a pair of Firemouths. There are a variety of factors that can impact the right tank size, such as tank mates, decors or aquarium types.
Preventing Fish Diseases
Another thing to prevent stunting your Firemouth Cichlid growth is to ensure that your fish is at its healthiest. Yes, fish, just like any other pets, are susceptible to diseases, but there are measures to prevent fish diseases from happening.
This includes optimum water quality, good diet and nutrition, a sizeable tank. Another factor is keeping your Firemouth Cichlid stress-free.
Firemouth Cichlid is not the most aggressive in the usually bold Cichlidae family, but of course, they also have a mean streak when provoked. This is especially true during the mating season, so building a stress-free environment for them is integral.
This stress-free environment would require a lot of hideouts that they could use to nest their eggs and as a territory.
Final Thoughts
Firemouth cichlids are one of the late bloomers in the animal kingdom. Although little growth is apparent, there is satisfaction when your little fish grows. Many factors could contribute to how fast they grow, like diet and environment, so making sure they get proper nutrition and have the best living conditions.
Follow these tips to take care of your firemouth cichlids and help them reach their potential.
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