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.