Flowerhorn and *?* in 130 gallon?

[Nemesis-rox]

My 130 gallon tank arrived today . I transferred my oscar, JD, and convict into it about 6 hours ago and all looks well.

(They were in a 42 gallon, which went back to the LFS minus the gravel and filter. Added an external filter as well. Dunno what the type is called, but it sits in the cabinet under the tank and has some several layers of ceramic-looking thingys inside. It's an Amazon JBF-1500, if that means anything.)

The canopy lights aren't working, hence the one-sided lighting (just a lamp I'm shining into the tank for now. The dealer is sorting it out and will have a new one delivered to me in a few days).

Anyway, he also mentioned that he's getting a couple of striking red flowerhorns in on Wednesday. Hmmm...

He tells me that the two would work excellently in my tank with a divider set up in between. Here in Seoul, Korea (I'm here on a one or two year assignment) they are highly valued as "bringers of good fortune" or something. Hmmm...

He says that a Flowerhorn cannot co-exist with any other fish. I'm a bit bothered by the divider idea, as it seems a bit unnatural (not to mention cutting back the space for my fishies to swim in).

So here is my question to the good people at MonsterFishKeepers: is there anything I can put with a 5" Flowerhorn in a 130 gallon tank? Two cool fish would do me just fine.

 

[danny boy]

nope not really. i have a video that i will be putting on later today showing FH aggression. these guys are mean.i wouldnt get one if you only have one tank. i have three and ive not had any good fortune. i make my own. add a severum or something

 

[Nemesis-rox]

Thanks for the reply, danny boy. Bummer. I'll look out for that vid.

Seeing how you have experience with Flowerhorns, would you (or anyone) say its worth it to invest my entire tank in one? It's the biggest tank I've ever owned. But gee, it looks so damned sparse with the 4" O and JD and 2" con. I wonder if it'll look (feel?) as sparse with a single FH?

Wanna get the most out of this tank while I'm in this country.

 

[danny boy]

if im honest i have them and they use a lot of tank space that i could fill with so many other things instead of one fish. they are a nice sideline but not ideal for your only tank. i have a wicked 6ft tank and its housing only two FH's what a waste

 

[REC]

I'd also say no, but it sometimes depends on the individual FH most are fierce. I have a 5" BlueDragon FH in a 80gallon now but i'm currently setting up a 120(60"x18.5"x26") just for him and him only. But my FH is ****ing crazy and mean as hell and needs the extra space to bang around. GoodLuck with your experiment but i'd advice not to do it.

 

[Fry]

I'd say no also, maybe add another oscar or severums, firemouths, clown loaches or some catfishes. Your tank won't be sparse for long with oscars, they grow very very fast.

 

[Nemesis-rox]

Well, there seems to be a consensus, and my feeling is that I'll go with your advice. Thanks everyone.

Fry, you mentioned clown loaches. Awesome fish (I've had them before) with a lovely color to contrast the darks shades of my O and JD.

But my first priority is another cichlid. The O is about 4", JD slightly less. Convict about half their side (all get on really well). Wanna add another prominent cichlid.

Really love Green Terrors (GoldSaums). Given the pix of the tank, do you think a 3-4" GT/GS would work? If so, do you figure I could squeeze 3-4 Clown Loaches in as well?

I plan on twice-monthly 40% water changes, but I'll do them every week if I can get away with a bit of overstocking.

 

[Fry]

very nice tank, i think your plans will be fine as long as the clown loaches are too big to be eaten

 

[scottv]

You might be able to get a GT in....that's if your Oscar turns out to not be a wuss towards the GT...maybe grab a smaller GT....they are kinda bullyish...until the other fish really hits back....sometimes oscars just wont hit back....

 

[KNH]

Not trying to confuse the matter but my flowerhorn doesn't cause any problems at all. Yes its true that he is in a 750g but even when he was in the 125g I didn't have any issues. He shared the tank with many other fish, some which were aggressive (festae, texas, jag etc) some mildly aggressive (bocourti, pearsei, synspilis etc) and some which were passive (ID sharks, clown loaches etc). The flowerhorn appears to be male (good size frontal hump when purchased) but maybe its a female lacking the black spot on the dorsal. I'd say that if your passion is the flowerhorn than give it a try and watch them carefully. Also, maybe add a few fast moving dithers to mix it up a bit.
Good luck.
KNH