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FAQs on the Flowerhorn Cichlid 2
Related Articles:
Flowerhorns
by Ong,
Blood Parrots & Flowerhorn Cichlids:
maintenance and healthcare of two popular hybrid cichlids
by Neale Monks,
Cichlid Fishes,
Related FAQs:
Flowerhorns 1,
Flowerhorn Identification,
Flowerhorn Behavior,
Flowerhorn Compatibility,
Flowerhorn Selection,
Flowerhorn Systems,
Flowerhorn Feeding,
Flowerhorn Disease,
Flowerhorn Reproduction,
Cichlids,
Dwarf South American Cichlids, African
Cichlids,
Angelfishes, Discus,
Chromides,
Neotropical Cichlids,
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Flowerhorn diet, maintenance, need for
research
dear sir/madam
i am Denver from Bangalore India i have a 146L tank i have two pearl FH i had
separated theme for the first two days in my tank but then i removed the
division for a little while they were lip locked i would like to know if that is
a sign of mating could you please reply and tell me all the mating rituals of FH
as i am new to this hobby and am very interested in breeding FH the two of them
aren't fighting now they are getting along with each other and swimming together
i do not see any eggs as i don't know how the eggs look or where the female
would have laid them}. is it healthy to feed them feeder goldfish i give them
about five to six fish each a day. the male and female both do not have any lump
on their head but the owner who i bought it from said that they were male and
female how do i tell the difference. could u please write and tell me everything
you know about FH if you don't mind.
thanking you, Denver drooge
<Hello. For a start, 146 litres is too small for these fish! The chances are
they are fighting. If they persist in fighting, you will likely end up with at
least one dead fish. While you might be able to keep a single specimen alive in
146 litres if you have good filtration and do LOTS of water changes, really
these are BIG fish that need BIG tanks. Do see here:
http://208.112.95.51/FWSubWebIndex/flowerhorns.htm
Mouth-pulling is how cichlids fight. It isn't "kissing". It's a trial of
strength. Sometimes potential mates do this, but so will fish getting really mad
at each other! NO, feeder goldfish are NOT SAFE. Each goldfish is a chance of
giving your cichlid an infection. Moreover, goldfish contain too much
fat/thiaminase, so long term, you will have sick cichlids. These are basically
hybrid Central American cichlids, so you need a diet that comprises insect
larvae, small crustaceans, and a certain amount of plant material. I am not
going to write back everything I know about Flowerhorn cichlids! That
information is here at WWM. Use the search tool or follow the links. And next
time, please remember to use capital letters where they're necessary! Cheers,
Neale.>
Swim bladder disorder, FH, NNS – 06/14/07
dear sir bob i got problem with my FH it got sick a week
ago. base of what i read though net i diagnose my FH got swim bladder disorder
.i notice that it stomach was bulge and has cyst on it. it color become dark and
fins tighten to each other also it has protruding gills. local petshop told me
to use Baktapur direct. there's a little bit change it stomach a little bit
become small but i 'm not satisfy to the result pls help me to cure my FH. give
me the proper medication and antibiotics, and how to use it.
regards,
Benjo
from Philippines
<Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/flowerhorndisfaq.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Re: Flower horn hiding in the corner. Reading WWM – 03/17/07
Hi Crew/Chuck,
<Arun>
Thanks for your previous mail. I have few doubts please answer
the same,
1) My FH has great coloration and he is around 15 cm length, his hump is of
medium size ( bulge curvature is not perfect round) . I am pretty sure that he
is an imported one since I got it from good contacts and his coloration is
really good. Is there something I can do for better hump growth?
<Good water quality (frequent partial water changes), good nutrition... this is
covered on WWM>
2) I am not able to judge if my FH is male or female is there some easy way for
me to find the same?
<Also posted...>
3) My FH loves prawns he eats 5-6 mid sized prawns but if I give him pellet food
he swallows them and spits them away. I saw a local pet shop owner feed the same
food to his FH but it eats it with pleasure, y is this?
<Practice>
4) Is it possible for me to import some pellet food as you suggested earlier if
so can you tell me some web site where I can order?
<Check on the Net... query suppliers if they will ship to you>
5) If I can send the photo of my FH, the bottom part of it will it be possible
for you to tell me its sex?
<Maybe>
Thanking you in advance,
Arun
<Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/flowerhorns.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Flowerhorn hiding in the corner. Flowerhorn Up Keep – 2/25/07
Hi, Your site is great and you guys are doing a great work. I have a problem
with my flower horn. He is around 15-18 cm in length. I bought him a couple of
weeks back and this is what I see while I observe him,
1) The fish most of the time hides in the corner of the tank.
2) If I keep a mirror he strikes at it thinking its an opponent.
3) Scratches himself on the gravel and pebbles in the aquarium.
4) Doesn't eat pellet food but eats prawns.
5) If I switch of the light he comes out and swims and that is the time when he
hunts the feeding fish.
6) He generally flips his tails like shivering.
I have a big tank around 150 gallons for him and I change water 40% every 10
days, I add salt and have good filtration mechanism like under gravel filter and
power filter.
I thought he would be infected with parasites and so gave him salt bath dip,
after that he reduced scratching himself. I do the same to feeding fish before
letting them in to the tank. I have a small tank where I have the feeding fish
treated before putting them into the main tank.
1)My question is, is this the normal behaviour of Flowerhorn?
< Pretty much what a Flowerhorn does.>
2)He doesn't seem to be aggressive against small fishes in the tank and kills
them only when hungry?
< He is only not hungry when he is full.>
3) What extra I could do to improve his growth and coloration?
< Stop feeding him feeder fish . Get rid of the undergravel filter. Keep the
water at 80 F. Vacum the gravel while doing more water change. Add a high
quality pelleted food.>
4) He eats around 1 big prawn say around 5-6 grams and not more or 10 to 14
small fishes around 0.5 to 1 cm length is it a good appetite?
< His appetite is fine.>
5) I don't see him very aggressive is it that he is stressed?
Please advice. Thanks & Regards, Arun
< He will get more aggressive as he gets bigger.-Chuck>
Re: Flower horn hiding in the corner. - 03/02/07
Hi Crew/Chuck, Thanks for the help. Your answers are gr8.
I have few doubts; it would be great if you can answer them.
1) Why do you want me to remove the under gravel filter, any specific reason?
<The undergravel filter works by pulling water through the gravel down to a
filter plate. As the water passes through the gravel the bacteria living on the
gravel perform the biological filtration needed to break down the fish waste.
When you have fish that like to dig like cichlids, they usually expose the
filter plates by digging through the gravel to establish a territory. The water
now takes the path of least resistance and goes directly through the filter
plate and not through the gravel. Without a current of water going through the
gravel the filter is essentially useless.>
2) Can I partition the tank and keep another small flower horn around 5-8 cm in
length, I heard that they get more coloration and better hump growth when they
get aggressive?( my tank dimension is ( 3.5 feet length * 1.5 feet width *2.25
feet height)
< They will not develop any additional color. That is the result of conditioning
and genetics. It will get them to display what colors they have more often.>
3) I use Humpy head pellets. He eats them now?
< Sorry, never heard of "Humpy head Pellets".
4) Can I feed him chicken and beef heart in small pieces?
< If you use a high quality food, then these items shouldn't be needed. I know
long time discus keepers use to feed beef heart mixtures to discus. I would not
recommend it.>
5) Is live feeding harmful other than chances of disease and parasites?
< Many feeder fish have been raised in such poor conditions that they have
almost no nutritional value except for being a protein source. If you take your
feeder fish, treat them for diseases and feed them a high quality flake food,
then they are full of vitamins and minerals and become a better food for your
bigger fish.>
6) Is there any other pellet food that you can suggest me please?
< I like Spectrum Food, but it not always easy to find. I use to feed MarineLand
food until they quit making it.-Chuck>>
I greatly appreciate your help in this regards.
Thanking you once again. Regard's Arun
Flowerhorn - 10/18/06
Great website and thumbs up to the crew for an excellent job,
<Thanks Ivan, MacL here with you tonight. Sorry for the delay in
response.>
I have a few questions but I¹ll first tell you more about my Flowerhorn.
I¹ve had him for three years now and always fed him a diet of pellets,
small live shrimp and occasionally the frozen bloodworms that come in
cubes. As of recently, he¹s been showing some worrying signs.
<In the past couple of years I have really come to appreciate
Flowerhorns. They have such amazing personalities and such great colors.
Many people don't know the beauty of these fish.>
This started about two months ago when the edges of his CHECK fins
started tattering away. Nothing drastic but the edges now look thinner
and jagged like. Also, his stomach is bulging out. His mood is about
okay except that he is not as active as before. After surfing the net
and reading your informative website, I¹ve come to realize that the live
shrimp is probably the suspect. It explains the bulging stomach but I¹m
not sure about the fins. Could this be a side effect or a different
problem? He has stopped eating the live shrimp as well and that sort of
tells me he¹s gone vegetarian, or something about the shrimp isn¹t
making him too happy.
<Flowerhorns don't usually "go vegan" but they do need some greens to
digest properly. You don't mention the size or the parameters of the
tank. How often do you do water changes? Do you have any problems with
your ammonia levels?>
There was mention of surgery for this kind of problem.
<I believe some vets can do surgery for blockage. But the gills are not
because of a blockage, its more likely that its because the tank is too
small for the fish. As they grow they need more and larger room and
often this is only manifested with their gills turning out and getting
frayed. There are several other things that can cause the gills to fray
but with a large fish this is usually the first culprit. My friends
keep theirs in a 125 and recently purchased a larger tank because its
was too small for the fish.>
This is new to me and I haven¹t a clue as to where to begin, or even if
it¹s available here in the land of smiles, Thailand. Comments from
readers living in this country appreciated as well.
What will happen if I don¹t treat the problem with surgery? What other
options do I have?
<I have heard using peas for this fish as well as for other fish to help
with the digestion. How long has his stomach bulged, is he eating
anything at all?>
There is also a sucker fish in the tank with him. Is this okay?
<Should be fine as long as the tank is large enough to hold them both.
Good luck and let me know how he does. MacL>
Comments appreciated.
Ivan.
Flowerhorn Growth Questions - 05/13/2006
Hi again, I've some questions about flowerhorns. First, what is he ideal
size (growth rate) of a Flowerhorn if he reaches 1 yr., 2 yrs., and so on? And
can Flowerhorn siblings be able to mate? Thanks and more power.
< At one year the average size should be 5 to 6 inches for a female and 7 to 8
inches for a male. All this is dependant on temperature, food and waste in the
water. Siblings do mate.-Chuck>
Flowerhorn Questions 5/9/06
I'm Patrick, a young hobbyist from Philippines. I'm recently viewed your
website and found it very reliable and useful, especially the FAQs section, for
other hobbyist like me. My Flowerhorn is 6 months old and he's about 4 inches.
My questions are:
Is that normal to his age?,
< Growth rate is a combination of genetics, food, environment, and temperature.
All of these seem to be good and his growth rate is very good.>
Is the size of the aquarium (he's in a 5 gal. aquarium) will affect to his
growth or to his size?, I'm worrying about to his size will not increase
anymore.
< In a tank that small the waste products will get to the point to where it will
start to impair his growth. The lack of swimming room will begin to deform is
body structure.>
How can you tell if a Flowerhorn is an adult one, even not seeing it mate?,
< It terms of defining an adult Flowerhorn, they are capable of reproducing when
the male is about six inches and the females are around 4 inches.>
What is the lifespan of an average Flowerhorn?
< Probably around 10 years with some reaching close to 20 years.>
and lastly, I'm wondering if there's a 'special swim' or alike when two
Flowerhorn mate?
< Flowerhorns mate in a typical new world cichlid fashion. Lots of flared gills
and fins. Some lip locking and some chasing. Female lays the eggs on a rock or
other substrate. Male will then follow up and fertilize them.-Chuck>
Many thanks and more power to you guys,
Patrick
Bloated Flowerhorn 3/19/06
Hello WWM Crew, My Flowerhorn is around 6 months old. At first I
thought the tube sticking out was his breeding organ but, I wasn't sure.
After observing his behavior he looked unhappy , wasn't playing, and
eating . So I did a water change . After reading on your site I think he
has a digestion infection ? I took a few pictures so, maybe you could
help me. What should I do ? Please help and Thank you. Aloha, Donald
The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link
attachments:
Flowerhorn 001
Flowerhorn 002
Flowerhorn 003
Flowerhorn 004
< Sorry, Photos did not show up. But I can still tell from you
description that your fish does indeed have an internal bacterial
infection. Do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the
filter. Treat with Metronidazole and Nitrofuranace. This is best done in
a hospital tank. These medications will affect the good nitrifying
bacteria in the main tank.-Chuck> |
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Bloated Flowerhorn 3/19/06
Thank you Chuck, I'm trying to send you the pictures again because, I
wanted to know if he still has a chance ? It's been about three days
since I notice that hanging out. I won't be able to treat until 24 hours
from now. Thank you for the quick response and I appreciate all the
help. Aloha, Donald
The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link
attachments:
Flowerhorn 001
Flowerhorn 002
Flowerhorn 003
Flowerhorn 004
Flowerhorn 005
Flowerhorn 006
< Sorry , no photos again. I still think you have the same problem. Keep
the water clean with water changes until you are able to get the
medications. He has no chance unless you treat him.-Chuck> |
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