My first Flowerhorn (Help needed)

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cichlid_8810

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 24, 2010
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UK
Hi everyone,

I have recently rescued a Flowerhorn from a store for free that has been there for months. He is in my 75 gallon for now with a Herichthys Carpintis and two Jack Dempseys. He seems to be getting on okay in there for now - though when he was given to me he was a little worse for wear, a few bite marks etc so I hope he will heal up.

So basically I wondered whether you can tell me what variety it is and how big can that variety get to as I don't know much about Flowerhorns? Apparently the guy at the store said he grew from 2.5 inch when brought in to 5 inch - between July 2010 and now. So he seems to be doing alright in terms of growth. Just wondered whether he might put on a couple more inches before his growth finishes. I am always on top of the water changes 2 a week 25% and feed a nice varied diet so no worries there.

I have been calling him "he" is it a "he" or a "she"? please sex if possible

Anyway here is a photo of him

DSC00310.jpg


Let me know what you think and advice needed (Please don't tell me I need a bigger tank as I already know that but they will have to do in my 75 gallon until christmas at the latest).

Thanks for your time and help
 
If your Carpintis and Jack can survive until christmas....
Its a ZZ flowerhorn.
He seems to be in rough shape. A salt treatment would really help him heal up quicker without any complications.
FH, Carpintis, and JD I cant see getting along in a 75gal. FH's dont belong in community settings. A 75gal is great for a single FH.
 
I know he is in quite bad shape it is a shame he was like that when I picked him up. Seems very docile at the moment, maybe because of the condition he is in.....He will go in my hospital tank with treatment.

How big can ZZ get to?
 
Agree with fishing out. There is a WWIII just waiting to happen in your tank. FH's are usually not amenable to tankmates in the long term.

As for further growth then, yes, is the answer. It should get somewhere between 7-9" fairly quickly. Then growth will slow down. Should peak out at somewhere between 10" and 16", depending on sex, genetics etc.

My guess, and it is a guess really, is that you have a male. I am going purely on body shape. It can be very hard to sex these until they are more mature. You could just as easily have a girly on your hands.
 
Yes these are not community fish, I learned this first hand yesterday. I was cleaning the tank so I knocked the divider down and I forgot to put it back up. When over to a buddies house and when I came home my trimac got destroyed by my bonsai flowerhorn. Hes barely alive and in a worse condition than yours is in.
 
Pearly modern Red ZZ. Seems like your fish is going to fade out(peel into orange/pinkish coloration). As far as growth goes, in terms of sizes...maybe your fish would probably top out its size in about a year from now. Or maybe a year and a half from now. But if you want to talk about growth in general, at least 3 years for your fish to be fully done growing. Now this is only for a ZZ, other strains and it can take much longer. Nice fish by the way, hopefully it heals up and fade out into a fader that suits your liking. Happy fish keeping and keep us updated on your new FH! :D
 
Thanks for your advice everyone. Very interesting.

I think he is great, despite his injurys he is feeding well, swimming around and generally seems to be enjoying himself. Really really cool, I wasnt a huge fan of hybrids before but flowerhorns seem like great fun....they seem to ooze a laid back personality.
 
Im glad you saved him, that's great. But they do get big. I have mine in a 75 gallon with only a blood parrot. So far so good. But he may start getting really aggressive and your other fish will be in trouble, they are very aggressive.
 
Okay thanks chicklette - He is in my hospital tank for the time being until he is healed up and then he will go back in the 75 gallon - I just had to save him even if I am breaking a few common sense rules at the moment - nobody seemed to want him in the store.

Does anybody have a photo of my particular specie of Flowerhorn as a fully grown or almost fully grown adult?

Thanks
 
Nice fader! he looks like he only just started peeling (losing the black)... he'll keep all the other colors, but turn bright gold, with the pearls and red belly stretching up to almost the dorsal fin... he'll be really nice, and i cant see too much damage...

keep us updated! i wanna see how he developes!
 
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