Firemouth Cichlid Thorichthys meeki

The colourful Firemouth is a cichlid fish native to warm, slow-moving rivers of Central America from southern Mexico's Yucatan to Guatemala. The males have bright orange-red chins which they can inflate when threatening or courting (above right).

Adult males reach a length of some 15cm (6 inches). Like many cichlids, they bond in monogamous pairs and both parents protect the eggs/fry and teach the hatched young.