Seven easy ways of sexing your flowerhorn.

Knowing how to sex a flowerhorn is one of the most frequently asked question by someone who wants to venture in either keeping a flowerhorn or somebody who wants to eventually go to breeding of flowerhorn. More often than not a newbie sets out to buy a flowerhorn hoping to get a highly potential flowerhorn male fry but ends up getting a female. Males are more sought after because of the potential of forming big koks and because they grow bigger and have more vibrant color. While females are more often than not culled and disposed of because they have features that are not sought after by buyers. Top females of  the school will either be not for sale or will command a higher price if the breeder decides to sell it.
Here are the different ways of sexing your flowerhorn.
1. Difference in body shape and size.
Male flowerhorns are bigger than female flowerhorn. If you are selecting from a community of frys choose the bigger or biggest fry because the males  are more dominant than females and stronger so they always have access to food which makes them grow bigger fast.

female flowerhorn

male flowerhorn Emperor by Master Norman

Fagioli mating Notice obvious difference in size between male and female flowerhorn.

2.Difference in KOK size
Male flowerhorn will have bigger koks than female flowerhorn.

Male flowerhorn with nice big hump.

Female flowerhorn ($600) rare big head female by Mickkamfa commands a high price.

Female flowerhorn with small kok. More common find.

3.Presence of black markings on dorsal fins.
Female flowerhorn will have black markings on the dorsal fins. These black markings will be evident even in fry as big as 2-3inches. It is accurate way of sexing 80% of the time.

My Thaizz from Rainnybetta with black markings on dorsal fins. Below is a female flowerhorn with prominent black marking.

4.Difference in body deportment or posture.

Female flowerhorn will have particular body deportment or body posture.

Some nice looking females. Notice the body shape, small kok and the shape of the fins when they are at a standstill. Female fry aside from being small will project this particular deporment.

5.Difference in body color.
Female flowerhorn will change in color when breeding time comes while the male maintains its vibrant color.

Female flowerhorn by Iceman4242 notice presence of vertical black stripes on body.

Same female after laying eggs. Notice how her body had turned black.

My female kamalau from rainnybetta. She had better color then but as she is nearing her first egg laying her color changed to dark green black color.

My experimental pairing. Chose the male due to its bright red color. Small kok because its a mix kamfazz. Hopefully these pair will produce monsters. If not i just cull the frys and experiment on another pair.

6. Difference of shape of vent area.
You can differentiate the sex of your flowerhorn by venting.

Male reproductive organs will appear in a more shape manner. The tip of the v is pointed towards the anal fins. While the vent is situated between the arms of the v. You can gently squeeze on the vent area and if you notice squirting out of the vents then the fish that you have is a male. Similarly females will have a more u shaped structure at the vent area no fluid will squirt out of the vent when you squeez the vent area.

7.And lastly and most sure fire way of determining if your flowerhorn is male or female.
EGGS

Female lay eggs as early as 3-4inches in size.

All About Flowerhorn Kok.

What is a flowerhorn kok?
The flowerhorn kok or nuchal hump is the crowning glory of this fish. Often associated with luck it is actually a storage area of fat. The more fat stored in the nuchal hump the bigger it gets. Below are pictures of fat that is stored in the nuchal hump.

Photo by James Ancheta on just what is inside that flowerhorn kok. Can't see any water in there so water kok maybe more of a misnomer.

The kok are described according to their types, size shape and the general appearance it gives to the fish. The following are basic description used to describe the flowerhorn kok.


Types of kok.
1. Hard kok

Reminiscent of old school flowerhorns. Hard koks are usually just a small protrusion on the forehead of the male flowerhorn. As the name implies if you touch the head part the area feels hard and flat this is due to minimal amount of fat deposited in the nuchal hump. They are usually not that attractive unless the fish has wonderful pearl and color patterns. Flowerhorns with this type of kok can be entered in a flowerhorn show under the free head category.

My thaizz with hard kok but with nice reddish pink color and worm pearls. The small kok makes this male look like a female.

2.Semi-water kok
A combination of hard and water kok.These koks don't grow to be enormous but may grow to a certain size which may be harmonious to the general appearance of the flowerhorn. These koks would feel soft on light pressing but  the hard kok would be felt  underneath the soft water kok when you press the kok area a little harder. Also when you shine a light behind the kok area the translucent part of the water kok would be evident.

Thaizz x kamfa-semi waterkok the kok would grow to a certain size only and would shrink back to a smaller size every time water change is done.

3.Water Kok
The most sought after kok is the water kok. These kok has the potential of growing to enormous size. It feels soft all throughout and would appear translucent when light is shone through it.

My thaizz "San Mao" at 4inches with nice water kok.

Another picture of San Mao showing his nice round translucent water kok.

Different kok shapes.

1. Egg shaped or kidney shaped

Kalamansi by Mad dog

King Kamfa

2. Helmet shaped

3.Ball shaped

Baby face by Wilson

4. Mountain peak or pointed

Tiny by Drew

5. Half domed

King kamfa

6. Horn bill shaped

Hid by denl

A Little Bit Of Flowerhorn Fish History!

Flowerhorn is a truly wonderful fish.  Eye cathcing, captivating and awe inspiring these fishes has taken the world by storm. Flowerhorn fish history involves trying to explain the origins  of a flowerhorn in order for us to truly appreciate this species. From its first appearance up to the present time the Rajah Cichlasoma is constantly evolving to meet the ultimate aim of fish hobbyists a beautiful body with matching colors, distinguished stripes, gorgeous shine, a nice big kok and hopefully a more hardy and disease resistant fish.  This chart explains the evolution of flowerhorn fishes.

Flowerhorns were believed to have first evolved in Malaysia sometime in 1993 although many Malaysian breeders would contend to having bred them as early as the 1980's. Malaysians  admired these various cross bred cichlid fishes with protruding head, known as Karoi, in the western part of Malaysia.These Karoi fishes were most probably cross breed of Cichlosoma festae and Cichlosoma trimaculatus as to the exact steps and proportion onl the master breeders would know. The Taiwanese were also at the same time breeding these chiclids due to the auspicious nature that a slight protruding forehead and long tail, would bring.  The following year (1994)saw the introduction of the Red devil cichlid to Malaysia which gave the early flowerhorns their human face or monkey face characteristic. The cross breed were aptly named as The Human Face Red God Of Fortune. The following year (1995)the Human Face Red God Of Fortune were bred to the blood parrot which gave rise to five colors god of fortune.  They were also called as Chai sen strain and included also the three colors and five colors god of fortune. In 1998 the jing gang parrot and seven-colours blue fiery mouth, from South America, known as Greenish Gold Tiger were used to create what is now known as the Hua Lou Han. The Hua Lou Han is what we now know as the modern day flowerhorn. The following are pictures of early flowerhorns known as the Hua Kok as made popular by Ah Meng in 2000.

Coronation Link

Tornado Effect

Perfect Harmony

Unique track

Absolute wonder

Ancient Warship

Creative Measure

Exotic marvel

Legacy

Living Legend

Pacific miracle

Quantum grace

Rising rainbow

Royal degree

Scarlet Passion

What followed then was the widespread distribution of the flowerhorn to surrounding countries and to the Western world. Widespread distribution also meant widespread breeding and inbreeding to further develope new strains which would create flowerhorns that would be representative of that particular region. Thus we have thai, indo, singapore, taiwan, pinoy  strains of flowerhorn. But from whatever part of the world they would come from they still fall into four major breed categories namely the zhen zhou, kamfa, kamalau and the golden base.

What is a flowerhorn?

A flowerhorn is a hardy ornamental fish which was first developed in Malaysia and Taiwan. It was developed by cross breeding several South American cichlid breeds namely Amphipolus trimaculatus (trimacs), Cichlasoma festae, Amphipolus citrenellium (Midas cichlid),jing gang blood parrot and now a days any other cichlid or cichlid hybrid which has features that could contribute to the improvement in the appearance, color, body shape, fin structure, kok formation, and overall flowerhorn deportment and appearance.

Trimac	Midas Cichlid	Cichlasoma festae

                 Jin gang blood parrot


Physical features

The flowerhorn fish can be grouped into big, medium sized and short body categories. Bigger fishes tend to grow up to 12 inches in length or bigger and weight up to 3kg. or heavier depending on the diet and overall health of the flowerhorn fish.

A beautiful short body zz.

My spzz x tzzxtk. Reached a length of 12 inches and body width of 6-7inches.

The most prominent and most sought after feature of these fishes is the kok or nuchal hump which would come in all shapes and sizes. The bigger the kok the better since the nuchal hump is considered as having an auspicious nature. The chinese believe that the bigger the kok grows the  more financial blessings is in store for the owner.

Emperor

Fagioli

The next feature is the the black markings on its body otherwise known as plums. The plums also have an auspicious nature as a story tells of a man who won the lottery as he interpreted the plums on his fish. Anyway the plums should  ideally be thick and straight continuous line or thick  and broken straight line spanning from the gill folds,operculum, up to the tail area. The plums should be highlighted by greenish to bluish metallic scales. Plums may or may not resemble a chinese character or number but if it is so the the fish is considered auspicious.

Plumless Indomalau

Double row plums in a king kamfa

The flower next to the kok is visible in all zhen zhu but is inconspicuous in all golden base and some kamfa strain. A heart shaped flower is said to bind the family together or to keep the romance between lovers alive and strong.
And lastly the flowerhorn is known for its scales and vibrant colors. Each strain of flowerhorn is known for the the different color and scale color and shape.  Generally a flowerhorn should have vibrant color and pearly scales which are evenly distributed giving rise to a pleasing aesthetic appearance of the fish.

Nice flowerhorn with vibrant mix of yellow and red color accentuated by bluish pearls.

Superb RD+Titanium by Mrfh. With nice even colors and evenly distributed worm pearls. This is a juvy with great potential.

Character

The flowerhorn fish is a very aggressive and territorial fish. It should be kept singly in large tanks which is about 3 times its body length. Two flowerhorn maybe kept in a sinlge aquarium provided that dividers are used to separate the two fish. Flowerhorns are known to be aggressive towards their mates and offspring that is why proper techniques are observed during breeding and rearing of flowerhorn babies. The flowerhorn is also aggressive towards other cichlids and maybe to its human companion. Nasty bites an cuts from sharp teeth maybe expereinced from overly aggressive fishes. Proper precaution should be instituted to avoid this accidental bites.

The flowerhorn fish is a very hardy fish being able to withstand extreme water conditions for some period of time.It is however advised to provide optimal water parameters in order to bring out the best from your flowerhorn. They are  also particulary prone to certain fungal, and sporozoan infections that poor water quality brings.

The flowerhorn is not a picky eater and will  eat just about anything that it is being offered. Just like any carnivorous fish it would prefer live food over dead or pellet fish food. There are several brands of pellet food available in the market. It is wise to see and try which pellet food would be beneficial in bringing out the full potential of your flowerhorn.