Hey All,
Sometime last May a friend and I were given a bunch of fry we were told were Flowerhorn fry. Here in the Middle East it is typical that most shop owners/workers don't know one end of a fish from another let alone what type it is. If it is small it is a tetra, if its on the bottom it's a cat, there is only one type of cichlid, it just comes in different colours and so on. On top of that most shops are pretty dismal but we have to make do with what we have access to while we are living here.
Anyway we were in one of the slightly better shops we visit and the guy was complaining about some Flowerhorn Fry that were terrorising any other fish he put them in with, when we looked at them he had them in with some small Koi, see ewhat we are dealing with. sAnyway the upshot is he gave them to us. We were dubious about them being FH's but asking about the parents was pointless.
I took home 3, they were about 1/2" at this point . . . .
I posted at the time some pics in the Hybrid section, and a small debate ensued to their origins. One member however did suggest Amphilophus Sp. thanks. Good spot and well done to Chrisplosion! Anyway at this point I still had no idea as it was only to be a waiting game.
Soon I had to split the fry up as they was some aggression going on, so 3 became 2, as I gave one away and dividing the tank.
I took this pic at about 3 weeks, you can see the colour blocks/stripes would come and go. At this ponit they were just about 1 inch . . .
Then the next pics are at 3 months, by this time they had both continued to grow and were now around 3". Another friend took one, leaving me with just one so I could give him a 15G tank to himself.
I still wasn't sure what he was going to turn out like, but his personality was really starting to come out. He would chase the syphon, really attack the floating pellets spraying water out of the tank and generally bang the glass at any opportunity.
Then in January he started to change colour, he went a grubby pale and I really thought he was sick. But within two days he went orange and turned out to be a little beauty, well I think so. Also his growth rate seems to have gone up, not so much getting longer but thicker and deeper.
He is now about 5" so I made him a new tank, sorted out a bigger filter and he is loving the new home, this was him a few days ago . . .
and his new home . . .
He is the coolest and most fun to watch fish I have ever looked after. He constantly rearranges his tank, drags around the fake plants, moves the gravel into a pile at one end and goes nuts every time I get near the tank "begging" for food.
I hope y'all like him.
Sometime last May a friend and I were given a bunch of fry we were told were Flowerhorn fry. Here in the Middle East it is typical that most shop owners/workers don't know one end of a fish from another let alone what type it is. If it is small it is a tetra, if its on the bottom it's a cat, there is only one type of cichlid, it just comes in different colours and so on. On top of that most shops are pretty dismal but we have to make do with what we have access to while we are living here.
Anyway we were in one of the slightly better shops we visit and the guy was complaining about some Flowerhorn Fry that were terrorising any other fish he put them in with, when we looked at them he had them in with some small Koi, see ewhat we are dealing with. sAnyway the upshot is he gave them to us. We were dubious about them being FH's but asking about the parents was pointless.
I took home 3, they were about 1/2" at this point . . . .
I posted at the time some pics in the Hybrid section, and a small debate ensued to their origins. One member however did suggest Amphilophus Sp. thanks. Good spot and well done to Chrisplosion! Anyway at this point I still had no idea as it was only to be a waiting game.
Soon I had to split the fry up as they was some aggression going on, so 3 became 2, as I gave one away and dividing the tank.
I took this pic at about 3 weeks, you can see the colour blocks/stripes would come and go. At this ponit they were just about 1 inch . . .
Then the next pics are at 3 months, by this time they had both continued to grow and were now around 3". Another friend took one, leaving me with just one so I could give him a 15G tank to himself.
I still wasn't sure what he was going to turn out like, but his personality was really starting to come out. He would chase the syphon, really attack the floating pellets spraying water out of the tank and generally bang the glass at any opportunity.
Then in January he started to change colour, he went a grubby pale and I really thought he was sick. But within two days he went orange and turned out to be a little beauty, well I think so. Also his growth rate seems to have gone up, not so much getting longer but thicker and deeper.
He is now about 5" so I made him a new tank, sorted out a bigger filter and he is loving the new home, this was him a few days ago . . .
and his new home . . .
He is the coolest and most fun to watch fish I have ever looked after. He constantly rearranges his tank, drags around the fake plants, moves the gravel into a pile at one end and goes nuts every time I get near the tank "begging" for food.
I hope y'all like him.
