Came back to the hobby. Flowerhorn as a first fish.

[gamelovers11223]

Hello everyone.
After 8 years of absence I came back to the hobby.
One day, about a week ago I was walking in my neighborhood and saw someone threw out a fishtank and stand. Came closer to inspect and all was there: filter, nets, decorations, lights, cover, heater. Got the car quick and picked all up. Ordered a 50ft water charger right away from Amazon.
Next day I cleaned the tank and disinfected it. Cleaned the stand and filter, Fluval 205, cleaned only plastic and sponges lighly so some bacteria was left. Water changer came in, filled the tank, made sure it's not leaking, installed the filter and turned it on. Ordered an air pump, tubing and a UV filter. Next day installed UV and bubbler.
Tank turned out to be a non standard 34 gallon unit, measuring 30"×12"×23" in pretty good shape.
So I wanted one fish, a wet pet. Since I had many cichlids, arowanas before, I knew I wanted a cichlid. Before I had a golden flowerhorn that was eaten by a red tail catfish. So flowerhorn it is.
Went to a few local shops and found this guy. Not cheap but gorgeous and pretty tame, about 6.5-7".
Few questions since I forgot alot in those 8 years..
1. Which pellets do you recommend? When I bought him I was recommended and purchased Hickari Blood parrot and flowerhorn floating pellets 3.5-4mm. He eats it well and happy when I feed him twice per day.
2. I have a bare bottom in the tank. Is it ok or am I robbing him of excavation fun?
3. Will he be ok if music is played in the room? I put the tank away from direct soundwaves and no other place for the tank.
4. Any toys to consider for him to not get bored?
Thanks.

 

[jjohnwm]

I would suggest getting a water test kit and monitoring your water closely for the next several weeks. No telling how good or bad the bacterial colony in that filter was, or how much was lost during the teardown and subsequent reassembly. You've deposited quite a substantial bio load into that relatively smallish tank all at once, and if the filter isn't completely cycled, or has lost its cycle, or was perhaps never ever cycled for that high a bio load you will have problems. Feed lightly for awhile, monitor ammonia and nitrite levels, and be prepared in case massive water changes become necessary while the bacterial colony establishes/re-establishes itself.

I'll be honest and state that you have started with a fish that, were it mine, I would be looking for a new and larger tank to house it. A fish that size in a tank that size will magnify any of the potential problems you might encounter. Be prepared, and good luck!

 

[gamelovers11223]

I would suggest getting a water test kit and monitoring your water closely for the next several weeks. No telling how good or bad the bacterial colony in that filter was, or how much was lost during the teardown and subsequent reassembly. You've deposited quite a substantial bio load into that relatively smallish tank all at once, and if the filter isn't completely cycled, or has lost its cycle, or was perhaps never ever cycled for that high a bio load you will have problems. Feed lightly for awhile, monitor ammonia and nitrite levels, and be prepared in case massive water changes become necessary while the bacterial colony establishes/re-establishes itself.

I'll be honest and state that you have started with a fish that, were it mine, I would be looking for a new and larger tank to house it. A fish that size in a tank that size will magnify any of the potential problems you might encounter. Be prepared, and good luck!

I actually am looking for a 75 - 90 gallon tank. For now it's enough space for him. Any suggestions on the questions I posted?

 

[jjohnwm]

Nope...I'm not a flowerhorn guy at all, just had that generalized comment regarding testing.

 

[Rusty91]

1. I feed Hikari and NLS to my Flowerhorn and also fed it to my cichlids before, never had problems, so you should be fine.

2./4. I have some gravel + driftwood in my tank, I‘m pretty sure you don‘t need toys if you give him some environment to live in. (Pic attached)

3. In my opinion no problem.



That was back when my midas lived in it, but didn‘t change the setup.

Good luck to you.

By the way, your tank is way too small, but that was already mentioned.

 

[gamelovers11223]

Got a new tank for my flowerhorn.
Marineland 75 gallon with stand, glass canopy and led lights. Fluval 407 canister, some black gravel and black background.
Water still a little murky but clearing up quickly. Still work in progress. Hes's got lots of room to swim now and already excavating

 

[Rusty91]

T

Got a new tank for my flowerhorn.
Marineland 75 gallon with stand, glass canopy and led lights. Fluval 407 canister, some black gravel and black background.
Water still a little murky but clearing up quickly. Still work in progress. Hes's got lots of room to swim now and already excavating View attachment 1497464View attachment 1497465View attachment 1497466View attachment 1497467

Thats way better ??

 

[gamelovers11223]

This morning the water is much clearer. Moved the lights to the front of the tank - my oh my how the colors of my flowerhorn popping))) leaving the lights in the front. Now Megamind fights his reflection in the glass and doing excavating work.

 

[gamelovers11223]

All right! Water is crystal clear now. Got some driftwood. Maybe find some good rocks to complete the look.
Megamind growing pretty fast. The bump on his head got bigger. Ordered some more lights for the tank and a digital thermometer.

 

[ToneLuk]

Nice tank setup?
How is megamind growing, let us see an Update ?