This hybrid section has grew recently and noticed that lots of people are asking for "proper" care info, so I thought this would be helpful to the new FH keepers.
Flowerhorns are no special than other cichlids, however, to bring out their best in them there are couple of things, you have to consider couple of things.
1. BACKGROUND: It CAN NOT be black! This is rule number 1. Even if you have a $1000 fish, if you have black background, they will turn gray,black,head goes down,redness will be washed away and etc...... No, they will not adjust over time. FHs love colorful environment. If you can't stand other color backgrounds other than black, well FHs aren't for you
Any colorful backgrounds are fine including solid blue and plant backgrounds!(now that's a relief isn't it?
) Even NO background is better than having black background!
Now, there is an EXCEPTION. Any fully faded flowerhorn will actually like, or at least don't mind this dark black environment.(SRT, Jing Kang, Parrot etc...)
2. GRAVEL: You guessed it! Can't be black! Has to be colorful. Now..... most of us(including myself) can't stand bright pink,green, and purple color gravels. Just natural gravel is bright enough and will do the trick No gravel is fine as well, however I do recommend to have a background if you aren't going to put gravel in the tank. When there's neither of background and gravel, they seem to turn pale and show stress bars(when they are fairly new to your environment)
Again, Faded fish are fine with black background/black gravel set up.
3. TANK MATES: NO tank mates, NO divided tanks with other FHs will be the best. Some FHs will show better colors and head when they see another FH, but this usually is temporary. If you want your FH to be consistent in color and head size, the key is to have them ALONE in their tank. Again, this is if you want to bring out the BEST of your FH, you can have tankmates and other FH divided up.
4. FOOD: A GOOD brand name pellets(or two) as a staple and treats with shrimp,krill, brine shrimp, blood worms, earthworms, mysis shrimp, and etc.... will bring out the best in your FH. There are some people that thinks certain type of food will bring out extraordinary colorings or pop their heads like they banged it with a hammer. It's all in the genes of your fish and no matter what you feed, it won't change the genetics of your fish. The key is just to feed them a good source of pellets as a staple, and offer other variety foods as a treat to top off all the nutrients they need that the pellets might have missed. NO FEEDERS! Not worth risking the health of your precious FHs right?!
Well, these are the four main/general info that FH keepers should know. Other more technical stuffs like.......best PH, temperature, and amount of lighting and etc..... is also another thing to think about, however those are something you want to worry about AFTER the four main info above. Those four are a MUST if you want the best for your FH.
-PH: anywhere from 7-8 are fine, I keep mine at 7.4-7.5.
-Temp: to make them more aggressive and help on their head size, 82-86 is recommended.
-Lighting: I just leave the lights on for 6-8 hours a day.(as far as I know, as long as they are getting the light it's fine)
I hope this was a little bit of help for those are new to the FH keeping hobby! If you disagree or have experienced differently, please do not hesitate to share your info/experience!
We are all hear to help out.
JP
Flowerhorns are no special than other cichlids, however, to bring out their best in them there are couple of things, you have to consider couple of things.
1. BACKGROUND: It CAN NOT be black! This is rule number 1. Even if you have a $1000 fish, if you have black background, they will turn gray,black,head goes down,redness will be washed away and etc...... No, they will not adjust over time. FHs love colorful environment. If you can't stand other color backgrounds other than black, well FHs aren't for you
Any colorful backgrounds are fine including solid blue and plant backgrounds!(now that's a relief isn't it?) Even NO background is better than having black background!Now, there is an EXCEPTION. Any fully faded flowerhorn will actually like, or at least don't mind this dark black environment.(SRT, Jing Kang, Parrot etc...)
2. GRAVEL: You guessed it!
Can't be black! Has to be colorful. Now..... most of us(including myself) can't stand bright pink,green, and purple color gravels. Just natural gravel is bright enough and will do the trick No gravel is fine as well, however I do recommend to have a background if you aren't going to put gravel in the tank. When there's neither of background and gravel, they seem to turn pale and show stress bars(when they are fairly new to your environment)Again, Faded fish are fine with black background/black gravel set up.
3. TANK MATES: NO tank mates, NO divided tanks with other FHs will be the best. Some FHs will show better colors and head when they see another FH, but this usually is temporary. If you want your FH to be consistent in color and head size, the key is to have them ALONE in their tank. Again, this is if you want to bring out the BEST of your FH, you can have tankmates and other FH divided up.
4. FOOD: A GOOD brand name pellets(or two) as a staple and treats with shrimp,krill, brine shrimp, blood worms, earthworms, mysis shrimp, and etc.... will bring out the best in your FH. There are some people that thinks certain type of food will bring out extraordinary colorings or pop their heads like they banged it with a hammer.
It's all in the genes of your fish and no matter what you feed, it won't change the genetics of your fish. The key is just to feed them a good source of pellets as a staple, and offer other variety foods as a treat to top off all the nutrients they need that the pellets might have missed. NO FEEDERS! Not worth risking the health of your precious FHs right?!Well, these are the four main/general info that FH keepers should know. Other more technical stuffs like.......best PH, temperature, and amount of lighting and etc..... is also another thing to think about, however those are something you want to worry about AFTER the four main info above. Those four are a MUST if you want the best for your FH.
-PH: anywhere from 7-8 are fine, I keep mine at 7.4-7.5.
-Temp: to make them more aggressive and help on their head size, 82-86 is recommended.
-Lighting: I just leave the lights on for 6-8 hours a day.(as far as I know, as long as they are getting the light it's fine)
I hope this was a little bit of help for those are new to the FH keeping hobby!
If you disagree or have experienced differently, please do not hesitate to share your info/experience! We are all hear to help out.JP
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