I don't really know what I'm looking for in terms of judging.
I have a poster of what judges are looking for in each class, but I wouldn't know from pictures if one could compete lol
My First Ever Flowerhorn
- Thread starter quicklynx
- Start date
I don't really know what I'm looking for in terms of judging.
I have a poster of what judges are looking for in each class, but I wouldn't know from pictures if one could compete lol
Can someone point me in a reliable direction to get info on what judges are looking for? I'm sure it varies, but I'd like to get an idea of what I'm targeting.
As for my Flowerhorn, for food I bought Okiko Platinum Head Huncher, Head Up, and some freeze dried shrimp and krill. I'll add more to this list but that's what I have so far.
I plan to keep the tank around 30C and feed a little bit throughout the day, if possible, rather than all at once.
Considering I have a 400 gallon saltwater with a bunch of fish that voraciously eat several times a day due to their high metabolism, this shouldn't be an issue.
I'll try the mirror trick but haven't bought one yet.
Anyone know where to find a legit Red Ingot I can also groom? I love those and would like to buy from a reputable source.
Thanks for any and all help
As for my Flowerhorn, for food I bought Okiko Platinum Head Huncher, Head Up, and some freeze dried shrimp and krill. I'll add more to this list but that's what I have so far.
I plan to keep the tank around 30C and feed a little bit throughout the day, if possible, rather than all at once.
Considering I have a 400 gallon saltwater with a bunch of fish that voraciously eat several times a day due to their high metabolism, this shouldn't be an issue.
I'll try the mirror trick but haven't bought one yet.
Anyone know where to find a legit Red Ingot I can also groom? I love those and would like to buy from a reputable source.
Thanks for any and all help
I’m not too sure about what competition judges are looking for, but I will tell you that Okiko is really bad food. Way too high protein especially for a flowerhorn and low quality fish meal and other bad ingredients. And 30C is way too high temp. I assume a lot of people in these competitions are not all too interested in the longterm health of there flowerhorn but just want to pump them up for competition. 30C is way to high even for that purpose. Such high temp and honestly such crap food will greatly shorten a flowerhorns already compromised life span. I think you should approach this similar to how bodybuilders will prepare for a show or sport’s athletes train for the season. There is a reason they don’t train and abuse there body’s at such a high level all year around and that’s because it’s not healthy and can take a huge toll. During the off-season which for your flowerhorn should be most of the time you should focus on the health and well being of your flowerhorn. Keep a more reasonable temp of 76-80F. And feed higher quality and healthier food. NLS, Northfin, and Hikari all very good. And when approaching a competition. Raise temp 82-84F at the most. And maybe look into adding Grand Sumo which is a much higher quality food then Okiko used by many competitors, during this time of pumping up your flowerhorn.
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This thread has a bit of good info. https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...-pump-your-flowerhorn-for-competition.177379/
Also this screenshot from this thread basically saying the same thing as me is something to take head of.
Also this screenshot from this thread basically saying the same thing as me is something to take head of.
Thanks for the info. The thread you linked is exactly what I'm looking for.
In terms of competition, I have every intention of trying them, and practice the grooming process in the meantime.
I'm definitely learning, and so far the sources I have are the breeder themselves, rather than judges or person that have been competing.
There isn't too much competition in the Saltwater realm other than putting a quick tank together, here and there, and then breaking it down.
I do have an appreciation for very high end fish and own many, but not anything in the freshwater realm or Flowerhorn Culture, which is what I'd like to be a part of.
Your help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the tips. I saw in the thread they're using Ken's. I'm not sure where the quality stands for that these days.
My fish should be coming tomorrow. I'll try to get pictures as he will be starting QT.
In terms of food, I'm still researching, but as for lighting, I'm going to try out some of my lights that are currently not getting any use, but are very high end.
On my 400g Saltwater I have 6x Radion XR30s.
Before I consolidated the tanks I was using AI Primes and Hydra 32s.
Since the light seems to matter a lot, during the initial growth phases my Flowerhorn will be in a smaller tank, and I'll use an AI Prime with a diffuser, and run a Red/Blue light spectrum. As he grows into his next tank I can do multiple AI Prime or AI Hydras, something along those lines.
I know the popping red is important but if I can pull a lot more of the blue pearling out, I might run a higher percentage of Blue light, especially since I can feed for a lot of the red.
Not sure your all's thoughts on lighting?
Thanks
On my 400g Saltwater I have 6x Radion XR30s.
Before I consolidated the tanks I was using AI Primes and Hydra 32s.
Since the light seems to matter a lot, during the initial growth phases my Flowerhorn will be in a smaller tank, and I'll use an AI Prime with a diffuser, and run a Red/Blue light spectrum. As he grows into his next tank I can do multiple AI Prime or AI Hydras, something along those lines.
I know the popping red is important but if I can pull a lot more of the blue pearling out, I might run a higher percentage of Blue light, especially since I can feed for a lot of the red.
Not sure your all's thoughts on lighting?
Thanks
So we pushed back the shipping date due to some miscommunication, but hopefully he arrives on Tuesday if all goes as planned.
The plan is to start him off in a 10g for QT.
The AI Prime light diffuser comes in on Wednesday which should help with spreading the color around the tank as opposed to line of sight since they're LEDs. I think it also would be easier on the fish as the LEDs are very bright, obviously, as they're designed for corals. I think they will help the blue pearling a good amount.
As for feeding, I'm still working on getting all that together, but going to try and balance feeding throughout the day, and probably through it's early growth stages go slow, healthy, and then pump later.
So far great tips from everyone. Thank you
The plan is to start him off in a 10g for QT.
The AI Prime light diffuser comes in on Wednesday which should help with spreading the color around the tank as opposed to line of sight since they're LEDs. I think it also would be easier on the fish as the LEDs are very bright, obviously, as they're designed for corals. I think they will help the blue pearling a good amount.
As for feeding, I'm still working on getting all that together, but going to try and balance feeding throughout the day, and probably through it's early growth stages go slow, healthy, and then pump later.
So far great tips from everyone. Thank you
Thanks for checking in!
I'm still learning the ropes. He's been upgraded to a 40g. He is a little more skittish, but hoping to work on that once my fish room is complete. He is a really good looking fish and his temporary spot until the move is next to my 400g saltwater tank. He looks like he belongs in that tank.
I've received advice on this forum, from sellers, from competitors, etc.. and everyone has different methods.
Since I couldn't really figure out what path to take with him, I'm just going to keep him healthy and feed less damaging things over time. He's my first Flowerhorn so I'm going for longevity.
That being said I have purchased two more Flowerhorns.
One that is just for looks, objectively, no competition, and I'll pump up. I got him from Rounds as well. It is a Fireman's Dream and I loved the almost see through fins with some color pop on them. He is an absolute beast of a fish and very angry. He jumps out of the water to eat.
Lastly, I bought one for competition very recently. I haven't taken delivery on the fish yet but a few of the Flowerhorn competitors said they would help me build a regiment.
Needless to say I have, what feels like, fifty different types of food and each fish is fed differently for what I'm trying to accomplish.
Let me know what you all think.
Thank you
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