General perception of flowerhorns and owners

[Ruturaj]

Not really my style of fishkeeping or preferences... to each their own I guess. I won't put someone down for liking or keeping Flowerhorns. Real flowerhorns are obviously flowerhorns, where it becomes a problem to me is people breeding hybrids that don't look like flowerhorns (think jaguarxconvict, etc) and them getting out, muddying the bloodlines up. Even if the first breeder is responsible and says what the fish really is, the next owner down the line might not be, and so on, until it's hard to get a pure bred fish.
The other problem I see with the flowerhorn community is that I see many owners think flowerhorns are fine in a very small bare tank. I think the fish should be kept in an adequate sized tank so they can swim around freely and not just bang into the glass all day. And they would probably appreciate some décor. I know it would have to be softer décor so the fish don't hurt themselves on it in a fit of rage... but silk plants and the like would be better to me than a bare glass box. Just my .02, there is debate about this and I'm sure some would disagree with me and say they prefer the bare tank. Doesn't make sense to me though.

That's one more misconception I saw, to keep the fish in smaller tank. Some believe larger tanks stress them out. May be they do if fish was kept in a very small space most of the life and then moved to bigger one. Another reason I see is they want more flowerhorns in limited space and owners go for quantity of fish they can have vs quality of life of the fish.

About decor, agree it's a debatable topic, I have artifical driftwood in my tank, that's not sharp, looks good, doesn't alter water params.

 

[fishguy1978]

Flowerhorns and parrots should not exist. I tend to be a purist. I prefer wild variety in which ever fish I keep if possible. Now I need to go delete my pictures of all my angel fish ?

 

[jjohnwm]

I'm an old-fashioned fuddy-duddy that has never liked designer animals. Fancy goldfish that can't see, swim or eat naturally...weird cat breeds whose squashed-in faces interfere with normal breathing...dogs that need to be artificially inseminated and then delivered by Caesarean because their bodies just don't work correctly...the list goes on and on.

But at least those monstrosities are created by inbreeding within a species...oops, sorry, I guess the aficionados prefer the more sophisticated-sounding term "line-breeding". Flowerhorns are even worse; artificial creations made by cross-breeding different species. What for? As status symbols...as decorations...just to see if it can be done...who knows? The first time I saw one in a shop, I was impressed by its beauty and inquired about it. When the guy told me it was an artificial hybrid I pretty much lost interest, but figured it was a fluke, a passing fad that would soon fade away. Not!

Not a big deal, in any case. People will soon be genetically modifying their own kids in utero, selecting for "desirable" traits like specific eye/hair colour, height, straight teeth...who knows what? It's inevitable. Why fight it? Evolution is the gradual change in species, driven by natural selection. Today we have largely removed the natural from the selection; welcome to devolution. It's survival of not the fittest, but the trendiest.

 

[RD.]

Real flowerhorns are obviously flowerhorns, where it becomes a problem to me is people breeding hybrids that don't look like flowerhorns (think jaguarxconvict, etc) and them getting out, muddying the bloodlines up. Even if the first breeder is responsible and says what the fish really is, the next owner down the line might not be, and so on, until it's hard to get a pure bred fish.

For every FH fanatic that does something such as what you described, there are probably 10,000+ keepers of various African cichlid species.

 

[jjohnwm]

View attachment 1413126

Ruturaj , please don't take this personally; it's not an attack on you. I am just using that photo you posted as a convenient example of my opinion of flowerhorns and their owners, which is what you asked for in the original post in this thread.

Here's a photo of a tank full of clean, clear water. The equipment that maintains it is on display, like paintings hanging on the walls of a dwelling. No live plants...no substrate...no rockwork...no background...just a lone piece of artificial (!) wood sitting in the middle. The inhabitant: a single flowerhorn, floating in all its unnatural majesty. For a guy who considers aquariums as a window into the natural world and a way to maintain a connection with that world...this is about as far from appealing as it could possibly be.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Lots of love for flowerhorns here. Don't understand the animosity towards them from the so called purists.

Current youngster:

First flowerhorn, regretted selling him:

 

[Ruturaj]

Ruturaj , please don't take this personally; it's not an attack on you. I am just using that photo you posted as a convenient example of my opinion of flowerhorns and their owners, which is what you asked for in the original post in this thread.

Here's a photo of a tank full of clean, clear water. The equipment that maintains it is on display, like paintings hanging on the walls of a dwelling. No live plants...no substrate...no rockwork...no background...just a lone piece of artificial (!) wood sitting in the middle. The inhabitant: a single flowerhorn, floating in all its unnatural majesty. For a guy who considers aquariums as a window into the natural world and a way to maintain a connection with that world...this is about as far from appealing as it could possibly be.

Not worries man, not taking it as a attack. I am happy that you cared to talk about it. At that time, I had just moved from Raleigh to Seattle. I had a background at that time but was waiting for water change to put it on. I did later on but my fish had a ich so I take the wood out, so that it won't be stained with medicine. I did a terrible thing and didn't account for whereabouts of pleco. Pleco was inside the wood and died, I am not able to get it out. So I don't have picture with background and wood now. About substrate I am debating on what color of sand I want and will order soon. I am not sure if I want artificial plants.



Before moving from Raleigh I had another setup, I do like natural look as well

 

[Gourami Swami]

For every FH fanatic that does something such as what you described, there are probably 10,000+ keepers of various African cichlid species.

Yes, I think it's a problem for every cichlid species and should be limited as much as possible. You are right, I see tons of bastardized mbuna and peacocks as well, I am not a fan of that either.

 

[Ruturaj]

I'm an old-fashioned fuddy-duddy that has never liked designer animals. Fancy goldfish that can't see, swim or eat naturally...weird cat breeds whose squashed-in faces interfere with normal breathing...dogs that need to be artificially inseminated and then delivered by Caesarean because their bodies just don't work correctly...the list goes on and on.

But at least those monstrosities are created by inbreeding within a species...oops, sorry, I guess the aficionados prefer the more sophisticated-sounding term "line-breeding". Flowerhorns are even worse; artificial creations made by cross-breeding different species. What for? As status symbols...as decorations...just to see if it can be done...who knows? The first time I saw one in a shop, I was impressed by its beauty and inquired about it. When the guy told me it was an artificial hybrid I pretty much lost interest, but figured it was a fluke, a passing fad that would soon fade away. Not!

Not a big deal, in any case. People will soon be genetically modifying their own kids in utero, selecting for "desirable" traits like specific eye/hair colour, height, straight teeth...who knows what? It's inevitable. Why fight it? Evolution is the gradual change in species, driven by natural selection. Today we have largely removed the natural from the selection; welcome to devolution. It's survival of not the fittest, but the trendiest.

I do agree with how terrible inbreeding and selective breeding for defects is and all for a trend. Hate those bubble eye, telescope goldfish and genetically modified glow fish.

I don't have much dislike for hybrids as long as they are not inbreed, not selectively bred for defects or released in wild. Some flowerhorns do fall in it some don't.

 

[jjohnwm]

Lol, don't even get me going on short-bodied fish...