Hi, I have a red dragon flowerhorn. Can you please help me grade it and tell me what i can do to improve it's looks? Im a newbie thanks

[Flowerhorn gang]

I bought this flowerhorn for 60$, i like it because of the flowers and the redness of its head....however when i brought it back and place it in my aquarium, its colour faded and became almost orange.... how can i help him get his colour back? And is there a grading system for this species of flowerhorn? Thank you

The first pic is when the flowerhorn is in my aquarium...

Second pic was when i saw him in the aquarium

 

[tejeda91]

they have purple lights in the aquarium from when you bought them.
Buy some of those and you will get a similar effect if all other parameters are the same in the your tank.

 

[Flowerhorn gang]

Oh ok thanks

 

[hrdtimes]

I'd start with a dark substrate as well as a good diet, I feed my Red Texas and Kamfa FH Scarletts dark rise and endless red

 

[Flowerhorn gang]

Ohok, any substrate to recommend? I've been feeding my fh dried shrimp almost everyday, about 3-4 mealworms every week and i also just bought some frozen prawn to feed it once or twice a week. I also feed it ocean free Fh-G1 pellets everyday.... is there any other food i should be feeding my fh? Should i buy live food for my fh? Thanks!

 

[Flowerhorn gang]

My flowerhorn's kok is red, however it seems to have a grey lining on the top of its head....anyone know what might cause this, or it is just genetic

 

[Aquatic Aggression]

The grey is your fish's base color. Don't waste money and the health of your fish on crappy import flowerhorn foods.
Accumulating floating bubbles on the water's surface like the last pic you posted means its time for a waterchange...

 

[Man-made Monsters]

Dark Gravel is terrible for flowerhorn and will often make them turn an ugly charcoal color. Stick with a light colored river stone. Not White.
Best foods are: Grand Sumo, Northfin, Hikari Bio Gold Plus, and Fluval Bug Bites. Be carefull with freeze dried foods as they can cause stomach problems for flowerhorn.

 

[SBM]

Completely agree with what Man-made Monsters said dark gravels will make them uglier and stay away from freeze dried stuff. Feed FH - G1 pellets and alternatively any staple cichlid food NLS or Northfin and if feeding any other flowerhorn premium food always remember one thing what comes fast goes much faster. Now feed only Fh - G1 and any staple I've mentioned with weekly thrice shrimps or fish fillets and don't overfeed as ZZ breeds are notorious to get bloat especially with those new bloodlines. After he becomes adult stick to only staple and light feed. Main thing with grooming is patience and keeping the basics straight simply. As for gravels you can give river pebbles a bit bigger size than the mouth don't cover the entire tank only a heap at one place he will himself will do the placements. Happy fish keeping

 

[Flowerhorn gang]

Thanks all, i did a 20% water change yesterday. When doing a water change, should i try to suck up the dirt on the ground? Im scared that while im trying to suck up the dirt, it would disturb the quality of the water eg. Release toxins....im not too sure. Oh and My tank is only 50gallons, i think thats the bare minimum for a flowerhorn to live in. I heard that putting a parrotfish with your flowerhorn would help enrich its colour.... ive heard people put in a parrotfish in their flowerhorn tank for 20min everyday, after that they take it out....should i do the same?