Flowerhorn Question before buying

[MrFlameX]

My Red devil died 2 days ago so i went to the fish store yesterday to look for a replacement for my tank and i spotted a nice looking flowerhorn. Before i consider buying him i need some information... if you guys could help me... How aggressive is the flowerhorn? Is it best to keep him alone in the tank? How hard is it to mantain the tank inorder to keep him healthy? i dont want any ich or disease to get on him like it did with my red devil... furthermore, what type of food do you guys suggest to enhance the hump on his head...

Thanks

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

If the red devil died of ich, I would first make sure the tank is free of ich before buying a "replacement" fish. FH's are aggressive, if the tank is small (55 for example) just one fish. They are hardy fish, so maintenance doesn't require anything other than just water changes and the usual.

 

[killerfish]

Flower horns are aggressive fish usually like alot of big cichlids the temperment seems to vary from fish to fish usually in a tank under 6 feet long keep the flower horn alone as for care there pretty much the same as any other large cichlid good filtration and large water changes help keep them healthy and will help fight off hole in head plus try to feed them feeder fish as little as possibel this is the main way large cichlids strat to develope hole in head disease the main thing is clean water this is the most important thing it will keep your fish healthy and colorful

As for hump head foods don't really affect it much its mainly genetics

Like ruben said i would make sure the tank is ich free before adding new fish you could does the tank with a good amount of Ich medication you could add alot to just wipe it out but you would need to re cycle your tank so i would just follow the derections on the bottle

 

[MrFlameX]

thanks for the info!

 

[Camphilophus]

Don't buy any more fish until the ich is gone. A Flowerhorn should have about the same exact temperament of a red devil. Sounds like you don't know a lot about fish.. So what size tank do you have. Also.. You weren't feeding live food like guppies, rosies, and goldfish were you..? If so thats probably where your fish got ich from. One of the other causes of ich is bad water quality, keep up on your water changes, keep your temperature right for your fish, and a little bit of salt.

and next time.. POST IN THE HYBRID FORUM!!!

 

[livebearerfreak]

Don't buy any more fish until the ich is gone. A Flowerhorn should have about the same exact temperament of a red devil. Sounds like you don't know a lot about fish.. So what size tank do you have. Also.. You weren't feeding live food like guppies, rosies, and goldfish were you..? If so thats probably where your fish got ich from. One of the other causes of ich is bad water quality, keep up on your water changes, keep your temperature right for your fish, and a little bit of salt.

and next time.. POST IN THE HYBRID FORUM!!!

DONT YELL im sure he didnt now where to put this thread hes a newbi as u can see so just watch ur temper!

 

[Cross127]

DONT YELL im sure he didnt now where to put this thread hes a newbi as u can see so just watch ur temper!

I am sure he wasn't seriously yelling at him. So don't take things so harsh thats how problems start.

Anyways ich of course should be gone before any fish lays fin in that tank as they said above. I would say FH are a little more intolerant of mates than RD's. From my experience RD's aren't as aggressive. I have never had a glass banger RD? So I don't know why people say they are total badass, but yet people say Midas are more calm than RD's and whatever midas I have had is ballistic. Anyways I would say to be more reasonable thay are the aggression of a Midas. They need 75 gallon tanks minimum as do RD's and bascially any fish over 10". They are pretty hardy and you have to do alot to kill them. A good 2 25% water changes a week and your set. Feed him 2 times daily until he gets older( 7 inches +) then one larger meal a day is good. Hump is genetics well about 85% of it. You can ( if the fish has good hump genetics) put a mirror in front of the tank for a couple hours a day to get his hump up. To get my Midas's hump bigger I just pissed him off alot by rubbing his head a wrestling with him all day lol. Now his head is huge.

 

[MrFlameX]

i have raised fish way long before i found this forum..but this is the first time i've experience ich in my tank...so i dont really know their existence and life cycle. I learn about cichlids when i found this forum, after reading post from members here got me interested in them red devil, flowerhorn, etc...yes, im a newb..with cichlids that is...

 

[pcfriedrich]

i have raised fish way long before i found this forum..but this is the first time i've experience ich in my tank...so i dont really know their existence and life cycle. I learn about cichlids when i found this forum, after reading post from members here got me interested in them red devil, flowerhorn, etc...yes, im a newb..with cichlids that is...

Ich has a 10 day life cycle, and is intolerant of salt and high temp. raise the temp over 85* and add a fair amount of salt (about one tablespoon per 5 gallons, or more if there are no fish at all in your aquarium) keep these conditions for at least ten days. that should get rid of any ich in your aquarium.

 

[Gage]

Don't buy any more fish until the ich is gone. A Flowerhorn should have about the same exact temperament of a red devil. Sounds like you don't know a lot about fish.. So what size tank do you have. Also.. You weren't feeding live food like guppies, rosies, and goldfish were you..? If so thats probably where your fish got ich from. One of the other causes of ich is bad water quality, keep up on your water changes, keep your temperature right for your fish, and a little bit of salt.

and next time.. POST IN THE HYBRID FORUM!!!

no need for this, you cant just tell him flowerhorns are hybrids and should be posted in the hybrid forum? say it a little nicer next time...

anyway, treat the flowerhorn just as you would treat a RD/Midas, the flowerhorn temperament will vary more then a midas/RD, but in general should be pretty close. to be safe, i would use the salt/heat method for 2 weeks before adding anything.