Why are tropical fish so colorful? / Tropical Fishes

colorful tropical fish pictures of the Firemouth,Thorichthys meeki

Thorichthys meeki

Owner: Jen

Description:

After almost 7 years of Convict family incest my last pair died off from old age and I decided to go with something new and (I hoped at the time) less prolific. Starting with ONE firemouth in no time she was digging craters in the gravel and cruising around with her "parts" hanging out I figured I should get her a mate. Within 2 weeks I was doing some routine cleaning/planting and the two of them were cracking me up...attacking my hand like nobody's business (fruitless, yet determined!). I peered around the side of the driftwood and WHOA. For a first go at it they were rather busy! Since then, the buggers have hatched and are swimming (swarming?) around mom and dad like good little fry. So much for trading in the Convicts for something less likely to take over my tank for another 7 years!
Info on the setup:
40g breeder (guess that should have been a clue.
a good bit of newly planted fauna (and replanted frequently thanks to the guardian action of Papa All tankmates have been chased off into about 10% of the tank space, poor guys.
When this all started I was in the process of recycling after a devastating almost total loss due to some treatment chemicals going bad (long story for another time...still trying to settle with Kordon). The Mama Firemouth was the sole survivor. This all happened in late April, so these fry are only about a month-6 weeks out of that rebuilding process. Temp is about the only thing steady, at 78-80F. These guys are truly survivors, that's for sure. And now it looks like I'll have a whole pack of 'em to last forever. Know anyone looking for some juvenile Firemouths? :