Sexing Firemouth?

[Stanv03]

I got this Firemouth about a week ago, it’s like 3.5 or 4 inches big, can anyone tell me what gender it would be?

 

[Colin_T]

male

 

[Stanv03]

male

Any reason why his belly is orange instead of red?

 

[kribensis12]

Any reason why his belly is orange instead of red?

Firemouths are pretty common in the hobby and consequently they have been overbred to the point that some of the ones LFS have are not near as pretty as good breeding stock.

Male Firemouths can have red/orange that runs most the duration of the body - females typically have less. You can tell by the "torpedo" shape of the fish (as opposed to a deeper body), the pointed dorsal fins and honestly - the size that this is clearly a male.

 

[Ichthys]

They’re a surprisingly variable fish. In nature there are distinct populations with red, orange, and even yellow. The aquarium strains tend to be red but there’s a few orange ones about.

 

[Stanv03]

Firemouths are pretty common in the hobby and consequently they have been overbred to the point that some of the ones LFS have are not near as pretty as good breeding stock.

Male Firemouths can have red/orange that runs most the duration of the body - females typically have less. You can tell by the "torpedo" shape of the fish (as opposed to a deeper body), the pointed dorsal fins and honestly - the size that this is clearly a male.

Would I be able to keep 2 males in 125 or should I just add a female. Because I want 2 of them, but I was really looking for the red belly if it’s possible

 

[Stanv03]

They’re a surprisingly variable fish. In nature there are distinct populations with red, orange, and even yellow. The aquarium strains tend to be red but there’s a few orange ones about.

Would I be able to keep 2 males in 125 or should I just add a female. Because I want 2 of them, but I was really looking for the red belly if it’s possible

 

[Ichthys]

125 gallons or litres? US or UK?

 

[kribensis12]

Would I be able to keep 2 males in 125 or should I just add a female. Because I want 2 of them, but I was really looking for the red belly if it’s possible

Two males would be a recipe for disaster.

 

[Stanv03]

125 gallons or litres? US or UK?

Gallons

 

[Ichthys]

A small group of half a dozen should be ok. They’re a social fish in nature, living in small groups.