Hi. I want to share with you a fun flowerhorn story.
About 7-8 months ago, I bought what appeared to be a ZZ fader, which turned out to be male, and about a month ago, a ZZ female.
male:
female:
Actually, sexing the male was a bit of a challenge, since when I got him, I was told he was a female, and his hump was absent. I tried venting, but his vent looked more U-shaped than V-shaped. Keep in mind, this was my first flowerhorn. So I considered him to be a female, actually for nearly half a year, and actually was looking for a male for “her” (that would have ended nicely J), until I read about a method of sexing where you “squeeze” the fish.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/zhen-zhou-flowerhorn-info.126194/
and
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/FlowerhornCichlid.php
Now the female, that is a different story. She had the black markings on her top fin, and about a couple of days after I got her, she laid eggs, alone. The vent was a solid U, and the “squeeze” method produced a clear “female” result. So I had something to compare my fader against.
I applied the “squeeze” method to my fader, which at the time I considered female, and the result was “male”.
I decided to take a little risk, and introduce the fish, in the hope to:
1: Maybe get a pair. Or
2: Maybe get 2 females that can live in the same tank.
I had been keeping them in different tanks, at around 28C, and feeding 46% protein food, with added mollusks and vegetables (frozen cichlid mix). I introduced them, first without a divider, but they were..not friendly, so I took the female out and introduced them with a divider a few days later.
Here they are, with a divider:
Later, after they stopped fighting through the divider, and the female dropped her breeding tube, I took it out. Here they are:
That was yesterday. A few hours after I took out the divider, they stopped eating, and begun searching for a nest, finally settling for the middle of the tank. The female started laying, but at first the male was eating the eggs.
Then, he stopped eating the eggs and started to fertilize them, as the female was laying.
When they were finished, they started to guard the nest, and to fan the eggs. It seem like they really get along.
Today, day 2, there are 6-8 white eggs, and they started eating, while still looking out for the nest. I also prepared another tank with aged water, just in case I would need to transfer some of the eggs (you know, if they start eating them).
How would you advise me to proceed from here? Thanks.
About 7-8 months ago, I bought what appeared to be a ZZ fader, which turned out to be male, and about a month ago, a ZZ female.
male:
female:
Actually, sexing the male was a bit of a challenge, since when I got him, I was told he was a female, and his hump was absent. I tried venting, but his vent looked more U-shaped than V-shaped. Keep in mind, this was my first flowerhorn. So I considered him to be a female, actually for nearly half a year, and actually was looking for a male for “her” (that would have ended nicely J), until I read about a method of sexing where you “squeeze” the fish.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/zhen-zhou-flowerhorn-info.126194/
and
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/FlowerhornCichlid.php
Now the female, that is a different story. She had the black markings on her top fin, and about a couple of days after I got her, she laid eggs, alone. The vent was a solid U, and the “squeeze” method produced a clear “female” result. So I had something to compare my fader against.
I applied the “squeeze” method to my fader, which at the time I considered female, and the result was “male”.
I decided to take a little risk, and introduce the fish, in the hope to:
1: Maybe get a pair. Or
2: Maybe get 2 females that can live in the same tank.
I had been keeping them in different tanks, at around 28C, and feeding 46% protein food, with added mollusks and vegetables (frozen cichlid mix). I introduced them, first without a divider, but they were..not friendly, so I took the female out and introduced them with a divider a few days later.
Here they are, with a divider:
Later, after they stopped fighting through the divider, and the female dropped her breeding tube, I took it out. Here they are:
That was yesterday. A few hours after I took out the divider, they stopped eating, and begun searching for a nest, finally settling for the middle of the tank. The female started laying, but at first the male was eating the eggs.
Then, he stopped eating the eggs and started to fertilize them, as the female was laying.
When they were finished, they started to guard the nest, and to fan the eggs. It seem like they really get along.
Today, day 2, there are 6-8 white eggs, and they started eating, while still looking out for the nest. I also prepared another tank with aged water, just in case I would need to transfer some of the eggs (you know, if they start eating them).
How would you advise me to proceed from here? Thanks.
The male is about 7 inches, and the female is about 5. The tank is a 35 gallon, and a have a ten gallon prepared for the fry.
