Thorichthys aureus Breeding Guide
How to breed the Blue Flash cichlid (Thorichthys aureus), a firemouth relative that spawns biparentally on flat slate and moves larvae into substrate pits.
Overview
Thorichthys aureus, the Blue Flash cichlid, occurs on the Atlantic slope of Central America from Mexico south to Honduras. It is a firemouth relative and a monogamous, biparental open substrate-spawner that breeds readily once adults are sexually mature at around 6-7 cm.
Sexing
Females have a prominent dark spot in the dorsal fin, while males do not. At sexual maturity males reach about 5 inches and females about 4 inches.
Conditioning
An omnivore, the species is conditioned on a varied diet. A pair can be housed for breeding in a tank of around 29 gallons, though a 40-breeder or 55-gallon tank is preferable for a small group from which a pair can form.
Breeding Setup
- Temperature around 78 °F at maintenance; spawning was triggered at about 81 °F.
- pH around 7.8 with hardness about 7 °GH.
- A flat, horizontal piece of slate in a sheltered spot as the spawning surface.
- Open substrate where parents can dig nursery pits.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
The pair cleans a flat slate, then the female lays eggs in small batches while the male passes over each batch to fertilise it, repeating the process. A modest temperature rise (to about 81 °F) was associated with triggering spawning, and the pair spawned at roughly five-week intervals.
Egg & Fry Care
A typical plaque is about 200 eggs. Eggs are guarded by both parents and hatch on day three, with fry becoming free-swimming about five days later. The parents move the larvae to pits they dig in the substrate and actively keep other tank inhabitants away.
Common Challenges
Breeding is comparatively easy; the main needs are a flat spawning slate, open substrate and adequate space for the pair. The recorded breeding type is substrate-spawner, matching the monogamous, biparental open spawning with pit-tending described by the sources used here.