Flowerhorns

Flowerhorns(FH) are one of the easiest aquarium fish to keep. They come under Cichlids. They are hybrid fish, due to which many hardcore aquarists are against it. FHs are categorized into many sub divisions. They are extremely aggressive and hence best kept alone. FHs are very popular all over the world as Feng-Shui fish. Male FHs have a protruding nauchal-hump called KOK. Generally the bigger the hump the more is its price.
Tank specifications & care:
Tank size: the bigger the better.
Tank mates: best kept alone, although have been successfully kept with arowanas, parrots and a few other species.
Diet: A combination of various FH pellets, live guppies, shrimps and fresh market prawns works best.
Breeding: Best avoided, unless one has acquired a very good strain pair. Not all FHs take kindly to each other(regardless of sex). Males should be at least twice the size of the female to avoid being killed, as the female becomes very aggressive during mating.
Sexing: Difficult among juveniles. Males usually have a large KOK which is usually smaller or absent in females. The most accurate way is to check the vent, males have a 'V' shaped vent whereas females have a 'U' shaped vent. Also a spot on the dorsal fin is usually a sign of it being a female(not always the case though!).
Maintainance: Weekly water changes of 30% is recommended with addition of a little non-iodized rock salt. Coral-chip gravel can be used to maintain a higher Ph.
Misc: It is recommended to cover the tank on 3 sides(back, right & left) with colorful backgrounds, as this helps in improving the color of th FH. Lights should be used for about 6-7 hours everyday. Good filtration would ensure better health of your FH.

Some of my FHs:

Female FH at 6"


Using a glass divider to keep two FHs in the same tank


A juvenile FH displaying brilliant colouration at 1.5"


Male FH(Li'l Tazz) at 3.5" already showing signs of a good KOK


Li'l Tazz at 6"

About Me

Well this is just an informal introduction :) i started off by keeping a so-called pair of gold fish when i was about 9 years old. The very same night one of the gold fish jumped out and died, and by the next morning i found the other one floating dead on top. There went my latest hobby down the drain. Thanks to Discovery, Animal planet, National Geography and a few good websites, i got hooked on to piranhas(yes those scary little creatures with razor sharp teeth). Tons & tons of reading taught me that they weren't scary at all and were worth respecting. I finally got my self another aquarium when i was 16 years old, and boy-o-boy am i glad i took 7 years to restart an almost dead hobby, I learnt a lot in those 7 years. I bought a pair of pacus(the vegi(ok they do eat a little meat) cousin of the piranha) they are awesome fish, but had to give them back as they outgrow small tanks very fast. when i was around 19, i got a pair of Red Belly Piranhas and named them Calvin & Hobbes, they lived peacefully together for about 6 months after which Calvin decided to snack on Hobbes! Now Calvin is a celebrity in the fish community, and fellow aquarists refer to me as 'the owner' of Calvin. I also have a passion for nice strains of Flowerhorns and other rare fish. I will write about the few species which i have kept in the later posts. Initially(maybe even now) my girlfriend thought I was a little 'mad' because of this hobby of mine, well actually I AM!! Anyway over the past year she seems to have learnt quite a bit about fish & seems to be fond of my RBP, Calvin, even though she denies it. She also helped me out during a certain 'disastrous' period in my hobby. Hope you enjoy my page.
Regards,
Angad Achappa