Thai Silk Flowerhorn Advice needed. ***9 months update***

[vinnie coyle]

Hey friends,

Just wanted to give you guys a quick update on my first Flowerhorn's progress.

So I got my FH on the 9th of December last year, and it initially grow pretty quick. And showed early signs of Kok (See first pic from last December). I was convinced I had a a male. However after the first month, things started to slow down and it lost the small Kok that it once had.

It’s been 9months now and my FH is around 5 inches in length. Very active. Not too aggressive. I feed him once/twice a day. I have lots of different types of food. So always gets a good variety. I do weekly 50% WCs and have lots of filtration in the 260 liter tank.

Can any of you more experienced guys give me your thoughts on sex? and if this is a short body Thai Silk?

I am not sure how to attach a video here so I have attached a link below to a google folder which contains some pics and a small video to help you guys identify the sex.

Thai silk

8 new photos added to shared album

photos.app.goo.gl

I have a front faced tank, so excuse the pics not easy to get focued. If u need any more pics. Let me know and I’ll be happy to post.

The fish is very beautiful and if I end up havng a female, I would love to try and breed her. Would love to hear you guys thoughts on what I should breed with

Thanks in advance and let me know if you need any more info.


Vinnie

 

[vinnie coyle]

More pics

 

[Man-made Monsters]

Not a short body. But this fish does look a bit stressed in some of these photos where the dorsal fin is clamped down. Stress will cause a kok to shrink or disappear like in your fish's case. If this was my fish I would add a neutral colored river rock gravel, and some plastic plants for your fish to swim around and through. It might help the kok come back and the blue pearl intensify in color. One other thing, In the one photo it did look like there was some white stringy feces floating on the water's surface. Is this Silk having white stringy poop??

 

[vinnie coyle]

Hey man-made monster,

Thanks for reply and it does make sense. I had multiple rocks etc with a gravel layer on bottom of my tank when I first moved the flowerhorn in. This is when his Kok showed. I then read that they prefer a completely empty empty tank so I removed everything. I actually preferred it with decor.

I am going to get a black sand substrate and add in rocks again. Hopefully this will help.

I have not noticed any stringy poo. I look out for it. But I have quite good filters so could just miss some. I’ll keep looking.

Would u have an option on its sex?

Thanks.

 

[Man-made Monsters]

I would stay away from black substrate. It can make fh turn very dark in color. Some very big kok fh are better kept in empty bottom tanks. For your fish I would recommend having a gravel substrate and some plants.
Is your fish eating normally? If your fish eats twice a day and the poop is normal then don't worry about my white stringy poop observation. Could have just been a weird reflection in the water or something. Thai SIlks have weak stomachs so make sure one of your primary foods is veggie based. From the pics I can not tell gender.

 

[vinnie coyle]

Hey,

U have saved me some money then. As I have nIce natural gravel which I removed from tank. A job for tomorrow eve. I’ll let u know how I get on. Hopefully this is the issue why he is not growing as fast as normal. And I can fix it. ?

I feed him a good mixture of different pellets. Some high veg. Some high protein. It eats everything. I occasionally give dried insects rarely tho. Once every fee months I soak pellets in epsom salt to help its digestion.

Where u able to see the video clip I attached to the google link? I’m hoping now that I have a male and unfortunately it’s he’s been stressed out and will come good again. They are such a cool fish to watch.

Thanks again

 

[vinnie coyle]

Hey,

I just checked the pic above for white poo and No that definitely lighting affect in picture. I was try to get a pic from side of tank at funny angle. Lol.

I have been watching my FH for last 10 mins and his bottom fins are out sometimes. But they are tucked a good bit too. I’m gonna add gravel and rocks tomorrow and see how he acts. I checked my water parameters there just Incase and everything is good. I live in Ireland and it’s quite cold here so I keep my tank at 25 degrees. Is this warm enough do u think??

I watched a few old videos of my FH there when I last had decor in tank and he seemed much happier alright. Could be just a coincidence, but I’m hoping this will help it and maybe even regrow the Kok to it’s full potential.

Cheers again for the great advice. Best forum on the net. ?

 

[vinnie coyle]

Hey Man-made monsters,

Just a quick update and some pics.

I done a 70% WC this morning and added back gravels and some rocks. I will get some fake plants also at weekend. My FH is still clamping his dorsal fin quite a bit, however he seems a bit more lively I think. Exploring and he seemed a bit more aggressive when I fed him some pellets. All good signs I think.

As mentioned my tank is round front, and I have the back and 1 side glossed black. I kept the other side clear for taken pics as it’s hard to focus camera on front glass. I have noticed that my FH would try to fight with his reflection from time to time. And this maybe contributing to his stress. So I have now taped up the remaining side of tank. So all glass panels apart from round front are now black.

I’ll keep monitoring his behavior for the rest of week and let u know how he gets on.

Thanks again for great advice. And fingers crossed the kok comes back. I feel bad that I have caused my FH stress for the past 8 months or so. Wonder what it would be like if I would have kept rocks in tank from beginning. ?

 

[Man-made Monsters]

The gravel and rocks look great and I know your flowerhorn will feel much more comfortable with that substrate. Nice work. 25 celsius is a little cold for them. I would warm that up to 27. The warmer water and substrate might end up bringing back his kok. Time will tell. Honestly from the pics you posted your Thai Silk already looks less stressed. Nice job. Keep the updates coming.

 

[vinnie coyle]

Hey Man-made monsters,

Just a quick update fish doing much better. Cheers again. Water temps up to 27. Head starting to pop. Not much difference in length but has go a bit wider I think.