The flowerhorn BUMP
- Thread starter Euge
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bro i got this in the other thread, ihope you'll have a better idea 
George Barlow and Paul Siri considered many possible functions for the hump. It could be an organ of fat storage, offer mechanical advantage in fights, improve hydrodynamics, serve as an anti-predation device, or be the object of mate choice. First the researchers marshalled the facts. The hump changes size over time. It gets larger during courtship and actually shrinks during the parental phase. Males and females fight during the parental phase so if the hump was a fighting weapon, females should develop humps equal to those in males. Similarly, if the hump serves in fat storage or as protection from predators, why don't females develop them? Furthermore, the hump doesn't actually contain large volumes of fat, it is for the most part filled with water. The hydrodynamic explanation may apply to other kinds of fishes with humps (e.g., salmon), but the bulbous shape of the cichlid's hump is likely a hydrodynamic deterrent, if anything.
By offering female Midas cichlids a choice of rubber dummies of male Midas cichlids molded with differently-sized humps, Barlow and Siri found that females prefer males with humps over those without, but only up to a certain point. Once the hump becomes enormous, female preference declines. Several possible explanations exist. Hump size may serve as a measure of a male's condition or quality. Or, the hump may merely serve as a way to distinguish males from females. Many of the species with humps are highly monomorphic - males and females look alike - and the fact that the hump peaks in size at the time of pair formation strongly suggests a role in sex recognition. Nonetheless, the story is not finished because, as the researchers point out, well-fed fish develop larger humps: if sex recognition were the sole factor, the hump would develop to a specific size, but no further. The enormous humps seen on some captive males - and shown to be unappealing to females in the experiments - may not occur in the wild because it may not be possible for large males to afford such elaborate displays. Future experiments and observations will be needed to sort out the explanations for this intriguing character.
George Barlow and Paul Siri considered many possible functions for the hump. It could be an organ of fat storage, offer mechanical advantage in fights, improve hydrodynamics, serve as an anti-predation device, or be the object of mate choice. First the researchers marshalled the facts. The hump changes size over time. It gets larger during courtship and actually shrinks during the parental phase. Males and females fight during the parental phase so if the hump was a fighting weapon, females should develop humps equal to those in males. Similarly, if the hump serves in fat storage or as protection from predators, why don't females develop them? Furthermore, the hump doesn't actually contain large volumes of fat, it is for the most part filled with water. The hydrodynamic explanation may apply to other kinds of fishes with humps (e.g., salmon), but the bulbous shape of the cichlid's hump is likely a hydrodynamic deterrent, if anything.
By offering female Midas cichlids a choice of rubber dummies of male Midas cichlids molded with differently-sized humps, Barlow and Siri found that females prefer males with humps over those without, but only up to a certain point. Once the hump becomes enormous, female preference declines. Several possible explanations exist. Hump size may serve as a measure of a male's condition or quality. Or, the hump may merely serve as a way to distinguish males from females. Many of the species with humps are highly monomorphic - males and females look alike - and the fact that the hump peaks in size at the time of pair formation strongly suggests a role in sex recognition. Nonetheless, the story is not finished because, as the researchers point out, well-fed fish develop larger humps: if sex recognition were the sole factor, the hump would develop to a specific size, but no further. The enormous humps seen on some captive males - and shown to be unappealing to females in the experiments - may not occur in the wild because it may not be possible for large males to afford such elaborate displays. Future experiments and observations will be needed to sort out the explanations for this intriguing character.
so its kinda like boobs. bigger is better but there is that point to where they are just stupid looking... that helps clarify things.
And sooo true! Great analogy.
sqratch said:HAHAHAHAHAH A
Thanks for the info papillion... The FH in your profile pic has a FREAKING HUGE BUMP.. Makes me wanna pop it...
hahaha... sure is tempting to pop it up, btw i myself was curious as to what was the content of the large hump (kok) was, so sometime last year i had a male fh that died due to breeding fight. what i did was to open up his 4inch diamter kok and see for myself if it was going to pop but to my surprise it was made up of muscle tissue and a canal in the center which i presume was a passage of water in the body to the head and function as a hydrodynamics of the fish
... all the while i thought i'll have a big splash upon opening it. 
hehehe