Flowerhorn Growing Very Slowly

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T

The_Don

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 24, 2013
99
0
6
New york
Hi,
I purchased a flowerhorn from a local Pet Land. I'm not sure what sex it is as of right now. At the time of purchase, which was around June of this year, it was about 3 or 4 inches. But for some reason it's only about 5-6 inches now. He's in a 180 gallon, has good water quality, and eats a lot. I don't get how it can grow this slowly. All the other cichlids I own grew really fast and slowed around 6 inches but still grew faster than my flowerhorn. Does anybody know what the cause of this could be?

Thanks!
 
Well, flowerhorns are hybrids maybe that could be the cause if you say your water quality is good.

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Did you measure him out of the tank. I know when I measured my dovii through the glass I thought he was 13 inches. When taken out and measured he was almost 16. If that's not the case it could just be his genetics. You will never really know which breeds were used to make him. In any case give him time he will definitely get bigger.
 
Put out some pics. If it's what I think it is, they tend not to get very big...however, it can get thicker in size. I'm thinking it's a shortbody or kirin flowerhorn. They tend to grow much slower because they do not get as lengthy as most cichlids.

Sounds like its got plenty of space & eating well so that would be my guess. On another note, females do not get as large as the males. Pics may get more answers.
 
bulldovii said:
Did you measure him out of the tank. I know when I measured my dovii through the glass I thought he was 13 inches. When taken out and measured he was almost 16. If that's not the case it could just be his genetics. You will never really know which breeds were used to make him. In any case give him time he will definitely get bigger.
Click to expand...

Will try it and let you know, thanks.
 
fisheatfish said:
Put out some pics. If it's what I think it is, they tend not to get very big...however, it can get thicker in size. I'm thinking it's a shortbody or kirin flowerhorn. They tend to grow much slower because they do not get as lengthy as most cichlids.

Sounds like its got plenty of space & eating well so that would be my guess. On another note, females do not get as large as the males. Pics may get more answers.
Click to expand...

Pictures here -->
 
It's a regular body female and like I said earlier, females tend to grow slower and will not get as big as the males and she's not likely to develop a hump on her head. Appears to be fading too...unless that's just the lighting.
 
Yeah thats a regular ZZ female. The maximum size they can reach ranges between 5-10 inches. But usually around 6-7 is where they max out. The other thing that has most likely slowed her growth is her large aggressive tank mates. I saw an Oscar, Green Terror, and a very large Bleekeri. These large tank mates will also cause her to grow much slower because she is no where near the "top of the food chain" in that tank.
 
fisheatfish said:
It's a regular body female and like I said earlier, females tend to grow slower and will not get as big as the males and she's not likely to develop a hump on her head. Appears to be fading too...unless that's just the lighting.
Click to expand...
Shes not the brightest but yeah, didn't turn on my lights in the picture.
 
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