Flowerhorn infertility

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ZachLL

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 10, 2015
39
16
8
41
North Carolina
I have a Fader flowerhorn pair. The male is red eyed and the female is white eyed. She is about 4-5 inches and my water parameters are ph 7.5, temp 83.5. I've tried raising and lowering the temp, as well as Epsom salt....still no eggs. Should she have laid eggs by now or any suggestions to try? I have had her since July and she was about 3 inches when I got her, she seems healthy....makes me wonder if my Male is fertile.... they were both imports from the Phillipines. 20151224_161405-1.jpg

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Nice fish! They didn't even breed yet so can't say he's not fertile. Could be they both are male it's a chance if you didn't already vent them.

My King Kamfa and red Texas are always digging up the tank and doing all the breeding behavior but did not breed yet. They def are a pair and spawning behavior but sometimes it takes a while.

If she lays eggs the male will fertilize it. Only way to know if he's shooting blanks or not.
 
Good looking pair you got there.

Just keep them stable, with little to no temp or pH fluctuations and in the same tank with a divider then wait till the female is ready to go. Sometimes swinging the parameters and raising the salinity messes with the female's egg laying cycle. Do water changes weekly, it helps stimulate them.

Female infertility is actually rare with flowerhorn and other hybrids, even in F1 crosses. Most commonly, infertile females won't lay eggs as opposed to laying bad eggs. So if your female lays eggs and tends to them (some do not making them a bad breeding choice) then there is at least a 90%-95% chance that the eggs and the female are fertile.

You need to give your female time. It takes at least a year and a half to see if she will lay eggs. Remember they are hybrids and sexual maturity is a trait that can be manipulated like any other trait. If she doesn't lay eggs by then, then I would assume that the female was infertile.

Your male is beautiful and looks like a perfect specimen of a jk or fader x zz strain. I highly doubt that he is infertile. Your female looks like a Red Texas cross which would be the reason for her white eyes. Texas cichlids, unless line bred to have red eyes, normally have cream colored or pale orange eyes.

There is a "theory" that suggests that white eyed flowerhorn/kamfa are infertile or have a higher chance of infertility. Sadly, this is not true. Too many times have I bred red eyed males only to discover they were infertile. Also, the "theory" only applies to males, regardless its complete bs. I only bring it up as you mentioned their eye color specifically when describing them. Just want to clear the air on that.

Keep trying and good luck :)
 
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Good looking pair you got there.

Just keep them stable, with little to no temp or pH fluctuations and in the same tank with a divider then wait till the female is ready to go. Sometimes swinging the parameters and raising the salinity messes with the female's egg laying cycle. Do water changes weekly, it helps stimulate them.

Female infertility is actually rare with flowerhorn and other hybrids, even in F1 crosses. Most commonly, infertile females won't lay eggs as opposed to laying bad eggs. So if your female lays eggs and tends to them (some do not making them a bad breeding choice) then there is at least a 90%-95% chance that the eggs and the female are fertile.

You need to give your female time. It takes at least a year and a half to see if she will lay eggs. Remember they are hybrids and sexual maturity is a trait that can be manipulated like any other trait. If she doesn't lay eggs by then, then I would assume that the female was infertile.

Your male is beautiful and looks like a perfect specimen of a jk or fader x zz strain. I highly doubt that he is infertile. Your female looks like a Red Texas cross which would be the reason for her white eyes. Texas cichlids, unless line bred to have red eyes, normally have cream colored or pale orange eyes.

There is a "theory" that suggests that white eyed flowerhorn/kamfa are infertile or have a higher chance of infertility. Sadly, this is not true. Too many times have I bred red eyed males only to discover they were infertile. Also, the "theory" only applies to males, regardless its complete bs. I only bring it up as you mentioned their eye color specifically when describing them. Just want to clear the air on that.

Keep trying and good luck :)

The part where you said it takes at least a year and half to lay eggs is false. My Flowerhorn bonsai is not even 6 months old and she bred. I added a male a week later she bred with him and started to breed with him again. Both the male and female are about 6 months of age. 2 inchs on the female and 3 inches on the male.
 
The part where you said it takes at least a year and half to lay eggs is false. My Flowerhorn bonsai is not even 6 months old and she bred. I added a male a week later she bred with him and started to breed with him again. Both the male and female are about 6 months of age. 2 inchs on the female and 3 inches on the male.

Your bonsai female and flowerhorn male are "pure" flowerhorn (trimac dom genes) line bred over many generations. Breeders who work with fertile strains often select the fastest sexually maturing fish to continue their lines. So I am not surprised by your claim. I have had flowerhorn females as young as 4 months lay eggs.

However, this is apples and oranges when talking about rehybridized fish. The female in question is definitely not a pure flowerhorn or red texas. Because of this crossing, it may have affected the female's maturity rate. I stand by my suggestion, ZachLL should wait up until a year and a half to truly determine if the female is infertile or not.
 
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I am definetly going to keep her and see if she lays. I think she is pretty and has a good breeding quality so hopefully fingers crossed she will lay by the time I have had her a year. I'm going to vent her tonight just to make sure she isn't a tiny male lol. But I'm pretty sure it is female. I am also going to try moving her into my 90 gallon....maybe she just doesn't like that make lol
 
But good new is, it looks like the tube on my new female is dropping and the male has cleaned the plate and moved sand all around the tank. Guess we will find out if he is fertile soon enough. He definetly loves the new female!

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But good new is, it looks like the tube on my new female is dropping and the male has cleaned the plate and moved sand all around the tank. Guess we will find out if he is fertile soon enough. He definetly loves the new female!

View attachment 1157482

My female is starting to eat a lot again so I knew she is going to lay eggs. Not all the fish are the same but my Flowerhorn female and male have a breeding dress on. That picture I posted is her breeding dress.

Also the females kok pops out like crazy lol
 
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