Long Time Lurker, My New Flowerhorn

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The cloudiness in the middle of his "flower line" looks like genetics, not any type of bacterial/fungal illness.

He's a classic-looking ZZ Red Dragon. Traditional body shape, finnage, coloration, nice sized kok... he's going to turn out well :). I expect him to reach ~10" easy within a year if fed well (don't overfeed, constipation and bloat is a common issue with FH).

I've had every sort of fish you can think of in the past... arowana, flowerhorn, discus, saltwater fish (lion fish, trigger fish, clownfish, etc.), catfish, etc etc etc. My favorite of all time is the flowerhorn. They're beautiful, the most personable fish I've ever had, aggressive, and their kok is like the coral in a reef tank but growing on the head. Welcome to the world of Flowerhorns.
 
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Bassmaster360 said:
Amazon.com : Hikari Blood Red Parrot+ Fish Food, Mini Pellets, 11.7 oz. (333g) : Pet Supplies

idk why this food isn't more well-known in the FH community. Feed him this to really bring out his red. Supplement with Hikari Cichlid Gold or Biogold+ to bring out his other colors via the spirulina in those (BRP+ doesn't have spirulina).
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Because it is trash.
People like to go on about terrestrial grains and plant matter being used in fish food. Hikari blood red parrot has all that usual crap with the addition of CHILI POWDER. I have seen 3 cases of hole in the head where the keeper used this food as a staple.
 
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Again, appreciate all of the comments on my FH.

On the topic of food, which I know gets really controversial :), I've been keeping fish for quite some time and I've always had the best results with using a variety of high quality food, with the least amount of fillers (for pellets) possible. I also haven't had a single issue with high quality freeze dried and frozen foods. In fact, that's all I fed my discus, and the same for the supplier I used for over a decade--Kenny's discus. For African cichlids, I just fed a lower amount of frozen and a bit more pellets due to bloat concerns, and never loss a fish to it. I'm taking the same approach with the FH.

At the end of the day, pellets are processed foods, so I rather not feed as a sole diet--although I know many fish are just fine when people do. But one thing to reiterate, I feed pretty conservatively. I'm not in a rush to see the FH grow or necessarily worried about getting the absolute maximized size out of him.. I did all of that with Discus, I just want to enjoy a healthy fish that's entertaining. I think I have what I need now in finding the floating NLS, should really cut down on wasted food and food on the bottom. Thanks again for the person that recommended it!
 
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Aquatic Aggression said:
Because it is trash.
People like to go on about terrestrial grains and plant matter being used in fish food. Hikari blood red parrot has all that usual crap with the addition of CHILI POWDER. I have seen 3 cases of hole in the head where the keeper used this food as a staple.
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I see, I haven't yet seen any disease association with this food. If you look into aquaculture studies, there is evidence that terrestrial plant material (some of which is indigestible filler for fish) aids in digestion and prevents constipation/bloat by acting as fiber in diet. I think most of these studies have to do with corn & wheat. Fiber, by its very definition, is indigestible cellulosic material.

Seeing how flowerhorn have weak digestive systems, I can "theorize" this helping (again, I have zero proof. Only theorizing). There are theories out there that a purely carnivorous diet is detrimental to flowerhorn health when you take into account shortened lifespans from high protein/fat content & the fact that some of the ancestry of flowerhorn consisted of omnivorous fish.

Anyways, I don't think you can go wrong with either Hikari or foods with less filler such as NLS, Northfin, etc. I would stick away from some brands such as Okiko that have protein contents up to 60%... there's anecdotes out there of causing liver/kidney failure and fat deposits/blisters that eventually kill the fish within a couple years.
 
As a quick update, he's still doing very well. Just a bit bigger than he was two weeks ago when I got him. His color looks really great, seems fully settled in. Very healthy and active.

He still is leaving the anubias alone and loves that area of the tank.. waiting for the day he turns on them lol.

Food wise, he's extremely picky in general. I do hope to get him out of it, but he really only loves Bug Bites and frozen food (duh) as well. He goes immediately for BB happily. He's really not a fan of NLS at all. He will swallow it, break it down and spit 50-75% of it out. I've starved him for a few days twice now to see if that would change, and it hasn't. Also soaked the pellets in bloodworm/brine shrimp juices + garlic. I'm using the floating NLS pellets now, which is a bit less messy, but the way he plays with the food makes a huge mess. I'll keep feeding NLS solely for this week and if needed try one more no feed period or two. If it doesn't pan out, I'm actually pretty content with the quality of bug bites (just a bit too high fat content), although I'll try northfin, which I've used in the past..obviously I would like for him to get on the NLS for the profile.

I'm also doing 70% water changes twice a week until he's done making a mess of the food.
 
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CaliFishKid said:
As a quick update, he's still doing very well. Just a bit bigger than he was two weeks ago when I got him. His color looks really great, seems fully settled in. Very healthy and active.

He still is leaving the anubias alone and loves that area of the tank.. waiting for the day he turns on them lol.

Food wise, he's extremely picky in general. I do hope to get him out of it, but he really only loves Bug Bites and frozen food (duh) as well. He goes immediately for BB happily. He's really not a fan of NLS at all. He will swallow it, break it down and spit 50-75% of it out. I've starved him for a few days twice now to see if that would change, and it hasn't. Also soaked the pellets in bloodworm/brine shrimp juices + garlic. I'm using the floating NLS pellets now, which is a bit less messy, but the way he plays with the food makes a huge mess. I'll keep feeding NLS solely for this week and if needed try one more no feed period or two. If it doesn't pan out, I'm actually pretty content with the quality of bug bites, although I'll try northfin, which I've used in the past.. although obviously I would like for him to get on the NLS for the profile.

I'm also doing 70% water changes twice a week until he's done making a mess of the food.
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Fantastic! Please keep us updated, it's fun to follow. Post pics whenever he makes any noticeable growth since the last time you posted pics :)
 
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Bassmaster360 said:
Fantastic! Please keep us updated, it's fun to follow. Post pics whenever he makes any noticeable growth since the last time you posted pics :)
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Definitely will update with some pics soon! I'm taking plenty, just need to upload and post here. :)
 
Welcome buddy!!

He looks awesome, a flowerhorn is 100% on my wish list, I just wish I had more room like a lot of us do!

Don't forget Northfin foods, they are very high quality and what I mainly feed my Oscars & Green Terrors, check out the ingredients, probably a bit better than NLS if Im honest. I do also feed NLS and Hikari but Northfin is the staple I use for both, amazing quality food.
 
Here's my new guy, Pho. I think we got our new flowerhorns around the same time haha. They must be cousins ;)

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Randles said:
Welcome buddy!!

He looks awesome, a flowerhorn is 100% on my wish list, I just wish I had more room like a lot of us do!

Don't forget Northfin foods, they are very high quality and what I mainly feed my Oscars & Green Terrors, check out the ingredients, probably a bit better than NLS if Im honest. I do also feed NLS and Hikari but Northfin is the staple I use for both, amazing quality food.
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Thank you for the welcome and the compliment on the fish! And we've all been there. I originally really wanted an arrowana, but I just couldn't guarantee that I could secure 200+ gallon tank in the future. And I actually have Northfin on the way, fingers crossed. Really hoping he takes to it.


Bassmaster360 said:
Here's my new guy, Pho. I think we got our new flowerhorns around the same time haha. They must be cousins ;)

View attachment 1494156
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That's a great looking fish! Love the size as well. Congrats. Feel free to share growth/progress updates here in this thread as well. :)
 
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